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
It takes courage and skills to organise an alpine tramp for a party of 20 to go all the way from Wellington to Arthur’s Pass, and our amazing Megan Sety had the courage, the skills, and much more. With at least three months of planning, she managed to put together an outstanding frontline of six … Read more
This trip was a wobble around South-eastern area of Tararua Forest Park. We started at Waiohine Gorge Road end, taking the Mt Reeves Track to Tutuwai Hut. We then walked about 45 minutes down the Tauherenikau track, finishing with a small scramble up to the unmarked Joe Gibbs Hut. We back-tracked to Tutuwai Hut, went along … Read more
Two and a half years ago Elisabet and I signed up to a High Alpine Skills course in Temple Basin, Arthur’s Pass. On day one our American instructor Pete sat us down and asked each of us what our motivations were for the training. Why did we want to take on the risks the mountain … Read more
Photos by: James Wratt (professional looking ones of birds) and Tash (group shots from the top of the trig). A bleary-eyed group of strangers met at Wellington train station at 7am on Sunday morning. We drove north and arrived at Paraparaumu Beach in good time for our 8:30 sailing with Kāpiti Island Eco Experience. Our … Read more
North Mangahao Bivvy’s claim to fame is being the most northern official hut in Tararua Forest Park. As a part-time hut bagger, I needed to tick this one off the list. However, rather than coming from the eastern side which requires permission to cross private land, I decided to challenge myself navigationally (and in other … Read more
Who names a mountain “Hopeless”? By all accounts, “an early survey party with a poor attitude”! Three days before our ferry left Wellington, I carried out my standard ritual of emailing all the trip plans to my Dad. He usually replies with “Thanks Son, be safe out there” or encouraging words to that effect. This … Read more
Noel started the course of with the question “Who has ever had to cross a river?” The strong take-home message for the day was that river safety was mostly about the decisions made before entering any river, particularly whether to cross or not. There were 16 course attendees including the club members. Many were walking … Read more
After leaving Wellington on Thursday afternoon and staying the night in a Picton Backpacker, all of us were itching to get on the road. Friday morning was an early start for us as we repacked our packs and threw them into the van, keen to get moving. After what felt like an impossibly long drive … Read more
Some of the best skiing at Ruapehu is high on the mountain in the spring time. With this in mind Graeme organised and led a ski touring trip on Labour Weekend based at the club lodge. Over the next 2½ days we skied and boarded the Mangatoetoenui, Whangaehu, Whakapapa, and Mangaturuturu Glaciers, and dropped down from … Read more