Tramping food: St James Walkway: Food for the trip

Tramping menu for the St James Walkway

Here is the food I am taking with me for my 5 day tramp around the St James Walkway this week. I have been tweaking my tramping food requirements as I look for variety and add a few more calories per day. I've added an extra snack per day as well as adding some extra drinks for re hydration.

The view from Ada Pass Hut veranda, St James Walkway

I try to keep to the "golden" 700gms of tramping food per day rule, this should provide enough energy to propel me on my way. The 700gm rule was thought up by the Peninsula Tramping Club (attributed to Geoff Spearpoint a notable member of that group) as a good average to aim for when planning food requirements.

Packed as a 24 hour 'ration'

I like to pack my tramping food in a 24 hour "ration", it is in a plastic bag and contains all the items I will use in a 24 hour period. This is very military but I find it keeps things better organised than the "everything in one big bag" method of tramping food rationing. 

Backcountry Cuisine have a 24 hour packed ration

My five day tramping menu:

Here is my five day tramping menu broken down into day by day rations....

Tramping Food: Day 1

Instant mash is one of my go to tramping meals...it can be paired with vegetables, meat, cheese, gravy, fish...basically whatever you want to chuck in with it. Super easy to prepare, just add hot water and stir...and packed full of carbs to keep you tramping. It is good for both breakfast and dinner..prepare it in its own plastic bag to avoid mess. 

Tramping food- Day 1

Breakfast:  At home (I often buy MacDonalds Breakfast on the way out of town)

Lunch: Crackers + peanut butter + electrolyte drink

Snacks: le snack + raisin's + Steak bar + Special K biscuits

Dinner: Cheesy spud + Spam n' vege's ( re hydrated and mixed together = yum!) + chicken noodle soup + Refresh sachet (orange)

Extras:  Water purification tablets + salt + pot scrubber + chewing gum

Nestle Iced Tea + tea ( 1 T sugar) (760gms total)

Tramping Food: Day 2

I will take freeze dried meals with me if he trip is going to last for over three days..it is hard to argue with the convenience of these meals. I would much rather have 'fresh' food alas fresh food is very heavy and more difficult to prepare. The mashed spuds are to add some more carbohydrates to the main meal which did not have any pasta, potatoes or grains with it. 

Tramping food- Day 2

Breakfast:  Cream o' wheat + raisins + 1t sugar/milk powder + Tea

Lunch: Crackers + Pate + electrolyte drink

Snacks: Peanuts + Special K biscuit + scroggin pack+ Steak bar

Dinner: BCC Chicken a la King + mashed spuds + Miso soup + Refresh sachet (lemon/lime)

Extras: Puri Tabs + salt + pot scrubber

Nestle Iced Tea + tea ( 1 T sugar) (710gms total)

Tramping Food: Day 3

Tuna fish is the ambrosia of the gods for trampers especially if you get the type with olive oil added to it. Good for lunches and as a dinner addition. I prefer plain tuna unfortunately all the packet tuna we Kiwis can buy is weird...like peri peri spiced, with loathsome coconut or ground rhino testicles added...yeercckkkk!!! Just give us some plain tuna you arses!

Tramping food- Day 3

Breakfast:  Porridge +1t sugar/milk powder + raisins + Tea

Lunch: Crackers + Tuna + electrolyte drink

Snacks: Peanuts (honey roasted) + raisin's + steak bar + cheese quarter

Dinner: Chicken noodles w. beef and vege's + Spring vege soup + Refresh sachet (orange)

Extras: Puri tabs + salt + pot scrubber + chewing gum

Nestle Iced Tea + Cappuccino sachet + tea ( 1 T sugar) (730gms total)

Tramping Food: Day 4: Longest day on this tramp, 17 km's (6-8 hours)

At the end of a long hard tramping day I just want something quick and easy to prepare...freeze dried Spag Bol fits like a glove. You should never discount the reviving power of some drinks...tea, coffee, hot chocolate, electrolyte drinks and powdered fruit drinks..they are all good. I also enjoy a cup of soup in the late afternoon as a precursor to my dinner.

