Colonial Knob Walk

Towering high above the alpine village of Porirua stands the magnificant peak of Colonial Knob. Okay, while it did look like a mountain during the August snow fall, it’s not THAT tall, and neither did the family group climb it in August. But at 450m, it is an honest climb, with magnificent views over Porirua, … Read more

Kawhatau Base

 The last time it snowed in downtown Wellington I was too young to dress or feed myself. In the intervening years this ability had only slightly improved, yet I had learnt the basic use of an ice axe and crampons. So off we went all tooled up for the slow drive to the Ruahine’s only … Read more

Butterfly Creek day walk

The butterfly creek walk was our first with the Wellington Tramping club. My partner Tim and I wanted to try out a day walk with the club that wasn’t too easy and wasn’t too hard, and was fairly easy to get to. So Butterfly creek was it. When we arrived at the bus stop, it … Read more

Tongariro Devil Creek Crossing

With an appalling weather forecast it was decided that a weekend trip to the lodge wasn’t a goer; chances are the Bruce Road would be closed and we wouldn’t even get there.  Spencer was keen to lead a local day walk instead and I for one really needed to stretch my legs, so did Tracey, … Read more

Who really wants an uneventful tramping weekend?

After having come into contact with WTMC for the first time only 2 Wednesdays earlier, here I was at Wellington train station meeting a bunch of random people for a weekend in the Tararua ranges.  First good sign was a newish, sturdy looking WTMC van in the car park with 2 or 3 people milling … Read more

Snowcraft – 1st weekend: A brief report from the Podium Group (Not to be confused with the ‘elite’ group…)

When signing up in the balmy month of May, it wasn’t there yet. And even for many long weeks into June, there was hardly any snow on the ski fields at the big hill in the North, which we can often see on a clear day when tramping in our Tararua backyard. However, we still … Read more

Getting away with it – Aug 2011

In “An Inspector Calls”, a family are accused of a heinous crime by a police inspector. After having established their guilt, by piecing together their individual mistakes and mishaps, he disappears, only to be revealed as a fraud and not an inspector at all. The family breathe a sigh of relief and prepare to carry … Read more

Editor’s Chat – Aug 2011

Safety whilst on trips is the strong theme of this month’s newsletter … not something that was planned for this edition, but something that is obviously top of mind for many club members.  Perhaps it is the winter months, the shorter daylight hours and the much colder weather that is making safety be more top … Read more

Kai on the Fly – July 2011

By : Aunty Rata Gidday fellow trampers, Daylight is in scarce supply, precipitation is abundant, the temperatures are finally beginning to drop and the next long weekend is miles away, it must be winter. Winter means that if you go tramping you may encounter snow and for some of you it means brushing up on your … Read more

Howletts Hut

The trip began at platform 9, Wellington Station.  Our group of 7 plus another group of 6 going on the EM trip to Daphne Hut filled all spaces in the van.  We all headed off to the eastern Ruahines to Kasmir Road end arrived sometime after 10pm.  We brought tents as the weather forecast predicted … Read more