The lightweight pot or billy is used for cooking and heating water. Earlier generations of trampers often stopped for a ‘boil-up’ or a ‘brew’. But it takes time to build a fire, and younger trampers prefer to drink water from bottles or from a stream. High-energy biscuits are popular with a brew, and some people bake their own before setting off. This recipe for ‘concrete’ was published in Tararua Tramper in August 1977:

Concrete
A good biscuit to supplement a lunch of Tararua biscuits or bread.

Ingredients
100g each:
rolled oats
melted butter
brown sugar
coconut
sesame seeds (optional)

Lemon icing
icing sugar
juice of 1 lemon
1 Tbsp melted butter

Combine sugar and butter. Add oats and coconut. Pack in shallow tin (sponge or Swiss roll tin), sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake in slow oven (150ºC) for 20 minutes until light brown. Beware – it burns easily!! Ice with lemon icing (optional) and cut into squares.