😃 Wellington Tramping and Mountaineering Club (WTMC) Lodge – Mt Ruapehu accommodation for winter skiing and summer hiking The Wellington Tramping and Mountaineering Club (WTMC) lodge on Mt Ruapehu is located in Iwikau Village adjacent to the Whakapapa Skifield. It offers comfortable, reasonably priced, backpacker type accommodation for up to 32 guests and 2 custodians, … Read more
WTMC – 75 years of the Wellington Tramping and Mountaineering Club A brief history of the first 75 years of the Wellington Tramping and Mountaineering Club A 3-minute history of the WTMC The WTMC is now a grown up 75 year old. Sir Ed would have asked if this is somehow more significant than 74 … Read more
A WTMC ski trip to Mt Ruapehu Labour Weekend 1948 An entertaining account of a 1948 ski trip to Mt Ruapehu in a broken-down bus, stormy weather, and very little skiing
Wellington Tramping and Mountaineering Club (WTMC) Lodge – Mt Ruapehu accommodation for winter skiing and summer hiking The Wellington Tramping and Mountaineering Club (WTMC) lodge on Mt Ruapehu is located in Iwikau Village adjacent to the Whakapapa Skifield. It offers comfortable, reasonably priced, backpacker type accommodation for up to 32 guests and 2 custodians, and … Read more
I was slouching up against the wall of an Indian takeaways on Kent Terrace when I made the call. A weather bomb had hit the Tararuas, swelling rivers and drowning my dreams of taking my troop of ‘easy-medium’ punters to Mangahao Flats Hut. Instead, I spent the time waiting for my butter chicken pondering an … Read more
Lake Nerine – Routeburn North Branch and Park Pass A 3 day hiking loop trip through spectacular mountain scenery of the Humboldt Mountains, Aspiring National Park, New Zealand, from the Routeburn North Branch, to Park Pass and the Rock Burn. Sidle unpleasantly steep snowgrass and hard earth slopes on the Rockburn side. Our imaginations run … Read more
With only a few weeks notice, I proposed a week long trip to Arthur’s Pass to get some time on the snow. The plan was simple – climb some of the many easy peaks as day trips and come back to the village each night and stay warm and cosy. Organising the trip was also … Read more
Boo Boo Hut the Toaroha and Diedrichs Range bear hunt A 9 day hiking loop trip through the spectacular mountain scenery in the Toaroha and Diedrichs Range area of the West Coast of South Island. #BearHunt Clue: A sleepover at the home of Yogi Bear’s friend. Back in April 2020 during lockdown, some naughty teddy … Read more
Mt Owen – and some thoughts on trundling* A 3 day hike to the summit of Mt Owen via Bulmer Lake in Kahurangi National Park. *Ref “The Art, History And Ethics Of Trundling” Below me, Tony jumped as a rock went whizzing past him at head height, missing him by a few inches. He looked up … Read more
Maitland Pass –with a llama and bananas A 4 day hiking loop trip crossing over Maitland Pass in the Ruataniwha Conservation Park passing a llama and bananas Listen: “We thought the llama would be carrying your packs!” I laughed at what seemed like a good joke from some mountain bikers we had bumped into in the … Read more