Rangitikei River Packrafting
A club packraft trip down the grade 1 and 2 sections of the Rangitikei River. Perfect conditions. 51 cumecs on Saturday, 40 on Sunday. Sunny and no wind!
Jacqui
Mount Reeves – Tararua Forest Park
Due to poor weather, the plan for this trip ended up changing quite a bit. Originally, this was meant to be a Howletts Hut overnight trip in the Ruahine Ranges, but due to this walk having a decent portion of ridge travel and river crossings, we decided to do a loop walk a little closer … Read more
Maungahuka Hut – a tramp with a different purpose
Maungahuka Hut – a tramp to fix a long-broken water supply tap A hike to Mungahuka Hut to replace a broken tap and deliver a new log book and enjoy one of the favourite Tararua huts. Maungahuka Hut is my favourite Tararua hut, and the hut that inspired my tramping journey. So when Tony and … Read more
Seaward Kaikoura Range
Thursday We piled onto the Thursday afternoon ferry, and the group started to get to know each other. We had a good mix of new and more experienced group members, including Harry and Paul, who had both attempted Snowflake via this route before – notably before the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake https://wtmc.org.nz/trip-report/slippery-snowflake/. We had a good … Read more
The Island Forks Wet Undies Club – Tararua Forest Park
After a busy work day and a mission to find dinner at Paraparaumu, our tramp began at the Ōtaki Forks carpark. Being a hot summer weekend, there were plenty of cars parked. We zoomed along the road and over the slip track, making it to Parawai Lodge in about 45 minutes. It was very full … Read more
Greigs Hut – Leatham Conservation Area
This trip started with a long hot wait on a Friday afternoon to get on the ferry to Picton. After several sailing time changes, we were glad to see the ship arrive in Wellington Harbour, and even gladder to get on and get settled. I made good use of the wait time, however, signing up … Read more
Burn Hut – Tararua Ranges
Our group met at Wellington Railway Station at 8am on Saturday morning. We drove to Shannon, and then into the hills behind the Mangahao Power Station. Opened in 1924, this was New Zealand’s first large hydro power station. The road is very windy and it seemed to take a very long time to reach the … Read more
Doing the Mahi – enjoying conservation volunteerism
by Sarah Fisher Volunteerism is crucial to the sustainability of our backcountry, not only for the protection of our flora and fauna but also our unique backcountry hut network. It is the foundation of all tramping clubs across New Zealand and is necessary to keep the spirit of adventure in New Zealand’s backcountry alive. Adventuring … Read more
North Crater
Emily and I took an impromptu trip up to Tongariro, excited by the promise of clear sunny skies and Emily a chance to get moving again after a bout of illness. We decided Mangatepopo would be a good Friday destination, followed by a climb over Tongariro via Hardman’s Ridge, a full moon camp in the … Read more
Shattered Peak & the Kōwhai Circuit – where escaped rebel dinosaurs go to hide
“I think they’re looking for escaped rebel dinosaurs who are on the run from work…….” “I bet they were surprised to see all our tents in the middle of nowhere!” This was our conversation the next morning after an Airforce helicopter circled over our campsite the night before with search lights on, presumably doing a … Read more