It was the weekend before last, a double bluebird day, a rarity. As a recent ‘snowcrafter’ I found myself visiting the Tongariro Alpine Crossing to get in some practice. However, my eyes were constantly drawn to beauty. Stood there, timeless, always in my peripherals, Mt Ngauruhoe. It was then I knew I had to return, … Read more
Despite the miserable forecast for Saturday, I was looking forward to Uta’s Medium ‘Holdsworth to Waiohine’ trip in the Tararuas. Not only is Uta a most excellent leader, but the company promised to be top-notch. In particular, I was looking forward to being reunited with my snowcraft buddy Juan who (when I wasn’t clinging to … Read more
The eight of us met at 8am Saturday, many clasping coffees to assist with the early start. I’ve done plenty of tramping, but this was my second trip with the club, so I was looking forward to meeting other “easy” going trampers. As I’d hoped, the conversation flowed readily with everyone. Lots of rain was … Read more
The normal week is pretty busy with school, sports, friends and jobs. Organising the kids for an overnight tramp just adds on top of everything. All of a sudden, the shoes and the fleece were too small and need replacing, and wearing Dad’s old gear isn’t cool anymore. Finally two funerals on the Friday for … Read more
We had a slower than usual trip out of Wellington Friday, but it was made all the more interesting by a well contested game of ‘I spy’, initiated by a fellow travel buddy Oliver (who was travelling up with his Dad Simon for a weekend of the “going downhill fast in a good way” variety. … Read more
INTRODUCTION Snowcraft 2018 is now complete, with 20 students participating in this introductory course to moving safely and efficiently in an alpine environment. While still following the familiar and established course format of theory sessions mixed with two weekends on the mountain, we progressed with the emphasis introduced last year on keeping the skills relevant … Read more
This was the first club trip for the 8 punters. Greg summarised his experience succinctly: “This weekend was a wet one! It started raining on the drive out to the Tararuas and continued intermittently throughout the trip. This tramp was an introduction to tramping for several attendees, which was exciting. We forded streams and squelched … Read more
Soon after fuelling ourselves at a Turkish restaurant on our way to the Tararua Forest Park we arrived at the beginning of our trail and set off. The four of us had a wet two hour tramp through the darkness, lighting the trail with our head torches to our first shelter, Herepai Hut. We managed … Read more
On the Friday night at 5.30pm, six of us set off in the club van making our way slowly but surely to the Pines to start our walk and making a quick dinner pit stop in Carterton. We arrived at the start of our walk after 8pm and started walking to Mitre Flats hut at … Read more
I had last visited Mid Waiohine hut many years ago and I’ve been keen to go back there for a while. So I signed up for Matt and Maj-Britt’s trip there. We met at Wellington station on the Friday evening and departed for the Wairarapa. As we were driving we were already discussing other options … Read more