The tramp to Rangiwahia Hut on the Saturday took us 2 hours with quite a few stops. The return trip on Sunday was quicker at 1½ hours and fewer stops. We walked about 4.4 kms each way, and climbed approximately 500 meters to reach the hut at 1,327 metres above sea level. The route This … Read more
Arthurs Pass to Mt Cook A hiking trip from Arthurs Pass to Mt Cook stopping just short at the Godley Valley when the weather changed for the worse and we ran out of time. This guide covers route details for a 14 day tramp on the east side of the Southern Alps from Arthur’s Pass … Read more
On 12 December six intrepid explorers, led by Frances, set off from the Welly Railway Station at 8 am on Saturday for the northern stretch of the Tararuas to do the ‘easy’ graded Mitre Flats walk. The rest of the group was Jane, Julia, David, John and Antonia. After a brief but essential stop for … Read more
Day 1. No one showed up at Platform 9 Wellington train station. Richard, Matt, Joe, Emily and David were off on a Heaphy track adventure, pack weigh in was at Wellington airport. A short flight into Nelson, and a three hour drive later we arrive at Brown Hut. It’s raining. Were close to the West … Read more
It’s never a good sign when wet weather gear has to come out of the pack before even reaching the van at platform 9, but thankfully this wasn’t a sign of things to come for the WTMC trips heading to Nelson Lakes for Labour weekend. We boarded the ferry at 5pm, and by the time we … Read more
I had run most of the Rimutaka Cycle trail before and I was keen to run the whole thing sometime as it would be a nice and long training run. However, I signed up to WeiMin’s trip to bike it as I thought it would give me a good challenge as I haven’t really done … Read more
The Nydia Track is an easy two-day, 27 km walk. The track passes through regenerating bush, privately-owned farmland, and alongside the coast. It’s also used by mountain bikers, although we didn’t meet any this time. Saturday was a lovely fine day and we began with a 10 minute boat ride from Havelock Marina to our drop-off at … Read more
This was originally an E grade tramp overnight to Renata Hut, however, the first day took us longer than expected so we decided to stop at Kapakapanui Hut for the night. Over the two days, we walked the Kapakapanui loop track. The internet tells me this is a distance of about 13km. The track climbs to … Read more
The eight of us met at platform nine at 5 pm in an attempt to get away for a slightly early departure for the long drive up to Taranaki. Despite our best efforts, including Dan sneaking out of the office while his boss wasn’t looking, a crash on SH2 and then roadworks on SH1 meant … Read more
Have you ever been tramping with a leader who carries a textbook and binoculars in their pack? Illona Keenan is one such leader. She led Andrei, Caryl, Claire, David, Erika, Kerry, Mark and Rachel up the Mangatainoka River and over a ridge into the Ruamahanga on an overnight fauna and flora extravaganza to Roaring Stag … Read more