It was time to address the balance between the number of WTMC trips I have been on and the number I have led. If I enjoy 4 trips with the club, then I feel it’s only fair I give one back. I studied the trip schedule and hatched a plan. With several trips going to … Read more
For most of us the trip started on the rocks of Titahi Bay a week before learning canyon abseiling basics from Megan, David and Jay. Once we’d got the hang of hand signalling, figure of eights and locking off, we climbed the nearby ‘sheer cliffs’ (with only a handline) for some real descents. Megan and … Read more
Taranaki East Ridge – plus bonus Pouakai Circuit Two days at Egmont National Park – Day 1 on the Pouakai Circuit and then Day 2 climbing the East Ridge of Taranaki. Ten of us drove to Taranaki/ Mt Egmont on Friday evening and camped at a picnic spot along the North Egmont Road. Saturday was … Read more
Tapuae-o-Uenuku – a late summer climb An Easter climb of Tapuae-o-Uenuku (Tappy) via the Hodder River in fine weather Our trip started on Easter Friday morning when we left our road-side camp next to the Hodder River bridge. From here we took the 4wd track from Gladstone Downs upriver to the south. After about 20 … Read more
As a change from the more traditional trip report, check out this awesome video Caryl made of the trip to South Ohau Hut!
Matt had put a trip to visit the old Angle Knob hut site on the schedule which sounded interesting. He planned on getting to the site via Baldy and the Broken Axe Pinnacles which are both places I have never been to. The plan also included staying at McGregor biv which I had stopped off … Read more
I hadn’t been to the Kaimanawa ranges for over a decade. Would it be as awesome as I remembered? The answer: yes. Even without the clear weather that would have given us views of Mt Ruapehu, this is still a fabulous track. In fact, awesomeness was waiting for us as soon as we stepped from … Read more
Our trip started badly which was luckily not a sign of things to come in terms of fun and mood, if not weather. Traffic out of Wellington was slow and the sun was blazing into the van turning it into sauna. It took us about an hour to realise we hadn’t actually turned the A/C … Read more
We headed into Cone Hut from the Waiohine roadend on Friday night (after getting Chinese takeaways in Greytown – recommended!), and got to Cone at 9.45 that night. Cone is a great little hut and is renowned in arachnologist circles for having some of the hugest spiders in the Tararuas. We crashed almost as soon … Read more
After leaving the ferry at Picton on Friday evening, we drove to Rai Valley hoping to camp in one of two spots for free camping. Alas, by 10 pm both sites were chokka with vehicles. Available spaces were small and sloping, and puddles plentiful. So we backtracked to the DOC campsite at Pelorus Bridge where … Read more