Introducing Paul Garland

Paul has been tramping, camping and just enjoying the New Zealand’s outdoor wilderness for over 50 years now and as part of this he has had a long interest in eating well in the outdoors. He enjoys sharing this information with others and hopes that you will find plenty to inspire you in this website.

He has had professional training as a chef in both commercial kitchens and the New Zealand Army, giving him a wide range of skills to develop his outdoor cooking talents. From basic 101 emergency food preparation in survival conditions, to base camp cooking for 100 plus people at one time, all is achievable with a little advance planning and knowledge.

In August 2011 he published “Fast and Light”, a selection of recipes and food ideas for those involved in multi day outdoor adventures, and those who need to keep their food as light as possible. This popular book has since been revised and reprinted in April 2013.

In 2012 he completed the Te Araroa Trail after 152 days walking 3,000 km the length of New Zealand from Cape Reinga to Bluff. This walking adventure is recorded in his second book “End to End New Zealand”, which features a fascinating overview of the New Zealand backcountry hiking trails.

In his latest outdoor cooking adventure he has teamed up with his daughter Rebecca to produce the highly acclaimed “New Zealand Backcountry Cooking”, a truly amazing 260 page comprehensive guide to outdoor cooking.

Paul lives outside of Christchurch where he and his wife Lynda farms alpacas and llamas.