The final talk of the year was an excellent presentation by Shaun Barnett and Chris Mclean, authors of Tramping: A New Zealand History.
It was fascinating to follow the development of the book; the first draft submitted was considered to have too little history but then the revised draft was thought to have too little about the joys of tramping. There is a wide range of interesting information in the completed work, from early explorers to classic tramping from the 1930s, the growth of a hut and track network, the development of national parks and much more. The illustrations are superb and many accompanied the presentation.
This was a riveting talk with some surprising revelations. It was followed by a discussion on the contents of the 2014 journal and the evening concluded with an attractively presented Christmas supper.