Tramping food- Day 4

Tramping food- Day 4 close-up

Breakfast:  Porridge + 1t sugar/milk powder + raisins + Tea

Lunch: Crackers + peanut butter + electrolyte drink

Snacks: le snack + raisin's + peanut M & M's + Steak bar

Dinner: BCC Spag Bolognaise + tinned herrings ( I like them) + Beef soup + Refresh sachet (lemon/lime)

Extras: Puri tabs + salt + scrubber + 3x fruit chews (candy)

Nestle Iced Tea + Cappuccino sachet + tea ( 1 T sugar) (720gms total)

I'm going to be buggered by the end of this day so just want something quick and tasty for dinner.

Tramping Food: Day 5: Last Day of the tramp (only Breakfast and snacks)

I sometimes eat freeze dried meals for breakfast but not on a regular basis, I usually go for the blander meals; Cooked Breakfast, Scrambled Eggs, Nasi Goreng (rice, veges and eggs) & Creamy Carbonara. I actually switched meals..I gave the Honey Soy Chicken to the TA trampers and had left over crackers and peanut butter for breakfast instead. 

Tramping food- Day 5

Breakfast:  BCC Honey Soy Chicken (2 serve) + tea (1T Sugar)

Snacks: Le Snack + raisin's + Nut Bar+ cheese quarter  (320gms total)

Tramping food- 5 Days + my lunch crackers

All up the food and sundries for this 5 day trip weight 2.7 kg's, or roughly 650 gm's per day.

Post Script: The breakfasts and main meals were fine but too many snacks taken. I ate my tinned herrings on my crackers on day three instead of the peanut butter. Loved the crackers which have now gone out of production....as usual! I had crackers and peanut butter for breakfast on the last day...they were tasty.

Both the Nestle Iced Tea and crackers are no longer available in New Zealand...more is the pity because both of them were excellent.

I ended up giving a bag of 5-6 snacks, one main meal and some drinks to a group of hungry Te Araroa Trail trekkers who were short of food. Better that carrying around useless weight and I like to help people out.

The Henry River Valley sweltering under 32 degree temperatures, St James Walkway

A combination of  warm weather, a trip shortened by one day and lack of appetite meant I didn't use all these calories.  I've adjusted my amounts and now take 2-3 snacks per day.

Tramping food: Food for a four day tramp

Tramping food for four days

I'm preparing for a trip this weekend and thought I would show you the kind of food I take with me when I go out tramping. This is for a four day trip, so 4 lunches, 3 dinners and 3 breakfasts. I also take some emergency food, quick cook pasta/noodles/cous-cous and a couple of packages of instant porridge (oatmeal to you Americans).

Four days worth of tramping food laid out for inspection

It is not uncommon for New Zealand trampers to get stuck on the wrong side of a river for a day or two after a touch of rain so you need a small emergency food backup just in case. It is no fun having an enforced hut or tent day with no food.

Why you need spare food: Flooding river (note storm in background)

Breakdown of my tramping meal periods: breakfast, lunch, dinner

What I'm looking for is a good mix of carbs/fats/sugars/protein to keep me going all day long. You also want a mix of tastes and a sweet/savoury mix so your food doesnt become boring.

 Generally, breakfast will be porridge, toaster pastries, freeze dried meals (savoury or desserts) or muesli with milk (powdered), cheese or salami and a cup of tea. I sometimes eat freeze dried eggs cooked and in a tortilla if I have the time. I also love the freeze dried rice pudding which you can buy from Absolute Wilderness.

Breakfast: eating a freeze dried Applepie at Bark Bay Hut

Lunches are crackers or tortillas with peanut butter/tuna/salami/cheese or pate. I will take 2-3 snacks per day as well as drinks like iced tea, coffee, tea and electrolyte mixes. Two minute noodles are also  good for lunch as they are lightweight and quick to prepare.

