We met at Wellington Train Station at 5pm and piled into the van for the trip north, stopping in Levin for dinner on the way. We’d neglected to heed the notice on the DOC website that Fletchers Crossing Bridge was closed, so we unexpectedly came across a very-much-not-there bridge and had to backtrack to the … Read more
We travelled up to the Ruahine Ranges with another (EM) group from the club who were going to Sunrise and Top Maropea Huts. The weather forecast for our ridge travel to Sparrowhawk Biv had been looking unkind for most of the week, but was improving, so we all left Wellington in good spirits. After stopping … Read more
Ten of us met at the usual spot next to platform 9 at Wellington Train Station at 4pm on Friday 19th July. One by one, smiling faces emerged from the station building with purposeful strides, happy to have left work for the week and be heading off tramping (apart from Daniel, whose work ethic knows … Read more
This trip started life as a short weekend trip to the Seaward Kaikoura range to do a Kowhai circuit but early on in the planning it was clear the ferry times were not going to accommodate our needs. Everyone who had already signed up was automatically transferred to my chosen alternative which was based around … Read more
We set off on Friday after work with the club van and headed for Hawke’s Bay. After dinner in Carterton and a few driver changes, we parked at North Block Rd end at 10pm, and were asleep by 10:30pm at Triple X Hut. On Saturday we could take it easy and have a relaxed breakfast … Read more
On Friday we stayed at Triplex Hut before our group had a very relaxed start, while the medium group took off by 7am. The climb up to Sunrise Hut was interspersed with interesting little info signs about the surrounding bush (such as mistletoe) and bird life. At Sunrise Hut we left our overnight gear behind, … Read more
We set off from the railway station on Friday afternoon together with the Easy group and drove the 4.5hrs to the trailhead (I highly recommend our kebab stop at Istanbul in Carterton along the way). The road to the trail head has probably seen better days, so the last few kilometres were a bit bumpy … Read more
Thanks to Paul and the 5 other punters, for a great trip into the Ruahine tops…a first for most of us. It was a delayed start from the Railway station due to a spill on the motorway, leaving after 6 instead of after 5…with great relief we made good time after having dinner before we … Read more
First decision to be made was should we go SH1 or SH2?? Which will have less traffic and be the quickest? Majority said go SH2 so we did, although our first driver was a bit unsure as we got to some heavy traffic with a “Delay accident ahead” sign. But it all cleared very fast! … Read more
It was with some trepidation that I joined a group of fellow trampers at the Wellington railway station on Friday evening. I had signed up to tramp into the Ruahines over the weekend. This was my first major tramp into one of New Zealand’s mountain ranges, near winter. I know it’s been said before but … Read more