Paul Kilgour Collection

Paul Kilgour is one of the New Zealand backcountry's most famous names. He grew up in Northland during the 1950s and 1960s, when swaggies still wandered the backroads. When he shouldered his first tramping pack at age 21, he experienced a revelation, and knew he'd be doing this for the rest of his days. Kilgour has also had a lifelong obsession with baches, cribs and huts, and he is among the top hut-baggers of New Zealand. In 2007 and 2008, Kilgour walked the length of the South Island, an epic 1550-kilometre tramp from Fiordland to Golden Bay via backcountry huts and off-track routes. He lives near Takaka, Golden Bay, with his partner, Janet.