Lunch on the Lewis Pass Tops: raisins, crackers, tuna, and a lemon lime drink

 My dinner staples tend to be dried foods: pasta/rice/noodles/instant mashed potato with various additions and flavourings.  I usually start with an instant soup followed by my main meal and any left over snacks for desert.

 

Cooking dinner at Lake Christabel Hut..freze dried meal and iced tea

I occasionally take freeze dried meals, they are simple to prepare (just add hot water) and lightweight but expensive to buy. Very occasionally I take thermo-stabilised pouch meals from companies like Kaweka or MTR but weight is an issue with these.

Freeze dried Venison and Rice Noodle stirfry

Freeze dried Venison and Rice Noodle stirfry

I  finish the day with coffee, tea or a cold drink mix. Or hot Raro, yum!

Me drinking tea in East Hawdon Biv, Arthurs Pass N.P

I'm always on the lookout for good dinner meal ideas; ease of preparation, weight and taste are my criteria, not necessarily in that order.

The four day tramping menu...

Below is a representative four day menu showing  different types of main meal options and how they interact with each other. You want a bit of variety in your meals for interest sake..I once meet a person walking the Te Araroa Trail who ate porridge for all three meals.

That may be fine for you but I would hate that with a passion...

Tramping food:Day One

I'm eating a MTR retort curry on day one....with rice as a accompaniment, I would eat these bagged meals all the time but the weight would be prohibitive.

Breakfast:  At home (I often buy MacDonalds etc. on the way out of town)
Lunch: Sandwiches + fruit from home + electrolyte drink
Snacks: Olives + raisin's + scroggin pack
Dinner: MTR Paneer Butter Masala
MTR Jeeri Rice
Nestle Iced Tea + tea ( 1 T sugar) (580gms total)


Tramping food: Day 2

Mashed spuds with vegetables, meat, cheese and sometimes added gravy powder make for an excellent tramping meal...I really like it and it is one of my 'go to' tramping menu choices. 

Im also partial to a good instant Mac n' Cheese but Im not taking any with me on this trip. 

Breakfast:Instant Porridge with Raisins/milk powder/sugar + cheese wedge + tea ( 1 T sugar)
Lunch: Peanut butter (x2) + crackers + electrolyte drink
Snacks: Strawberry toaster pastries + raisins + steak bar
Dinner: Instant Cheese Mash + beef jerky + cheese wedge + dried onion
Nestle Iced Tea + tea ( 1 T sugar) (460gms total)



Tramping food: Day 3

The longer the trip the more freeze dried meals I would be eating. I have usually eaten all the fresh food before day 3-4 so after that it is freeze dried meals for dinner each day.

They may not be the tastiest but its hard to argue with that weight to nutrition ratio..and the taste & quality is geting better all of the time.

Breakfast: Cream of Wheat + raisins + milk powder + sugar + tea ( 1 T sugar)
Lunch:Farmhouse Pate + crackers + electrolyte drink
Snacks: Raisins+ beef jerky + fruit and nut chocolate bar
Dinner: Back Country Cuisine: Roast lamb with vegetables & mash (2 serve)
Nestle Iced Tea + tea (1 T sugar) (475 gms total)



Tramping food: Day 4


I'm eating a single serve freeze dried meal for breakfast on the last day as I am walking for a long distance. I usually eat the bland varieties: Scrambled Eggs, Tomato Pasta Alfredo, Nasi Goreng, All Day Breakfast etc. as I don't want to be tramping with a curry on board.

Me eating a Tomato Pasta Alfredo in Mid Robinson Hut in 2016

Also toaster pastries...they are jammed packed with sugar but also carbohydrates, fats and some protein. Your going to burn it all off over the day so the sugar doesn't mater and they taste good after a couple of days in the bush.

