Weather Windows

The wind had subsided in downtown Wellington and the sun was making an attempt to peek through the clouds. ‘Maybe this bad run of weather is finally on the way out,’ we optimistically hoped as we made a plan B C and D due to yet another poor weather forecast. Plan A had been ruled … Read more

Angelus Eventually!

After the trip was postponed, rescheduled and the ferry was delayed, we squeezed into the hire car and arrived at Nelson Lakes camping area very late on Thursday night. The morning dawned bright and clear with a few sandflies finding my legs tasty. After breakfast we met up with John, a mate of Tony’s from … Read more

Paua Hut on Guy Fawkes’ Weekend

This was my first tramp with the club and arriving at the railway station on Saturday morning, I was not exactly sure what I was getting myself into. Was I in for an easy walk through the bush or something a little more challenging? The answer was a little bit of both. As people showed … Read more

Cone to Tutuwai

The sun shone strong on our transit as we wound along the highway north oh Featherston. The unseasonably warm and almost cloudless sky illuminated the countryside’s early spring greens. So marvelously distracting was the prospect of a golden weekend, that navigator couldn’t be blamed for the missing the first turn off, but perhaps he should … Read more

The WTMC & MeetUp Join-Up to Trains Hut

 Editor’s note: WTMC has been testing out a new way of signing-up for trips via the website MeetUp.com and partnering with the Wellington Tramping Group MeetUp. The following trip report is from a joint trip. I think this was the first tramping trip with a mix of well the Meet up the Wellington Tramping Group … Read more

Schormann – Kaitoke Traverse in a weekend

Editor’s note: Since 1997 some keen WTMC members led by Lindsay Cuthbertson have been publishing a little know guide called “Accounts of week-end, two-day and 24-hour Schormann – Kaitoke (or Putara-Kaitoke) traverses of the Tararuas, North Island, New Zealand, via the Main Range, Tarn Ridge, the rivers and in reverse!” I’ll be looking to update … Read more

Broken Axe Pinnacles – The Not Tappy, Light and Fast Daywalk

Broken Axe Pinnacles viewed from Baldy

Broken Axe Pinnacles The Not Tappy, Light and Fast Daywalk A day hike loop from Holdsworth carpark over the Broken Axe Pinnacles “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft agley.” And so they did. What was to be a three day trip to climb Tappy became a furtive dash in the Tararuas … Read more

Tim Tams for Dinner

After Ngauruhoe high camp was cancelled, I decided I needed a weekend of tramping to keep my fitness for Tappy in a few weeks. For family reasons, Spencer was about to enter a period of tramping abstinence and wanted a good solid tramp. As well as keeping tramping fit, Elizabeth needed an excuse to avoid … Read more

Hard Yakka Trips and a Return to the Sunny Tararuas

There are all kinds of hard yakka trips, but to qualify they must test you to breaking point and beyond. A recent trip back in to the sunny Tararuas cracked me. Not so I couldn’t be put back together again, but I definitely did lose it. Hard yakka trips come from my husband Robert. There … Read more

Penn Creek Hut

There were 3 in our happy band. After many days of beautiful, calm, sunny weather, there were howling gales and lashing rain forecasted for the weekend. Driving from Wellington on the Friday night, the worst of it did not arrive until we actually parked the van at Otaki Forks about 9pm. We opened the van … Read more