The Gerlachs

Can you describe yourself in 50 words or less?

We’re a pretty average Aussie/Kiwi family who decided to have a crack at something wild. Te Araroa was our first adventure — 6 months tramping the length of Aotearoa New Zealand together. Now we’re having a crack at mountain life while settling down a bit to school and work. 

What’s your earliest adventure memory outside?

We’ll have to go around the whole whānau/family.

Dee grew up on a farm in rural Northland and remembers from a young age sleeping under the stars in the paddock with her three brothers, waking up soaking wet from dew. Hands still smoky and sticky from cooking sausages and toast over the fire the night before. The house and safety of Mum and Dad were probably not far away but there was a lot of freedom to discover and make mistakes like getting cold and wet.

Tom’s childhood home backed onto native bush in Sydney’s northern suburbs. He and his younger brother and neighbourhood mates hung out with snakes and funnel-web spiders, endless days spent in the bush or playing backyard cricket and not going home until it got dark or they were truly starving.

Juno remembers sunny mornings spent at the beach (Newport on Sydney's Northern Beaches) with her Dad and neighbourhood mates. Running in the sand, diving in the waves and sausage sizzles from the local surf club.

Joplin remembers always reaching for trees to climb. He took his own sweet time learning to walk and was much more comfortable crawling and climbing on everything he could find. He also remembers birthday sunrises, getting up in the dark and the excitement of seeing the sky lighten as we got closer to the ocean or the top of the hill.

Goldie’s earliest memories are toddling or even crawling into the surf, the water toppling her over, washing over her face, sand everywhere and how good it felt.

Tell us about your partnership with Macpac.

Macpac make the best clothing and packs we could find for our 6-month adventure on Te Araroa. It’s been great to team up with them and use and abuse our favourite gear on the trail. We’re stoked to continue the partnership now that we’ve settled down to try life in the mountains with new skills to learn and new kinds of gear to use. Supporting local companies is really important to us. Here’s to further scheming and refining the best accessible kit for families so everyone in Aotearoa can get out there to enjoy and protect this magnificent whenua/land. 

What piece of Macpac kit do you never leave home without?

Dee: The Winger shorts! Even in Winter with long socks or tights underneath. No one seems to mind down here. 

Tom: The Traverse Rain Jacket. Whenever he’s outside, it’s part of his daily uniform rotation of the Flannel and Ranger shirts. 

Juno: Caples short tights for tramping and everyday wear — even under her school uniform. And ‘cause she runs a little cold, her Nitro is her bestie. 

Joplin: The Macpac Winger hat and Winger shorts are a constant, and his Fairtrade Organic Cotton Crew Jumper for less adventurous missions. 

Goldie: Golds is a card shark so always has her Macpac waterproof cards ready to slay her next opponent. She equally loves her retro tees and Macpac x Phoebe Morris artist collab tee. She loves all her gear and we’d say she’s Macpac’s smallest but biggest fan. 

Can you remember your best day in the outdoors? Where were you, and what were you doing?

We decided to pool our thoughts on this one and agreed that the day we did Waiau Pass was pretty epic for us all. We had been nervous and talking about this day for months — could we do the infamous Waiau Pass where others had even died?! Yee gawds. There was some wind and rain coming in so we had one chance to get over the revered pass safely. 

Waking up in Blue Lake Hut on a freezing, dark morning in April, the crew of SOBO (Southbound) Te Araroa trampers rustled around brewing coffee and packing before heading out as the sun rose. Gloves on, we climbed up and around Lake Constance, being careful not to fall on the slippery exposed sections. We had a tremendous crew — five TA mates we’d been walking for a few weeks and then another legend decided to join us for the day. It felt great having all the extra hands to help with the kids if we needed but more importantly the camaraderie helped propel us along, distracting us from our tired bodies and nerves. 

There’s some sketchy climbing around the side of Lake Constance so our nerves were already a little frayed by the time we got to the base of the Waiau Pass. Looking up at the steep scree slope you just can’t imagine how you’ll ever get up the bloody slippery thing! It’s a bit like two steps forward and one step back,but we made it eventually. Damn it felt good being at the top, looking over the other side at Canterbury stretched out below us. There was a bit of snow in the shade and the wind was pretty icy so we threw on our trusty rain jackets and started the unreal climb down steep stone chutes down the other side. 

It was slow going but the relief of the descent and seeing the 2000km mark written in lines of stones but some other delighted hiker left us feeling light and fluffy. We followed the river down the valley and eventually tramped into camp just before sunset. Tents pitched, fire cranking our trail family had one last beaut night together followed by a sunrise easter egg hunt in the forest (can you believe the Easter bunny found us out there?) and a sweet, emotional departure. It was hard to say goodbye to such a rad crew, the kids especially were gutted. But we soon settled into the comfort of our little family unit and enjoyed the freedom that our own space offered.

Who’s on your fantasy dinner party guest list?

Shall we choose one person each? 

• Dee’s always dreaming about having an emotional catch up with her folks who died in a car crash a few years ago, so of course, they’re #1 if you’re allowed. But if we’re just talking about famous people she's pretty keen to yarn with Keanu Reeves about the wild ride he’s had. Oh and Lucy Barnard who’s attempting to walk the length of the earth! Imagine having a good yarn with her…
• Tom is keen to wax lyrical with Taika Waititi — fella seems clever and funny and would have seen some things in his time! Also, Patti Smith is high on the list — he saw her speak and sing at the Opera House once and she’s amazing. She also would have seen some things and have some wondrous stories to tell.
• Juno reckons Jennifer Lawrence would be super fun to have for dinner. She’s funny and clever and has great energy and like, she’s in the movies and knows all the actors! 
• Joplin — Angelina Jolie is Joppy’s favourite actor, he thinks having her out at our house would be wild. He’s also obsessed with three authors, Rick Riordan (Greek mythology Percy Jackson series etc), Tui Sutherland (Wings of Fire series about dragons) and Suzanne Collins (Hunger Games). 
• Goldie — Steph Gilmore is Goldie’s dream woman — all-around super nice and humble, legend surfer, skater, rips on the guitar, she’d be the best to come over and hang out for tea. 

If the world was about to end, where would we find you, what would you be doing, and who would you be with?

It is about to end, isn’t it? That’s why we’re here in New Zealand together, making the most of this beauty. Honestly, we’re having a damn good go at doing our part to save this epic planet and figuring out how we can best make an impact while we explore and learn together. 

How would you sum up your approach to life?

We’re damned privileged to be here and have absolutely no idea how long we’ve got. So be kind, leave as little trace as you can and why not do things differently? Why not make things better? Why not leave the places and people we visit better than we found them? Kindness and respect can only be good. We all know how humans crave connection and belonging but that doesn't mean we need to follow the crowds. We’re the nerdy kids at school just trying to figure out who we are, be smart about it and try to fix up some of this mess as we go. 

Please include your social channels:

@noodlesforbrekky

@dgerl