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
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
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
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
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
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
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
On June 11th and 12th the FMC celebrated its 80th anniversary with a two day conference at Te Papa. The Federated Mountain Clubs of NZ (FMC) is an organisation which operates at a national level, representing 82 tramping & mountaineering clubs (including the WTMC) and through these a total of more than 15,000 members that … Read more
Kia Ora Hard to believe July is almost upon us! This is the time of year to be positive about the months ahead. Winter tramping trips can be very spectacular and well worth the effort of getting out there. Even when the trip was not as you either planned or imagined (refer to the Lake … Read more
Wow… another bumper newsletter this month. I couldn’t do it without you! Thank you so much for all your contributions this month; they make a great read. I have to admit that some of the tales that are told of tramping trips do leave me somewhat envious and longing to get out again and onto … Read more