Dumb-bell Lake is a place I have wanted to visit for years, mostly because of its name. Having thoroughly enjoyed previous trips in the area to Gunsight Pass and Maitland Pass, a loop around Dumb-bell Lake quickly became next on the list As we drove around Lake Ōhau, a thick valley fog blanked the landscape … Read more
Before we departed, Sally checked the weather forecast, and after discussing with the Chief Guide, made the proper choice to modify the trip. The weather was forecast to be cloudy, rainy and very windy, and generally miserable to hike in the claggy weather. Natasha had the idea to modify the route so that on Saturday, … Read more
At Bush Stream track carpark we came across two gentlemen prodding the matagouri bushes with sticks. They had hidden their keys in a bush and then promptly forgot where they had stashed the keys. We helped them in their search but had no luck. I suspect it was like looking for a needle in a … Read more
The call went out for Mt Owen and Luna Tops leaders. When Luna Tops was cancelled, nine of us planned to head south. Planning got tricky when weather bombs and uncrossable fords scuppered our South island plan B’s. North island plans C, D, Es were banded around. Given we had a long weekend, we decided, … Read more
I don’t think many of us could quite trust the more-or-less perfect forecast as the trip weekend approached, and a few times were we reminded that there had been many WTMC attempts at this area of the Ruahines, all thwarted in some way or another by bad weather. Well, it seems we finally lifted the … Read more
After a classic Friday afternoon departure from the Wellington Railway Station, our group of 12 made the most of some sunshine from the club van before boarding the ferry to Picton, where a spirited game of Taco, Cat, Goat, Cheese, Pizza attracted a fair bit of attention from our nearby Bluebridge passengers. From Picton, it … Read more
Kahurangi Keepers House is a DoC hut situated in a remote, beautiful location near the Kahurangi lighthouse on the far north of the West Coast. Access by land is either a multi-day bush bash from the Heaphy track via the Ministry of Works hut or a 3 to 4.5 hour beach walk from the north. … Read more
The secret society of Central Whirinaki Hut left no evidence behind of their esoteric full moon ritual. While the Waikato vegan tramping club did catch a glimpse of our trip leader yodelling a particular song, no suspicion was raised as that group was busy fishing – catch and release, of course – or were they … Read more
Having had my West Coast dreams crushed by the wet weather over the Christmas break, I was waiting for a fine spell to do something local but interesting, which presented itself in the form of a Carkeek SK (Schormann’s-Kaitoke) with a twist in the first week of January. Several people in the club had been … Read more
