New book introduces Kiwi kids to tramping, and safety in the outdoors

Media Release | For immediate release

An outdoor adventure awaits Mia and her younger brother Leo – their first family overnight tramp to Whiowhio Hut.  

As they set out on their journey through New Zealand’s native forest, their family meets an assortment of fellow adventurers, each facing an outdoor obstacle of their own.  

Can Mia and Leo’s family help the other trampers and still make it to the hut before dark?  

Award-winning author of nature books for children, Gillian Candler, teams up with illustrator Gavin Mouldey and the NZ Mountain Safety Council (MSC) to create this beautifully illustrated adventure story, packed full of practical tips and advice to help families get outdoors and explore. 

The NZ Mountain Safety Council is excited about this innovative project and its role in producing the book. 

“We know thousands of families love to get outdoors every year, and when you're adventuring with children it adds a whole new safety dimension,” says MSC Chief Executive Mike Daisley, who hopes Mia & Leo Go Wild will encourage families to have adventures in the outdoors, but at the same time give them the basic outdoor knowledge they need to do so safely. 

Daisley says working with the right publisher, author and illustrator was crucial so the end product was a quality book that children and their families will engage with and enjoy reading. 

The adventurous storyline brings to life the MSC’s Plan My Walk app and website and cleverly weaves in the NZ Land Safety Code, an easy five step guide of the most important things you should do before and during any land-based recreation. At the end of the book, there are fun activities that children can complete. 

“We want Kiwis to be safe in the outdoors this summer and it is exciting to hear the stories of people planning their first overnight tramp or taking the kids out to explore new places. We hope this book sparks some fun adventures for whānau," Daisley says. 

About the Author and Illustrator 

Gillian Candler is an award-winning author of books for children about New Zealand nature. These include the best-selling At the Beach: explore and discover the New Zealand seashore, Whose Beak is This? and New Zealand Nature Heroes. Her passion for both tramping and the wildlife of Aotearoa is woven through this tramping tale.  

Gavin Mouldey is an illustrator that has worked across many different media, including illustration for a wide variety of book and educational publications, as a background designer for TV animation, and as a cartoonist. He illustrated Toroa’s Journey, with text by Maria Gill, also published by Potton and Burton. He lives with his family on the Kapiti coast. 

Published by Potton & Burton.