Housing advocates natural escape

Known for her passion for providing housing, Nelson Tasman Housing Trust director Carrie Mozena balances the stress of her complex role with another passion which involves the simplicity of nature.

Interview by Judene Edgar

Sitting eating a bowl of the most sumptuous seafood chowder, I knew that I could live here. On my first visit to Nelson 25 years ago, my partner and I were sitting in The Boat Shed Café – the tide was in, the sky was blue, the sun high. Drawn to Nelson by its three national parks, the seafood chowder helped seal the deal.

I’d never tramped or camped as a child except for a short stint in Girl Guides. But at 18, I was living in Ohio and about to start at Duke University when I read about ‘Project Wild’, a pre-orientation programme for Duke students which included camping, hiking, rock climbing, and other wildness activities. There really was no competition… it was this or sororities.

After the 10-day programme I was hooked and became a Project Wild leader while studying. After graduating, I went on to work for the North Carolina Outward Bound School as an outdoor instructor and then as associate programme director for eight years, but even after I left Outward Bound for the corporate world, my love of the outdoors and adventures remained.

Preparation is the key. From planning routes to food supplies and equipment, there are a lot of skills required for long, remote tramps in areas without huts, flushing toilets or cellphone coverage. Good navigation skills are particularly important, as is the choice of tent – good shelter is critical.

Getting out there helps clear the mind and puts things into perspective. The day to-day challenges of consents, construction, and funding, and working with people in dire housing need in my day job as director of Nelson Tasman Housing Trust, can become quite all-consuming, so a tramp over a long weekend or holiday is a refreshing change of pace.

Tramping is about simple decisions, whereas work is about multiple and competing complexities. There’s something about meeting the elemental challenges of nature and the simplicity of decisions like choosing tent sites, what time to start walking in the morning, or finding the best place and time to cross a river.

Most of my favourite walks have been in New Zealand – The Douglas Range in Kahurangi National Park and Three Tarn Pass into the West and East Matakitaki, as well as The Five Passes Route in Mt Aspiring National Park. We really are spoiled for choice in the South Island.