Breakfast: Back Country Cuisine: Nasi Goreng (1 serve) + toaster pastries + tea ( 1 T sugar)
Lunch: Farmhouse Pate + crackers + electrolyte drink
Snacks: Steak bar + raisins + scroggin mix pack
Dinner: At home (or on the way home) (370gms total)

Total weight of food: 2.2kg including the box of crackers

Tramping bread

 I've tried a lot of different things to use as my "daily bread" (bread/crackers/tortilla's/wraps/crisp-bread) but always come back to these beauties. Arnotts Sesame Wheat crackers go great with everything and I really appreciate the salt on them.


Arnotts Sesame Wheat: My daily bread on tramping excursions

My second most popular choice would be Farrah Wraps which come in a variety of different flavours. These will last for 3-4 days if handled with care, I fold them and place them in small zip lock bags.

Farrah Wrap's, spinach is my favourite flavour

MTR thermo stabilised meals for tramping

Here is a new item I'm trying out as tramping food; MTR ready to eat meals. MTR is an Indian brand, imported for sale in New Zealand; they are thermo stabilised pouch meals. You chuck them in a pot of water and boil for 3-5 minutes. The other heating method is by using one of the Back Country flame-less ration heaters, these boil water through chemical action to heat your food.

A Backcountry flameles ration heater

There are 3-4 types of rice and a dozen mains available, I've tried a couple and they are very tasty. I have since discovered that these are in Indian Army, Meals Ready to Eat (MRE) ration packs.

MTR Indian Meal - Jeera Rice

This trip I have Jeera Rice and Paneer Butter Masala, the beauty of these meals is that they can be eaten hot or cold (just like a MRE). They have a subtle mix of spices in them, vegetables and this one has cubes of cottage cheese.

MTR Indian meal - Paneer Butter Masala

The realy make a change to your bog standard Backcountry Freeze dried meals.

Or try a Kaweka meal...

A similar idea are the Kaweka Meals, they are also in thermo stabilised pouches that just need to be heated in hot water. They are delicious and consist of a main and a side dish: either rice, mashed potato or cous-cous.

These are used in both Australian and NZ Army issued ration packs.

Some of the Kaweka meal range

Their main meals include:

Butter Chicken and Rice
Thai Green Curry and Rice
Beef and Red Wine Casserole with mash
Beans, Bangers and Bacon
Apricot Chicken with cous cous
Lamb Casserole with mash

These meals are available in all of the larger supermarkets throughout New Zealand.

Kaweka went out of business in 2017 but similar meals are now in Go Native 24 hour ration packs available from most outdoor stores. 

Go Native 24 hour ration packs....taste good but expensive!

The contents of a Go Native 24 hour ration pack

Always keep your eyes open for tasty items you can add to your tramping menus.

Snackage: I love them raisins !

As you can see I like raisins, they are my favourite snack as well as an additive for porridge and cream of wheat. I always carry some with me on every tramping trip. Raisins are heavier than some other snacks but I enjoy the more natural sugar high you get off a pack...much better than that from chocolate. 

Mmmmm...Raisins!

Other snacks I carry include; fresh and dried fruit, muesli bars, chocolate, nuts, toaster pastries, jerky, olives, steak bars, biscuits and cheese slices/wedges/rounds (Baby Bels rock people and last for 2-3 days). I try to take a variety of snacks so I dont get sick of any one item.

Jack Link's Steak Bars..solid jerky bars....yum!!!

Babybel cheese...tasty and will last for 2-3 days

There are many more but what I like is a sweet/savoury mix with a lean to the salty - savoury end of the scale. I am not big on the scroggin/GORP/trail mix however as I find it is heavy and you quickly grow tired of it regardless of the contents.

Classic scroggin/trail mix...I am not a fan.

Anyway, that is just a quick overview of some of my tramping meal ideas.

Tramping Food: Nissin Top Ramen short cuts

Tramping Food: Nissan Top Ramen Noodles

I am constantly looking for convenient food to take on my tramping trips, weight, taste and ease of preparation are important. I have been making my own version of "freeze dried" meals that just need water added or minimal cooking to prepare.

