Trip Leader Sally picked up our group with the van at Wellington Train Station Platform 9, along with the three trampers from the Medium Fit (MF) group. Our crew of eleven started our journey departing at about 4:30pm, encountering a decent bit of traffic on our way north. We stopped for dinner in Bulls to … Read more
A Bannister crossing had been on the to-do list for both Anne and I for a while. The Bannister Ridge, with its dramatic and imposing profile, had captured our imaginations on previous trips. Anne had planned a Cattle Ridge-Bannister-Dundas loop in autumn last year, however we didn’t get the weather window to do that trip. … Read more
After being granted an extra hour of sleep thanks to a change in pick-up time, 11 of us set off to Sunrise Hut at 7.30am on Saturday morning. We were heading up as one group, before splitting into three at the hut, for WTMC’s inaugural Masterchef cook-off. Ethan had informed us each team’s dishes would … Read more
We assembled at the station at 9am on Saturday and divided into two cars before regrouping at Otaki Forks. A group of seven trampers: two seasoned club veterans, four newer members on their first club adventure, and one non-member suspicious of whether the club dues represented value for money. Before beginning our climb, we scouted … Read more
“You don’t need your teeth to walk out.” With the Dart Ford uncrossable for our Luna Tops trip in Kahurangi National Park, I quickly came up with an alternative plan in the Raglan Range which was an area that was easy for transport and varied enough to keep us all interested and challenged. The EM … Read more
Days one and two: After flying in from Wellington the day before our shuttle arrived early to take us to the James Road end. We knew the weather was going to be a bit iffy today after fervently checking the weather forecast in the lead up to the trip start, but we were glad to … Read more
In late-2025, the Club put out its summer trip list and for this trip there was a ‘leader required’ note on it. Being keen as ever, I suggested doing it over 3 days which would make it a medium trip, and volunteered to lead! Within a few weeks we had 13 in total wanting to … Read more
Thinking of a loop daytrip in the Tararua Range that is a bit different? Well, why not try Ozzie’s Track? Ozzie’s Track is one of those mostly-forgotten routes in the Tararua Forest Park that doesn’t appear on today’s topomaps but lives on in trampers’ conversations—particularly those of the members of the Manawatu Tramping and Skiing … Read more
Prelude: We had all been really looking forward to our planned Mt Owen trip in Kahurangi National Park. However, it turned out that when we arrived on site, the water level flowing over the Dart River ford (which you need to cross to access the track to Mt Owen from the North) was too high, and … Read more
We left the station on the dot of 4pm, with a van full of Wellington’s finest. Our trip to WTMC’s legendary, lovely Ruapehu Lodge was disturbed firstly by a tramper performing some emergency mergers and acquisitions in Levin, and later an emergency burger stop at the piiza[sic] shop in Bulls. Once we arrived at the … Read more