I Hiked a New Trail in New Zealand With New Friends and New Shoes

As a hiking guide, I’m quite particular about what I put on my feet. I mean, I walk upwards of 100km a week, week in and week out every summer, so I need to know that my shoes will last the distance. When I was invited to an event to try out the new Oboz Katabatic collection of lightweight hiking shoes, I was quite intrigued. I like being light and fast when I’m out and about, but I also love the stability and security that a well-treaded hiking sole provides.

New Shoes

Meeting up with a bunch of other North Island based hikers, we were given our new Oboz Katabatic hiking shoes for the day. Inspired by the mountains of Bozeman (Oboz = outside + Bozeman), Oboz design and create hiking footwear to reflect the perfection of a day spent on trail. The new Katabatic collection features both a mid height and low cut boot. I chose to go for the low cut!

Jean, our friendly and knowledgeable Oboz rep, gave us a bit of an introduction to the brand and the environmental commitments they make as a B-Corp certified company. These included reducing their carbon emissions, reusing and recycling products to reduce waste, and taking care of the communities touched by the brand.

A quick briefing from the hiking guide – and owner of Nature & Nosh – Kylie, before we left the store had us all wondering where we were headed for our day of native bush exploration and scenic coastal views. After a quick few laps around the store to double check we had the right boot and size for our feet, and we were ready to go!

A leisurely drive through a lack of Auckland traffic on a drizzly Sunday morning took us out to Bethell’s Farm; the home of the original Bethell family who settled out on the wild west coast many generations ago. The pristine, scenic location used for many movies, music videos, and TV shows had us all buzzing to see what was on the hiking menu for the day.

The original farm woolshed had been kitted out with some comfortable seating for us to lounge around on before our day truly kicked off. Coffee and tea were poured, brownies were demolished, boots were laced tight, and then we hit the trail.

We started our day of hiking as the clouds lightened and the sunshine dappled the ground through a forest of pine trees. We breezed through the pine needles and the lightness of the Katabatics on our feet really came into their own. An out of the box fit had the boots feeling comfortable on my feet, and the deep Trail Tread felt like it was going to handle anything the day was going to throw at us.

Read more: Explorer Anika wrote about her first impressions of the lightweight Oboz Katabatics

New Friends

Being able to compare the sensations of brand new boots with a bunch of new friends made the experience all the more interesting. Everyone has different needs and wants from what they’re looking for in a hiking boot, but the general consensus was very much the same. We were impressed. The new boots broke the ice, or at least the trail, and we quickly all opened up to chatting about our favourite hikes, places to camp and tips and tricks for our outdoor adventures.

As we strolled towards the coastline, we noticed changes in the bush with salt from the sea filling the air and a grand vista slowly opening up over the beautiful Lake Kawaupaka. Spotting beautiful, young native Kauri trees speckled through the forest had us all in awe and reminded us of the importance of rejuvenating and rewilding pristine areas such as the one we were privileged enough to be in. We all shared in our admiration for NZ’s unique native trees, debating which one truly sat at the top of the canopy as our favourite.

Rimu, Lancewood and a tunnel of Kānuka made it hard to keep our chins off the ground as conversations flowed like the rain we’d left behind in central Auckland. The track gave way to typical Auckland Clay, which after a dousing of rain meant we needed to be sure of our footing.

Thankfully the generous tread of the Katabatics didn’t skip a beat, and there were no dirty pants that needed to be laughed at! All too soon the trees gave way to the sheer cliffs of the West Coast and views out over the Pacific were plentiful.

A beautiful ploughman’s platter put on by the wonderful Nature & Nosh crew, who generously carried all of our food out to the coast was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone, despite the wind trying its best to carry our sandwiches away! Many photos were taken and views were enjoyed, but before long it was time to head back.

New Trails

The return trip gave us a different perspective of the bush and the sun came out, dappling light through the trees, and warming our wind-chilled bones. We sprayed our boots clean to prevent the spread of Kauri dieback (always ensure you leave no trace!), hopped in the van, and to our surprise discovered that there was still more enjoyment on the cards for the afternoon.

Cruising down to Huia, further south on the West Coast, we arrived at Velskov. Needless to say, absolutely none of us had a clue where we were, or what we should be expecting. Velskov translates to Good Forest, and is a privately owned, family run, native rainforest with views out over the Manukau Harbour, and Nihotupu Reservoir. We were greeted by Mamakan and Sophie, who gave us a brief introduction to their beautiful property and told us what we would be doing.

New Trees

We were given saplings of natives including Tawa, Miro, and Kaka Beak to plant as part of Velskov’s rewilding programme. This gave us the opportunity to appreciate the enormity of the commitment Oboz has made to plant a tree for every pair of boots sold – so far, they’ve planted over 6 million new trees through their One More Tree Program.

A short trek down through tree ferns, and other natives brought us to our planting locations, giving us another chance to put our boots to work. Once again, they performed above and beyond what was expected, so the crew at Oboz can definitely add tree planting to the list of activities the Katabatics are more than capable of!

More goodies were in store for us at Velskov’s Garden Bar where we were treated to delicious cocktails made from New Zealand botanicals. Delectable combinations of Kahikatea berries, White Rātā, New Zealand Honey Mead, Gin, and Cognac danced on taste buds as new friends said cheers to a great day of exploration.

As the temperature dropped we all migrated to the fire pit, on which the Velskov team were preparing snacks of toasted freshly made bread, melted truffle brie, and sautéed shiitake and oyster mushrooms. As they cooked, and we sampled, we discussed their exciting future plans for their rainforest.

Bringing together like minded people from all walks of life to learn about Oboz and their mission, change perspectives, and spend time in inspiring natural places is no small feat! This event was an incredible experience. I’m looking forward to reconnecting with a few of my newfound hiking buddies and getting our new boots out through the winter.

As someone with as much arch in my feet as a flimsy sheet of plywood, I was genuinely impressed with the new O-fit sole from Oboz and how much stability the boots provided in an area that typically causes me issues. The Katabatics will be a welcome addition to my quiver of outdoor footwear, neatly bridging the gap where I don’t want to wear trail runners, but want to be lighter than full boots. Knowing Oboz is doing their part for the environment makes me feel confident that outdoor brands are moving in the right direction looking after our precious outdoor taonga.