I recently found these noodles which combined with other ingredients make a fine meal for a hungry outdoors man.



Top ramen noodles

Americans will recognise these Nissin Top Ramen noodles, they are a well known pre seasoned noodle for use in Chow Mien type meals. I have found a supplier of Nissin products in Christchurch; The Mad Butcher store on Ferry/Aldwin's road sell packets of these noodles for $5.00.

Various flavours available

They currently have the beef, chicken and roast chicken flavour. Here is a advertising blurb about them!

View inside the packet

As you can see the noodles are about 2cm long, and have a flavour powder on them. You follow the instructions on the pack, add to a pot of hot water and simmer for three minutes. They are then ready for eating. With the addition of meat and or vegetables they make a calorie packed meal.

Here is a recipe I have worked out using the noodles and dehydrated mince:

Jon's Top Ramen Beef Chow Mein

1 Cup Top Ramen noodles (or use any 2 minute or Rice noodles)
1 Cup dehydrated beef mince (or your own choice: salami/biltong/jerky/canned meat)
1/2 Cup dehydrated beans/mixed vegetables (I prefer Surprise dried beans if you can find them)
3 Cups water
clove of garlic, cut fine
1/4 t five spice
1/2 t dried shallots/onions + salt-pepper/soy sauce to taste

Bring water to the boil, add the Top Ramen noodles, vegetables, garlic and five spice simmer for 2 minutes. Add beef mince, simmer for 1-2 minute till tender. The meal is then cooked, sprinkle over the onions/shallots and add salt/ pepper/soy to taste. Enjoy.

I usually have the noodles, spices and beans in one zip lock bag. The mince is in a second smaller zip lock bag. I always carry a small bag of dried shallots with me to "pep" up my meals. Total cost per serving: about $5.00!

This is one of my favourites, it is tasty, slightly soupy and really easy to clean up afterwords.

Here are some other recipes using these noodles:

Update 2019: I have not seen these in New Zealand for about 3-4 years now. If you come across them where you leave then I highly recomend them to you. 

Tramping Food: Eating like an ANZAC

A tramping meal idea: ANZAC Trench Stew

When I first joined the Army back in the late 1980's we were still supplied with food very similar to that used by ANZAC soldiers in the First World War. Among other items we had cans of "wet" food such as meat and vegetable stew, spaghetti and meat balls, corned beef, and beans and franks.

Palm Corned Beef...closest thing to Kiwi rations in the 1980's

I came across a recipe recently that was an exact copy of one of the meals we commonly used to make for ourselves while out in the "field". This recipe dates from 1915, and was in a book I am reading about the Great War.

Troops about to tuck into Rations, Field, Chicken x 1....

 It had obviously been passed down through generations of soldiers from the Great War up to the 1980's. Sadly gone now, Kiwi troopers now eat from Meals Rarely Eaten (MRE) style retort pouches....

Anyway, here it is:

The Trench stew as cooked...yummy!

Finest Trench stew

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Number of servings: 3 - 4
Serving suggestions: For authenticity, allow to cool and serve with a cup of ice cold stewed tea while 5.9" 'Wizz Bangs' explode around you.....(mud, stench and fly swarms optional)

Modern version of canned Corned Beef

WW1 period Beef and Vegetable stew can

Ingredients:

• 1 turnip (or parsnip/potato, whatever you can find on a local farm)
• 2 carrots
• Small tin corned beef (Palm brand is the best)
• ¼ stock cube (beef/chicken/vegetable)
• one or two biscuits (optional: WW1 Army biscuits were so hard you had to break them up with a stone or the butt of your rifle. They were a cross between a digestive biscuit and a cracker)
• 1 pint of water (that's about 300 mls)
• Dried onions, Tobasco sauce, tomato sauce and salt and pepper to taste (all modern additives)

Typical Great War field rations, those white things are hard tack biscuits...

