Mount Richmond Tripping

We had a good group of people keen to get into the Richmond Range and do some reconnoitring over the long Wellington Anniversary weekend. Having recently come out of a mission to Carkeek Hut (and beyond) I was still a bit sore but keen to get into this great part of the south island, having … Read more

Day Tripping the Mick

With our Northern Crossing plans blown to tatters by forecast gale-force winds we looked for other options. Island Forks was suggested, and three of us elected to do it as a day trip. Looking at the route on the map I anticipated a long day. The idea of a day pack however, was rather appealing. … Read more

More Mick-ey mouse business in the Tararua

After my previous adventures up the “Mick”, you would have thought I could safely leave this area of the Tararua alone. Not so. Apparently I love getting lost in this Bermuda Triangle of bush. However, I am not on my own in this. Every now and then on the eastern slopes of the Mick, you … Read more

Beer Tramp

In the warm early afternoon of December 15, 5 of the keenest of the beer connoisseurs assembled at the Sprig and Fern on Tinakori Road to begin their journey with a warm-up beer. They knew they may not all make it to the end of the journey, but they were the core of pied pipers … Read more

Makaretu Hut

A warm sunny evening greeted our group as we departed Wellington on the Friday night. We stopped for dinner at the yummy Turkish restaurant in Carterton before making our way to the Anzac Campground near Norsewood. We arrived after dark meaning we had to set up our tents with our head torches on, but as … Read more

Lake Christabel Hut

With the weather forecast for the weekend looking grim four of us headed (along with the EM group) from the train station to check in for our ferry ride to Picton. Once we were on the ferry heading to Picton there was no turning back. The ride over was smoother than expected with the rain … Read more

Otago Mountain Biking – sunshine and snow

Obelisk Old Man Range

Otago Mountain Biking – sunshine and snow Wonderful days riding mountain bikes through the Otago high-country ☀🌨 Club night talks can be inspiring. Tony G did a talk in 2014 about his mountain bike trip to Central Otago—and I wanted to go! Another club talk made me spent $10k for 10 days in the Sub Antarctic … Read more

Ohau Huts

We started out from Wellington station on Friday night with the five of us in the van. After competing with Friday traffic for a couple of hours we had our dinner stop in Levin – spoilt for choice we all went for the same kebab place for a great pre-tramp meal. When we arrived at … Read more

The Five Passes

This was not a WTMC trip, but, with the five passes coming up on the schedule soon, I thought it might be useful to share our experience, times (walked at a leisurely pace) and route finding tips. We had three weeks on South Island to go anywhere and do anything. Plan A was the Tin … Read more

Packrafting safety instruction

What a lark! Hooning down the Tararua rivers in a 1.6 kg inflatable dinghy—including all the kit (floatation device (PFD) and paddle). Welcome to the wonderful world of packrafting! Having had a very harebrained thought to do just the same thing by myself a few years ago, except with questionable gear, no training and no … Read more