We met at Woburn Station and set off on a clear, but chilly, morning for Te Whiti Park and the Te Whiti Riser track – with our ultimate destination being Days Bay. The conditions were ideal for a day walk. The Te Whiti Riser track climbs at a gentle incline up to the Electricity Corporation … Read more
*Editor’s note: Paratetaitonga (2535m) is a mountain peak located on the edge of Mt Ruapehu’s Crater Lake. It’s always nice when you are lucky enough to have a Friday off work for early travel to your weekend’s destination! It’s even better when you know there’ll be no soggy camping at the road end on a … Read more
Westies Hut (with chocolate streams and marshmallows) It started with Tony, Jamie and I jumping into a helicopter to fly to Westies Hut as a bit of a treat. We had decided to make it a bit more epic by flying in and then just walking out since the track was an out and back … Read more
Thanks to WTMC scholarships that helped to cover some of the cost, Mathew and Anne signed up for a backcountry avalanche course and an intermediate snowcraft course with the New Zealand Alpine Club (NZAC). Jon had already utilised a WTMC scholarship to attend a summer rock course earlier in the year, but signed up anyway … Read more
We had a great group of five for a Sunday morning beginners packraft paddle. The river had a great flow at 17 cubic metres, but the water was pretty cold! After a fairly smooth car shuttle ride, we had a briefing at the confluence of the Akatarawa and Upper Hutt Rivers and then jumped in. … Read more
This was my first overnight trip with the club, and first overnight trip in general since 2014, so I was excited to re-acquaint myself with hut life! Saturday We met at Wellington train station on Saturday morning and, after a lunch stop at the Brown Sugar cafe in Taihape, parked up as close to the … Read more
Day 1: Friday Tash, Nate, Richard, and I met at Wellington Train Station and started driving north, stopping in Masterton for sneaky kebabs. With our stomachs (very) satisfied, we continued to the trailhead at Kiriwhakapapa Campsite. As darkness settled in, we donned our tramping gear and headlamps and set off towards Blue Range Hut. The … Read more
Day 1: Mangahao Lower No 2 Reservoir to Burn Hut Weather: Dry and warmDOC travel time: 3-4 hrs Group Time: 4 hrs Departing Wellington at 9am, it was a 1 1/2hr drive to Shannon, where we had morning tea. After this, there was a 45 minute drive up a narrow gravel road to Mangahao No … Read more
Tapokopoko to South Saddle ‘Where is the Tapokopoko scree slope? The map shows it is right here.’ ‘The map lies. I reckon the cheeky aliens stole it out from under us and planted a whole forest of trees instead!’ Tony and I were standing on the edge of the supposed ‘scree slope’ that was marked … Read more
Rangipo Desert – hiking to the small volcano named Te roro o Taiteariki A 2 day hiking loop trip across the Rangipo Desert to Te roro o Taiteariki – named after an unfortunate warrior who died after his brain (roro) was seriously damaged in a land related skirmish. Across Rangipo Desert from the WTMC Ruapehu … Read more