Tramping food

Picking food for your expedition is no small matter. A day's tramping can burn anywhere between 12,000 and 20,000 kilojoules.

You'll need to replace them with a diet that's high in proteins, fats and carbohydrates.

You'll also want to pack products that are non-perishable and light. Too much packaging means extra weight and rubbish to cart out of the bush.

But tramping food doesn't have to be rice and tuna monotony. Fresh food can be packed for the first day or two. Some trampers freeze steaks and allow them to thaw throughout the day before eating them that night. Others swear by freeze-dried or boil-in-the-bag meals (See "Ready-to-go meals").

Tip: Cooking requires fuel, so food that requires the least cooking time is ideal.

Fluids

You lose a lot of water carting a 70-litre pack around. Always carry fresh water with you and drink regularly to avoid dehydration. Mountain Safety Council programme manager Chris Tews packs three litres of water when he sets out each day: "for drinking and cooking."

Rivers: There are many streams in the outdoors but the water isn't always safe to drink. If you take water from a stream, boil or filter it first. Purification tablets are available from outdoor stores or travel-health experts like the Travel Doctor. However, you should only use purification tablets if you've run out of other options.

Tank water: Many Department of Conservation (DOC) huts have tank water that you can use to cook or replenish your water bottles. Giardia may be present in the water so boil it for three minutes first.

Snacks

Scroggin (a mix of nuts, raisins, dried fruit, and chocolate) is the favourite snack of trampers. You can buy ready-made scroggin - or make your own - from the pick 'n mix barrels at supermarkets. And you can re-use the supermarket's snap-lock bags: they're handy for storing maps, playing cards, matches and other water-sensitive items.

High-energy gels and bars are packed with sugars, carbohydrates and caffeine to give you a kick up the final hill of the day. Mark Inglis devoured his own brand of gels and bars (called PeakFuel) while climbing Everest because he couldn't stomach much else. On the morning he made the summit, Mark drank some powdered soup and PeakFuel shake: "Dorji (my Sherpa) ate half a preserved chicken."

Emergency food

You can be delayed in the bush for a hundred reasons - a wrong turn, poor weather, slips or swollen streams. Pack extra food to avoid a day or two starving in a hut. It's not always possible to cook in emergency situations, so set aside extra dried fruit, muesli and energy bars alongside rice and powdered soups.

Eating al fresco

Here's a very basic menu that you can build on for your next tramp.

Breakfast: Cereals and powdered milk can be easily packed in snap-lock bags. Porridge and hot drinks require boiling water - but hot food makes a cold draughty hut much more bearable in the morning. You'll digest cereals quickly so consider a second course of bacon sandwiches. Bacon is a great tramping meat. It's high in fat, easy to pack and cook, and longer-lasting than fresh meat. Table spreads can be used both as a spread and cooking oil.

Lunch: Lunch is often a meal of convenience. Sandwiches are quick, easy and filling. Salami is another long-lasting tramping meat that's easy to carry, and most cheeses will last three or four days in your backpack (although they tend to sweat). Pick hard dry cheese like parmesan rather than softer cheeses like Edam. You can add extra taste to a plain sandwich by packing pesto, hummus or sun-dried tomatoes. Crackers and peanut butter are a salty way to round off lunch.

Dinner: Powdered soup needs only a little boiled water and it provides a great entrée while you're preparing the main course. You can also buy hearty gourmet soups in pouches - although these are bulkier and more expensive.

Pasta's an ideal tramping food. It's light, carbohydrate-rich and easy to prepare. There's plenty of self-saucing pasta flavours to suit all tastes. Tuna's high in protein - an excellent way to bulk out dinner (tuna is one of the few canned foods that most trampers are happy to lug).

Dessert: Instant pudding is a sweet powdered dessert: all you need to make it is an instant pudding sachet, powdered milk and water.