Day 0 – Fly Camping at Mangahao Dam After Megan skilfully negotiated the windy road from Shannon to the top Mangahao Dam, we fly camped at the face of the dams. The recent rain had meant that the spillway was open and a little noisy. Day 1 – Mangahao Dams to Te Matawai Hut via … Read more
The adventure started before the trip even began. Heavy flooding stuck Wellington the day before, closing offices and stranding commuters. There was some concern that the road north might be closed and that even if it wasn’t driving in the direction of the weather we had just experienced was foolhardy at best. These concerns … Read more
After stopping at Carterton’s Wild Oats Café for the obligatory pre-tramp and in a few people’s cases, necessary, morning coffee, our party of 12 arrived at the Holdsworth carpark mid-morning. After divvying up group gear and food we started walking in fine but crisp weather. Unnaturally for the Tararuas, we had clear skies and virtually … Read more
Having scheduled a couple of trips to the Kaimanawas only to see them founder from a lack of interest I was getting pretty desperate to explore this unknown Forest Park. It was fortunate therefore that it now appeared on the schedule as both medium and easy medium trips, so I keenly signed up. Following … Read more
The serious bit for those wanting useful details: We took the 6:30pm ferry to Picton, and drove 1hr 30mins to camp overnight at Kowhai Point beside the Wairau River ($6pp). Saturday morning we drove 2hrs to Flora Saddle road end. There is a phantom bridge across the Motueka River marked on the road atlas. Make … Read more
INTRODUCTION This tramp was over the Easter four-day weekend, and the huts were booked out so we decided to camp each night. As such, we had big and heavy bags with the tents and food we needed, and so I tried to organise the trip to have easier days to suit the Easy-Medium (EM) listing. … Read more
INTRODUCTION This was listed as an Easy-Medium (EM) tramp, so we decided to begin on Saturday morning, rather than Friday night, because there is nowhere to camp at The Pines road-end. Some people also highlighted that they were not experienced trampers, and so I didn’t want to risk a long night-walk to the hut. … Read more
Ok, change of plans I thought. Dragon’s Teeth is out of the question, a 11 hour round trip not counting the ferry, no way. But what else is there? Preferably in the Mt Owen area of Kahurangi? Looking at the topo I thought, well you could go from virtually the same place, up and over … Read more
Hauhungatahi – the accessible wilderness A hike through the Hauhungtahi Wikderness Area (Remote Experience Zone) in Tongariro National Park New Zealand has 14 National Parks (counting Te Urewera) that cover over three million hectares, or about 11 percent of our land area. Together with numerous conservation parks, including forest parks, we are fortunate to have … Read more
Chamberlain Creek v3a3VI** A long day down the canyon of Chamberlain Creek, Tararua Range involving jumps, abseils, and swims. I saw the trip on the planning schedule and asked David about it—being generally curious about any Tararua epic close to the wilder side of things. This revealed it was a trip David was really keen … Read more