Chief Guide

We’re in the throes of Spring schedule planning. If you’re reading this online, it’s not too late to come along to the planning night, this Wednesday 3rd August, from 5.30pm onwards at the clubrooms. Bring maps and ideas, and get some free pizza in return. Thanks heaps to everyone who’s sent in their ideas for … Read more

Sometimes trips aren’t as tough as you anticipate. In late May, I made my third attempt on the Maungahuka circuit. This involves going from Holdsworth Road end over Holdsworth Peak and Isabelle, down to Mid Waiohine Hut, up that punishing climb to Aokapanui, along to Maungahuka, down past Concertina Knob to Neill Forks Hut, up … Read more

My trusty MSR cooker must have boiled thousands of litres. A brush with immolation in 2006 meant it sported a slightly melted pump handle but I viewed this as a useful theft deterrent rather than a disability. Annual servicing maintained its reliability, as well as giving me the ability to reassemble its impressive array of … Read more

Enclosed with this newsletter is the Winter trip schedule, which runs from May to the end of August. Thanks heaps to everyone who has offered to lead a trip, and also to those who have suggested road ends and come along to the planning night. And thanks to Richard Lardner who has stepped into the … Read more

As I write, we’re working on the winter trip schedule, with a planning meeting held at club last week. I’d like to thank the dozen people who turned up to enjoy some pizza and develop trips for each roadend. Using this kind of collaborative process is a great way to make sure that the schedule … Read more

One great thing about Jonathon Kennett’s recently published Adventure Guide to the Tararuas is that it makes you see your favourite (or at least closest) mountains in a new light. As well as suggestions for tops epics, there are significant chapters on gorge and tubing trips, along with mountain running possibilities. One tramp that he … Read more

It’s the height of summer (insert joke about Wellington weather here) and tramping’s prime time. While you feel almost obligated to do a big trip over Christmas, it’s an open secret that festive weather can best be described as “mixed”. Those of us down south over New Year (and at times it seemed like nearly … Read more

with Amanda Wells – Chief Guide After a tough winter it seems like summer is finally here, though in Wellington we tend never to count chickens prematurely. It’s a strange switch from battling ice and hypothermia to being mindful of dehydration and heat exhaustion. Hopefully you’re planning an active summer in the hills. Included with … Read more

with Amanda Wells – Chief Guide Tramping can be a psychologically challenging sport. Aside from the difficulty of dragging yourself plus pack to the station when you’d rather be having a quiet drink, and the sitting for hours in a van, the trip itself can mess with your head. A few weeks ago, we were … Read more