Wellington Tramping and Mountaineering Club
Enjoying the great outdoors since 1947
We had a great drive up to the WTMC lodge on Friday night, discussing our favourite tramping trips, travel destinations, and Bluey episodes (definitely Dance Mode). On arrival we met lodge leader Murray, who entertained us throughout the weekend with his stories of how tramping used to be in the good old days. In short: … Read more
Day 1 summary: Start: Kaitoke (Kiwi ranch road end) End: Alpha hut Distance: 18.3km Elevation gain: 1,600m Hours on the trail (including breaks): 8ish Hut occupancy: ~26 people and a dog Six trampers arrived for an early 7:00am departure from Platform 9 on a stunning Saturday morning. We shared the van with Tereza and Aimee … Read more
I had not done the Tongariro Northern Circuit for many years so signed up for this tramp when it was advertised. Dan was the leader but unfortunately he had to pull out a few days before we left due to blisters that he had developed on a tramp to the Kaweka range. Luckily Dan had … Read more
Syme Hut and Taranaki Maunga A A climb to the summit of Mt Taranaki in summer via the route from Syme Hut Friday 14 January – evening drive up and stay at Konini Lodge A weekend forecast for sunny clear skies and a cooling breeze got eight keen WTMC trampers very excited to scope out … Read more
Friday 19 November – Finding fitness and a rest at Field Hut A stunning forecast had three trampers very excited to try for Maungahuka Hut. Fueled after a quick curry and planning session in Otaki, the group made a speedy Friday night scurry up to Field Hut. While Katie and Jon were conditioned from recent … Read more
Heading north We set off from the railway station at 7:00am with the crew, heading north to Masterton and on to the Waingawa Road end. Just outside Carterton, we made a beeline for Clareville Bakery. The baked goods were stellar. Tash left her custard square in the van overnight and it had cooked in the … Read more
We had a lovely trip to Roaring Stag Hut in the northern Tararua Ranges (Mangatainoka Valley) in the first weekend of October 2021. Five of us met at the usual spot at Wellington Train Station (very grateful to be leaving on a Saturday morning!), and our leader, Anne, kindly drove us the 2 1/2 hours … Read more
So lucky with the traffic on Friday night! We got to the Urchin campsite at the end of Kaimanawa Road at around 10.15pm. Urchin campsite has ample grassy sites (compared with gravelly Waitaha Valley/Waikoko campsite); it’s about a 10-minute drive between the two. So lucky with the weather, too – a clear sky and no … Read more
The weather forecast promised one day of good weather over the long weekend, and when combined with the fact that only the very upper parts of the mountain had skiable snow, the families group opted to do the day walk to Tama Lakes. Only one of the adults had made the trip before, and that … Read more
When I mentioned to my friends that the plan for weekend was to go to Waterfall hut, they all talked about the speargrass misery and challenging access, so I put my gaiters close to the top and my expectations close to bottom. I couldn’t have been more wrong. I felt my GCSB style background vetting … Read more