Trip route details: Sat: Courthouse Flat via Blue Creek track to our campsite just above Sanctuary Basin. Approx 5-6hrs. Lots of layers and good down sleeping bags required – it’s cold! Sun: Campsite to Mt Owen. Approx 2hrs. Mt Owen to Granity Pass Hut. Approx 2-3hrs. Follow the cairned track to avoid crevasses and slippery … Read more
As we climbed up to Mt Matthews’ South Saddle, I found myself thinking of Aesop’s fable The Hare and the Tortoise. ‘Slow and steady; slow and steady’. I did my best to keep an even—but what seemed like sedate—pace. It was a change to how I would normally climb a hill with just a day … Read more
This is the soggy tail of an overnighter-turned day trip. The plan: Donnelly Flats, Pinnacle Ridge, Baldy, South and Middle Kings, Mid King Biv, South Mitre Stream, the Pines and over the ridge to Holdsworth Lodge. The weather is glum for a 7.25am kick off. I’ve picked a handy looking spur below the first marked … Read more
I signed up to lead this trip as I’d never been to the area before and leading a trip is a sure way to get yourself to a new place. I was surprised to have a group of nine willing to head into an obscure area of North Island bush on a May weekend … Read more
Friday We all met at the railway station and got going at around 5:30pm. We were not in a rush as we were not going to the road end tonight. We stopped in Masterton for dinner, then onto Hastings, sharing the driving and passing the time with chat and a few hours of what we … Read more
Trampers / Masterchefs: Mark (Trip Leader) – Supervisor, menu designer, apron wearer Emily – Chocolate Cake Billy Baker Garth – Steak Master Extraordinaire and Scrambled egg Supremo Bridget – Queen of custard Objective As a first time leader, an easy walk to the hut, eat well, enjoy the scenery and relax. Simples! Why Gourmet Tramping…? … Read more
I signed up to this trip with very unalturistic motives – I was enormously curious to see the “lodge” that everyone at the club keeps talking about. In my head I pictured one of the huts on the great walks – which most trampers consider the height of luxury – and have flush toilets, lights … Read more
Our epic journey started quite calmly at the railway station on Friday night. In a full club van we drove 3 hours up to Noreswood, stopping for an evening meal at the Istanbul in Caterton. The ANZAC Park campsite just north of Norsewood is a basic but pretty campsite (toilet but no water available). Next … Read more
I was not brimming with confidence about leading this trip as I had not done a medium trip before, let alone led one! However I not only survived the trip, I actually enjoyed it, which I put down to the awesome group I was walking with. We were picked up by our chauffer for the weekend … Read more
Only two of us were travelling to the club lodge on a Friday evening, after a small detour we arrived at the lodge. The weather forecast promised us wonderful weather so we decided to book a shuttle for the Tongariro Alpine crossing for the next day. Marieke has not walked this track before and Bram … Read more