Ruahines, Daphne Hut

Kashmir Road on the eastern side of the Ruahine range is probably the worst road that I have ever encountered.  It is unsealed, very steep, very narrow and quite scary in places.  Nevertheless, we got to the road end without incident.  Thanks Hans, for your superb driving! There were five punters on this trip: Jo, … Read more

Butterfly Creek, Eastbourne

On Friday night Ally Clarke’s grand total number of punters was none at all but come a fine Sunday morning there were 8 children ready for a tramping adventure in the hills above Eastbourne. Dom, Hamish, Iona, Charlie, Charlie, Ellen, Carly and Taylor, and assorted parents started up the track towards Butterfly Creek. For 2 … Read more

Not your usual trip report

This trip report is a collaborative effort written much like a childhood story game. The first few sentences were emailed to the next punter who added their thoughts who then emailed it to the next punter, and so on. This could make for either a very interesting or a very incoherent report! Our tramp began … Read more

Pouakai Circuit, Egmont National Park

Most of my tramping gear is kept in the attic, to be fished out every month or two. There are several pairs of everything up there, which can lead to mix-ups on occasions. One of those occasions was when I agreed to lead the Pouakai Range circuit trip in Egmont National Park in May. The … Read more

Matiu/Somes Island, Wellington Harbour – Family trip

A day out to the island in the middle of Wellington harbor, catching up with old tramping friends I have not seen for years, learning some history and kids having the chance to run and run and run! All in all, a very relaxing chilled day … a highly recommended day trip. Legend has it … Read more

The name is Tongue and Meats! A geriatric old codger braves the Ranges of Everlasting Mud and Misery

Are you from the Tongue and Meat tramping club?, the veteran Tararua Tramping Club member asked one of Hans’s punters in Atiwhakatu Hut on Friday night, when we arrived there after walking in for an hour and a half by torchlight from Holdsworth Lodge. No, she replied, clearly puzzled by such a strange name. Yes … Read more

The world was about to end so we got high!

Platform 9 at the train station, the usual story, but this weekend was different. The world was predicted to end, and the weather was forecast to be clear on Mt Taranaki… It was as if the stars were aligned. The plan, being to take the club vans to North Taranaki car park and a quick … Read more

Lake Christabel trip

I’m used to tramping with ‘Fit’ tramping groups. They are about efficiencyand speed of travel. In automotive terms they are the WRC of tramping; all carbon fibre, welded alloy and blowoff valves. They have a metaphorical go faster lever, so when the call goes out to kick it in the guts, the lever is thrown … Read more

The Zampa Not Tops Trip – Is this what a MF Trip is really about?

No wonder the Medium Fit trampers make their trips sound so mysterious!  I have been aspiring to be an MF for months, no maybe years, and I finally thought I dared to join one of the mysterious MF trips. Well, actually I was thinking that they might not tolerate me as a punter so I … Read more

A day walk in the Wellington Botanic Gardens

The wind it blew, the rain it fell The weather bomb had hit Did this put us off our walk? No!  (Well, maybe a bit.) No epic voyage did we plan Our spines were less than hardened With our kids our journey took us To the botanic gardens. With the gales blowing, the sleet a’lashing … Read more