We set off from Wellington Train Station a little later than usual, at 7pm. This allowed us to avoid peak traffic and we made good time to Bulls to grab a falafel and beverage. It was then on to Braemar House, in Whanganui (our accommodation for the night), arriving at 9.40pm. We’d booked one large … Read more
Mt Tongariro – Cinderella and the Dancing Dinosaur A 2 day hiking loop trip through the spectacular mountain scenery of the Tongariro National Park in early winter Sarah, could I please have my shoes back? I looked down at my feet and realised I was having a Cinderella moment at Mangatepopo Hut on Saturday morning and … Read more
Right on schedule, we were ready to start walking, just after 10.30am, from Te Kopahou, where the visitor centre is well worth dropping into. The area was busier than usual, with an aid station set up for the WUU2K Wellington Urban Ultra Marathon, along with supporters waiting for their friends to come through.The first part … Read more
Ten of us met at the usual spot next to platform 9 at Wellington Train Station at 4pm on Friday 19th July. One by one, smiling faces emerged from the station building with purposeful strides, happy to have left work for the week and be heading off tramping (apart from Daniel, whose work ethic knows … Read more
Don’t leave gear without surveillance at the train station! That’s the lesson we learnt almost the hard way on the Friday. As per usual with a WTMC trip, we were at Wellington Train Station faffing and loading the van, waiting for people to arrive and had some gear lying around – not really paying close … Read more
I saw this trip on the schedule and thought ‘that could be fun’. I know of several people who have done this trip before – both heading up High Ridge and going down High Ridge – and I was keen to give it a go too. The following report outlines Saturday’s adventure, as Sunday was … Read more
This was an easy day tramp to Mt McKerrow. The weather was chilly when we left the Catchpool carpark, but after a few minutes we had warmed up enough for most people to remove some layers. The first 20 minutes or so along the Five Mile Loop track is pretty flat, but the track up … Read more
After a recent trip into Kahurangi National Park, when we all donned party hats during a successful summit of Kakapo Peak, a theme of tramping unicorns seemed to emerge! https://wtmc.org.nz/trip-report/kakapo-peak-with-no-unicorns-or-doughnuts-left-behind/. This time we decided we would go all out and find proper unicorn themed apparel to wear during our weekend trip into the Ruahines. This … Read more
Snow on Ruapehu!Our journey began with a scenic drive on Desert Road – with a radiant full moon and snow was glittering on the peaks of Mount Ngauruhoe and Mount Ruapehu. Being the shortest day of the year (June 21), not many people were out tramping. After a skilled late-night drive through winding roads and … Read more
A club trip to Lewis Pass in Canterbury was initially scheduled for Matariki Weekend. That changed on 21 June, when the ferry, Aratere, ran aground – so our sailing to Picton was cancelled and we were unable to secure another booking at a suitable time. We scouted around for other trip ideas for the weekend … Read more