More than just a walk in the bush: a qualitative study of trampers in New Zealand and their motivations for tramping

Abstract

This thesis is a qualitative study of the reasons that people go tramping in New Zealand. Tramping is an outdoor recreation activity enjoyed by many New Zealanders and for some it is an important part of their lives. There is a small but growing body of knowledge about outdoor recreation in New Zealand and tramping in particular. Most of the research which has been done in the past has been quantitative in nature and has identified motivations and satisfactions using surveys of people recreating at specific sites such as National Parks. The findings of this past research have been largely unsuccessful in doing much more than simply identifying what people's motivations are. Many researchers are now advocating the use of qualitative methods as the best way to advance our knowledge in this area. Qualitative methods allow a more in-depth and complex understanding and are therefore the best way of understanding the complex issue of leisure motivations. This study uses in-depth interviews with seven active trampers from the Wellington region to identify and explore their motivations for tramping. Their motivations fall into three main categories: scenery and the natural environment; challenge and physical activity; and social. These categories are largely consistent with the findings of earlier studies, however use of a qualitative approach has produced a better understanding of what these motivations actually mean to individuals and how important each type of motivation is to them. It has also shown that single motivations are not in themselves as important as a combination of motivations from all three categories. The findings are also consistent to some extent with psychological theories of motivation, key features of which are that people prefer to do activities they can choose themselves and where the level of difficulty matches their own ability. However there appear to be some aspects of trampers' motivations which are not covered by these theories.