Cooking Method

1. Put the water on to boil
2. Slice up the turnip and carrot
3. Add to the boiling water
4. Add the stock and stir then leave for 10 minutes
5. Mash up corned beef and add to the mixture
6. Add the biscuits and stir (optional)

Give it a try, it is actually very tasty!

Tramping Food: Freezer bag cooking, trail food made simple by Sarah Svien

Freezer Bag Cookery: a book by Sarah Svien

I am always looking for ways to increase the variety and taste of the food I eat while tramping. My general pattern is too take fresh food for the first day or two (steak... yum, yum!) and then rely on dried or freeze dried meals for the remainder of the trip. 

 

Freezer bag cookery by Sarah Svien

Freezer bag cooking : trail food made simple, by Sarah Svien is the title of a book I am currently reading, The book is a collection of quick cook hiking food recipes which are made by adding water to various ingredients. There are recipes for all three meals plus snack and dessert ideas.

The author suggests Asian food markets as a source of ingredients, a recent visit found the following items;

• dried fish (shrimp/white fish/prawns)
• dried rice/noodles
• udon meals
• dried mushrooms/vegetables/onion/shallots
• pasta, cous cous, instant mashed potato
• freeze dried meat (pork/beef)
• soups, miso, pickles etc

.

With these and other items like fresh vegetables, tinned fish/chicken, bouillon cubes, spices and herbs many tasty meals can be made.

A simple cous cous meal...

A tramping food recipe from the book to try

Here is an example of one of the recipes, this is;

Herbed Tomato Rice

Ingredients

1	c	instant rice
1⁄4	c	freeze-dried corn
1⁄4	c	sun-dried tomatoes
1	T	diced dried onion
1 1⁄2	t	lower sodium beef or chicken bouillon
1	t	granulated garlic
1⁄4	t	dried oregano
1	T	olive oil
200gm		cheddar cheese

Notes

Find in the cheese sticks in the dairy aisle near the string cheese. Sun-dried tomatoes can be found in the produce department of most grocery stores, dried onion in the spice aisle.

Instructions

At home:
Pack the rice through oregano into a quart freezer bag. Tuck the oil and cheese in with the bag.

In camp:
Freezer Bag Cookery (FBC) method:

Add 1 1/2 cups near boiling water and the oil to the dry ingredients in a quart freezer bag. Seal tightly and tuck in a freezer bag cozy to insulate for 15 minutes.

One pot method:
Bring 1 1/2 cups water and the oil to a boil, add in the dry ingredients. Take off the heat and cover tightly. Let sit for 15 minutes (in cooler temperatures or at altitude use a pot cozy to retain heat).
Dice up the cheese and fold in.



Tramping Food: Great tramping beverages

You are what you drink, or a tale of many beverages!

Does your beverage of choice say anything about you? Trampers have a diverse range of preferences, some people like tea, others coffee, or some other variety of hot or cold drink. I have seen people drinking soup for breakfast, liquid jelly for dessert and you often see tramping parties having a quiet tipple as well. Tea seems to be the leader with coffee, fresh or instant, a close second.  

Cheers...Jon enjoying a hot brew in East Hawdon Bivvy

Hot drinks for tramping...

My preference runs towards Early Grey tea, black with sugar and in large quantities. I don't care if it is bagged or loose just so long as it is hot and sweet. My brand of choice is Dilmah but even the roughest gumboot tea will suffice in an emergency. I also like Cha Nui tea which is a New Zealand brand.

My choice of tea, Dilmah Earl Grey

I sometimes take packets of instant hot chocolate or cappuccino mixes with me as they make a nice change from tea at every meal. If I can find them, I like the Nestle Hot Chocolate with marshmallows the best.

Nestle brand hot chocolate

I usually carry either Nescafe or Jarrah coffee and cappuccino sachets, both are freely available here in New Zealand. The individual sachets weigh 5 gm's and make a perfectly acceptable version of a coffee.

Nescafe Cappucino sachets- 20 per pack

What about a nice hot mug of soup, when I am out tramping I start every evening meal with soup. I use both quick cook packets and the classic Continental Cup-O-Soup.

One of the Continental Cup-O-Soup range

If you are going to have a soup look for ones that just requires hot water or ones that need only a short period of simmering. Personally I like the creamy or noodle filled flavours for added taste and nutrition.

Massive mug of Dutch Curry and Rice Soup, Totaranui Campground 2018

I'm also partial to a mug of hot Raro or Vitafresh fruit powder drink with dinner. I know this sounds strange but its really good. Lemonade is the flavour of choice if you want to drink it hot...it is beautiful!

Classic Raro Sweet Navel Orange

Water, iced tea and a hot coffee, Lake Isabel Hut, Victoria Forest Park2014

Sweeteners and condensed milk...

I used to carry sugar for my hot drinks but now I use Splenda sugar substitute. One tablet is equal to 1 teaspoon of sugar, the packet below holds 100 tablets or enough for 50 cups of tea/coffee. The packet is the size of a matchbox and weighs only 22gms, by comparison 100 teaspoons of sugar weighs 640gms.

Splenda sugar substitute

If I have an instant coffee it would be sweetened with Nestle condensed milk. This is a drink I picked up in the Army, it dates back to before WW1, the only way to drink coffee in the outdoors IMHO. It is also excellent added to a brew of tea as well.

Update: Since I posted this in 2012 I have struck several people who also carry condensed milk for their coffee. It really is delicious- no need for sugar or milk with this product. In fact I have seen Ray Mears the survival expert using it on his TV programs.

Forget stupid syrups, classic old timer coffee additive...condensed milk!!!

Condensed milk is still a part of both New Zealand and Australian Army field rations to this day.

 

Having a coffee at the Davies Bay campground, QCT in 2016

Cold tramping drinks...

.....(actually cool as you have no refrigeration to chill your drinks)

 

There is nothing better than water for quenching your thirst, but sometimes you want something different.
 
Powdered fruit drink packets are very popular, there are a wide range of flavours and several brands. My preferred type is Vitafresh especially their Peach Iced Tea, Orange Mango, Blackcurrant and old fashioned Lemonade.

Orange Mango Vitafresh

Raro is the other well known range available here in New Zealand. 

A Raro drink powder three pack

I also use isotonic drink powders, these are basically fruit flavoured mineral replacement drinks. Vitasport is one of the more common brands available here. 

Vitasport isotonic drink powder

I will generally carry one packet of Vitasport/Raro/Vitafresh (12 gms) per day and have it with my evening meal.

Red Vitasport with my meal, Carrington Hut, Arthurs Pass National Park

Beer,  spirits, wine anyone?

A quick snort of something is as old as tramping itself, and is a Kiwi tradition. I would imagine even the sainted John Muir carried a flask of something to make the evenings more convivial.

The outdoor 'Saint'- John Muir, father of the US National Park movement!

Personally I am of two minds about alcohol and outdoor activities, I like a drink as much as the next person but in the right place and at the right time. A glass of a nice red with your freeze dried meal is good, a litre of Vodka with lunch not so much....

I'm partial to a river cooled can of beer and have taken several with me in the past. Nothing like finishing the day with an ice cold brew in your hand! Oh yeaahhhh!

Using nature's beer chiller....some tasty beverages cooling in a river.

I also enjoy a snort of whiskey or rum, normally in a coffee. Leave the hip flask at home and carry it in a tightly sealed plastic bottle- hey, its not going to compromise the quality any worse than humping it around in a pack for a couple of days.

The Bundaberg Rum range...great in your evening coffee...

Just a final word; carry out your empties! Nothing worse than arriving at a hut to see a pile of empty bear cans or wine bottles cluttering up the bench. If you carry it in, carry it out.

Cheers!