I was originally inspired to start bagging plane wrecks in the Tararuas at a club talk back in 2021, so I am happy to report that four years later I have now ticked off two plane wrecks. The first was near Mick, on the western side of the range, so it is appropriate that this … Read more
Our group of 8 kicked things off as usual by departing Wellington Train Station at 5pm on Friday – piling into the van with 3 Medium-Fit (MF) trampers. Day 1 After a 3 hour drive, we were up past Feilding and winding around the back-roads heading towards Petersons Road end. One of the crew had … Read more
Saturday – 10 May On the weekend of 10 – 11 May, my mum, our new friends, and me decided to walk to Pāua Hut. The hike started at the Catchpool Carpark (Remutaka Forest Park). We had our photo taken by the sign at the start of the track and then walked along to the … Read more
Kia ora, May has flown by and we are now into winter. We’re almost at the shortest day of the year, which for me (and some others) means about six months until our SK Main Range sub-48-hour attempt! There is a lot of work happening around the club, so this month read on to find … Read more
This trip was organised a bit late in the piece, after we were unable to secure enough bunks at Jumbo Hut (where we had originally planned to go). SaturdayWe travelled in the club van with another group from the tramping club who were heading to Jumbo Hut – departing from Wellington Train Station at 7am. … Read more
Friday Every time I walk the Barra Track I make a big deal of telling everyone who will listen about how much I dislike it. Yet once again, I found myself walking it – this time by head torch on a Friday evening – which of course made it take even longer than usual. We … Read more
Friday After a quick debrief (read: debate over where to stop for dinner), the crew set off from Wellington Railway Station at 3pm. The trip to North Egmont carpark was uneventful with two exceptions: a brief detour to mighty P-town (Palmerston North) when our driver missed a turnoff (sorry guys) and a top-notch feed in … Read more
The navigation training started with learning some theory at a cafe in Eastbourne. We stocked up on breakfast and coffee while learning about map features, coordinates, how to use a compass and the basics of taking a bearing. We then headed up into the Northern Forest section of East Harbour Regional Park (See: https://www.wellingtonnz.com/visit/trails/east-harbour-regional-park). On … Read more
Earlier this year, the club offered an opportunity for trip leaders to attend a first aid course run through Outdoor Education NZ (OETNZ – see: https://www.oenz.co.nz/. So one February morning, Sally and I headed to the Maungaraki Scout Club to hone our outdoor first aid skills. The last time I’d completed a first aid course, … Read more
We met at the Wellington Railway Station and were heading north in the club van by 3pm. After stops in Levin to refuel and Palmerston North for dinner, we made it to the North Block road end at about 8pm. Donning headtorches, we started up the hill to Sunrise Hut at 8.15pm. The track is … Read more