First the winds of change blew through WTMC! Initiation rites that used to be undertaken to achieve membership were abandoned. Initiation rites like having to survive two overnight trips with the club, being seen in a holey ice breaker jumper, proving you can pronounce “Tararua” and know what scroggin is, bribing a trip leader or … Read more
This tramp started from Putangirua Pinnacles, walking down to Mangatoetoe (Cape Palliser) via a number of huts. We had left Platform 9 at 5:15 pm on Friday for a couple hours drive to the Pinnacles campsite. Apparently the water at the campsite was not safe to drink, so we had filled our bottles at a … Read more
Gripping tightly to the pack straps of the people next to me in the line, we took our first steps into the Orongorongo River with the roaring water buffeting us around. “Brrrrrr its freezing” I thought as the liquid snow soaked through my shoes. “Brrrrrr its freezing” I thought as I stepped out of the … Read more
Merry Christmas everyone! Oh, I must be confused with the northern hemisphere; I thought Christmas was coming soon given the hail storm and poor weather in Wellington. But no, it is only mid-winter Christmas. Anyway, all conditions were met to spend a great weekend up in the club lodge on Mount Ruapehu, socialising and enjoying … Read more
Day 1. The drive north to Mahaku Saddle. It’s a fairly full hire van that leaves the Wellington railway station on time. Eleven people and packs and bags squeezed in. The drive north is made longer with roadworks and delays on the Rimutaka hill. But the real challenge lies in finding decent food on Highway 2 … Read more
Given that our Medium Fit minibus companions were embarking on a trip entitled ‘Dundas: the Hard Way’, one could be forgiven for thinking that there is an ‘Easy Way’ to reach Dundas Hut. This would be a mistake. Dundas is a wonderful, challenging, rewarding trip… but easy it was not. We set off from Putara … Read more
The plan was to spend the weekend in the Ruahines but given the adverse weather conditions we reconsidered it and opted for a closer tramp to the Tararuas. Yes, the Tararuas are not known for their best weather conditions during winter, especially when it is raining, but since shoes and gear were already packed, we … Read more
Saturday 9 May 2015 Departed Wellington 08:00 am Mangahao Lower No2 Dam 10:25am Burn Hut 2:25pm (6km, 300m to 800m) Near vertical hill. Grabbing tree roots and toeholds in the muddy earth. Right leg starts crammping during climb. Raining as we hit the ridge tramping out of the forest. Three of us Claire leads with … Read more
Originally this trip was going to Howlett’s Hut in the Ruahines, but looking at the weather outside on Friday and the forecast ahead, Kevin and the trip leader of the tandem EM group (Garth) made the right decision to postpone and relocate to the Tararuas. After having a pie stop en route (unusual on the … Read more
The last long weekend for a while meant quite a few people headed to the Kawkeas for three days of excellent tramping. The medium’s plan was to camp out all three nights, which meant lugging our tents up hill and down dale. No huts for us, even though there were a few on the route. … Read more