Gone Bush, Paul Kilgour
Gone Bush, Paul Kilgour
List: $23.99 | Sale: $16.79
Club: $11.99

Gone Bush

Author: Paul Kilgour

Narrator: Stephen Lovatt

Unabridged: 7 hr 7 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: HarperAudio

Published: 02/07/2025


Synopsis

The story of a wanderer, long-distance tramper and hut-bagging legend.
Paul Kilgour was bitten by the tramping bug early. He began going on epic trips as a young boy, beyond the farm and along the coast. During these wanderings, he met old folk living simply in tiny huts out the back of farms and on clifftops, and swaggers walking in remote and beautiful locations. Even at that early age, deep inside Paul stirred the spirit of adventure and a longing to go further. And further he went.Gone Bush is about a lifetime of walking the backcountry. It tells stories of the eccentric characters he met along the way, some of the 1200 huts he's visited, and his most unforgettable journeys, including his 'long walk home' from deepest Fiordland to the top of Golden Bay. It's also a book about the powerful effects of being in the natural environment, doing what matters and living authentically. It is a charming, meandering, transportive read - like setting off on a serene tramp in the mountains, a heavy frost underfoot and the sun on your back.'If you are ready to read something unconventional but always authentic, an account of tramping and life outside the typical paradigms of today's tramping culture, then plunge in...' Backcountry

About Paul Kilgour

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.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Anne on June 25, 2022

I picked this up for some inspiration - my partner and I enjoy tramping but "busy life" gets in the way and we don't get out as much as we'd like. Paul Kilgour on the other hand, has built his life around his deep seated need to tramp and be in nature - he lives to walk and works as he needs to fund......more

Goodreads review by Gemma on December 26, 2023

Paul Kilgour's fervour for the peace of NZ backcountry is something I resonate with. I admire his minimalist and environmentalist philosophy and he heavily inspires me to get into the NZ backcountry myself. Paul details his childhood, growing up in a traditional family of farmers, as well as the ric......more

Goodreads review by James on December 27, 2022

A loving tale of a man's life set in the New Zealand backcountry. The best way to read this is with a topographic map (or an online version) beside you, following along on Paul's many adventures. More than that, Gone Bush is an incredible slice of NZ nature. It shows the real bond between Man & When......more

Goodreads review by Laura on September 23, 2023

Reading Paul's adventures in the south island backcountry left me yearning to visit many of the remote historical huts. In years to come this book will serve as a useful record of some huts that, sadly, may no longer be. I followed Paul's journey with my topomap open, tracing the many routes and loc......more

Goodreads review by Kirsty on May 29, 2022

Inspiring adventures in the wilds of New Zealand. Paul Kilgour’s epic tramping, aviation and kayaking trips over the last 50 years. Paul’s free spirit, generosity and love of nature shine from the pages of his book.......more