“Rustic” Renata

In one of our first trips together, Caryl and I signed up to Maarten’s “Easy-Medium” to Renata Hut. Unfortunately we only made it as far as Kapakapanui Hut on that occasion, so we both felt we had unfinished business with Renata Hut. When I saw it on the winter schedule I thought leading it would … Read more

Dreaming of a view at Kapakapanui

Kapakapanui (1102 m) is known for its fine views across Kapiti and into the Tararuas and our group of five was looking forward to seeing it for ourselves. With Kapakapanui being so close to Wellington (inland of Waikanae), we had a leisurely start and left from Wellington Railway Station at 9am on Saturday and then … Read more

Renata Hut via Maymorn Junction: 20% brain, 30% muscle, 50% fun and 10% luck

When Tony emailed out the trip plan to me, the sole punter, there were strict instructions to meet at platform 9 at 7.30am Saturday with my car.  Since I was still struggling with daylight saving, my thought was pretty much ‘Struth!  Tell him he’s dreaming.’  At 7.32am my clapped out wannabe Holden Barina screeched into … Read more

Kapakapanui Hut

This was originally an E grade tramp overnight to Renata Hut, however, the first day took us longer than expected so we decided to stop at Kapakapanui Hut for the night. Over the two days, we walked the Kapakapanui loop track. The internet tells me this is a distance of about 13km. The track climbs to … Read more

The Chocolate Packhorse

After a dismal forecast predicted for the weekend, our trip was changed to plan B which avoided swims in the Eastern Hutt river that had been part of plan A. Saturday saw a 7am start for the drive to Otaki Forks. From here we walked up the Pukeatua track with Emily setting a good pace. … Read more