180: Hiking the Cascade Saddle Route, Tramping Clubs and Influencers with Alice Milne

Alice is a tramper, blogger, speech & language therapist and mum, based in Southland. She shares about a special trip with her Dad to Cascade Saddle in Mt Aspiring National Park. Waiting for a rare bluebird weather window, they tackled the demanding route in late summer. It involved a relentless climb, exposed scrambling with huge drop-offs, and having to stash gear in long-drops away from kea. Alice shares she special moments shared with her Dad on this trip, the sweeping views of the Dart Glacier and Tititea Mt Aspiring at sunset. Alice also reflects on tramping through different life stages, levelling up her outdoors skills through courses and joining a tramping club. We discuss the realities of social media and mass tourism and the responsibilities that come with travelling and sharing wild places online.Abigail & Isaac are kayaking for 1,000km from Cape Reinga to Tauranga in Feb-Mar 2026 to raise $20,000 for mental health and the ocean. Join the community to follow our journey closely, donate or paddle with us.👉 slowpaddle.nzThank you so much for tuning in and coming along for the ride. If you love the show and enjoyed listening, please take the time to leave a review on Apple or Spotify. I would also love to connect with you, so send me a DM on Instagram, leave me a voice message and I can’t wait to see you next time. Until then, keep adventuring :)Follow Alice on Instagram: instagram.com/alice.adventuringaliceadventuring.com/Cascade Saddle Route: what you need to know to climb safelyRead the Blog: www.abigailhannah.nzFollow Abigail on Instagram: instagram.com/abigailhannnah/Follow Abigail on TikTok: tiktok.com/@abigailhannnah/Get my NZ Map & Guide