Headline March 13, 2018/ ''' BEAUTIFUL NEW ZEALAND '''

''' BEAUTIFUL NEW ZEALAND '''

*MRS ANIS FATIMA* - on the precise midnight-strike of the clock this Monday, 2018 - the revered mother of Dee and Hussain, will take over as the-

*Global Honorary President, of the World Students Society*, for the week. The students of Pakistan, the students of the world, give her a standing ovation.

NEW ZEALAND'S WILD SPACES deserve their fantastical reputation, but it is the country's commitment to this vast network of public huts that fosters everything beautiful.

FINALLY SCRAMBLING OUT of the bush of New Zealand's South Island, I paused, surveying the alpine valley, in the foreground.

Then I saw, Nestled against a slab of moss-covered schist stood a modest structure, no larger than my 8-foot-by-12-foot college dorm room. With excitement and relief, I clambered toward Cameron Hut.

As a 10-year old,  entranced by the cinematic landscape of Peter Jacckson's ''The Fellowship of the Ring.'' I wouldn't have guessed that backcountry huts would become a focal point of my travels in New Zealand.

Sixteen years later, I had come for the forests of Lathlorien, the peaks of the Misty Mountains, the hills of the Shire. But it was in the huts that I immersed myself in the culture of these landscapes and spent time with the people who know and value them most.

New Zealand's wild spaces deserve their fantastical reputation, nut it is the country's commitment to this vast network of public huts that fosters something unique : a community of strangers even in the most remote backcountry.

Approaching Cameron Hut, I wondered what I would find inside. No two huts are the same. Some are blaze orange, others beige. Some are over a century old, and others less than a decade.

Even if they look similar from the outside, each hit has its own quirks, stories and memories. They are product of their environment, the people who use them and their moment in history, all of which defines a hut's character.

In 1987, the newly established Department of Conservation took responsibility for maintaining New Zealand's hut network and the web of tracks [the term for trails] that connects them.

Some huts originated as outposts for miners, hunters, foresters, or shepherds, others as way stations for alpinists, scientists, tourists or tramping club members.

Now nearly a thousand of these structures are open to trampers [as overnight backpackers are known] for minimal fees.

Pushing open Cameron Huts weathered door, I found four bunks on one wall with a potbelly stove braced against another. A metal countertop stretched between the window with a pair of water buckets and two stools stashed below.

A wall shelf contained outdoor magazines, a copy of ''The Girl on the Train.'' candles of assorted lengths and a jar of ear plugs.

And there by, over by the window in its familiar bracket on the wall, was the volume I had learned always to peruse when I arrived in one of these huts : The Intentions Book.

Setting my pack down, I started scanning its pages. Emblazoned with Maori greeting ''Kia ora,'' the logbook serves as a guide to each hut and a registry for visitors. Trampers use it to record details about their party and intended route - hence the name of the book - along with their comments and stories 

While some of this information, could prove useful in an emergency, it amounts to a beloved anthology of the shared experiences that define New Zealand's huts.

One page might contain mountain top epiphanies, off-travel discoveries. weather and trail conditions. speculations about whether a bickering couple would survive the trail ahead and whimsical evaluations of the previous night's snoring. Together, the entries form a living document of hut culture itself.

It didn't take me long to find what I was seeking : the entry my new friends Joanna and Logan had made here a few weeks ago.

Our paths had intersected on the Dart Track, a popular, multiday trek through the mountains north of Queenstown, where we had compared list of must-visit huts over dinner. I will here because they had told me not to miss it.

Cameron Hut wasn't glamorous, but it felt perfectly suited to the needs of a solo traveler.

There are four tier of huts in the system. Basic Huts are any combination of walls and roofs that will pass for ''very basic ''shelter'' but not much more.

Standards Huts are more robust but still spartan structures with a few added amenities like mattresses, water access, a toilet and a wood stove.

Serviced Huts feel similar to the Standard brethren, but are generally in high-traffic areas or above the tree line, where the Department of Conservation must supply fuel and upkeep costs skyrocket.

Great Walks Huts are the most heavily visited and expensive of the bunch with gas stoves and resident hut wardens.

No matter what its tier, I found every hut worth visiting.......Putting away the Intentions Book, I took advantage of the warm afternoon sun to explore the area of Cameron Hut.

The Honor and Serving of the latest Operational Research of beautiful countries continues. And The World Students Society thanks researcher and author, Jeremy Cronon.

With respectful dedication to the Leaders Grandparents,.Parents, the Students, Professors and Teachers of Beautiful New Zealand and then the world.

See Ya all ''register'' on !WOW! - the World Students Society and Twitter - !E-WOW! - the Ecosystem 2011:

'''Wilds & Wonders'''

Good Night and God Bless

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless