Wellington Tramping and Mountaineering Club
Enjoying the great outdoors since 1947
You know you’re leading a trip when the hustle from the Newsletter editor appears in your inbox at the start of the week, and what a good hustle it was! Needless to say, early Saturday morning a small but fine party of trampers assembled to be transported to the eastern fringe of the Tararua ranges … Read more
The plan was to meet at the Wellington Railway Station and catch a train to Khandallah before starting the walk proper at the bottom to Mt. Kaukau. I chose to meet the rest of the team at the start of the track. This gave me a chance to have a quick coffee at the café … Read more
Iona tells of accompanying a friend who is completing the second of two laps (the enduro). My friend Helen has called in at our motel for an inter-lap pit stop and is soon feeling freshened up after a shower and breakfast despite having cycled since 1:30am. We set off in the brightening morning light and … Read more
Most running or cycling events have their own attraction but I’d never really understood those that feel the urge to turn up at the same event year after year. That is until I completed my first ‘round Taupo challenge. It’s great fun, particularly if you go in a group and has earned its iconic status … Read more
Camping high in vicinity of the Emerald Lakes with a possible Ngauruhoe summit was the plan; a windblasted dash past Red Crater and a good proportion of the Tongariro Northern Circuit was the reality – a great post-snowcraft introduction to alpine trips for me! Chitchat over fish and chips in Bulls produced several alternatives to … Read more
Our tramp got off to an interesting start with Craig educating me in the week leading up to the tramp on what to do if I was ever chased by a bear since we had been talking about his Alaska trip. I was seriously hoping I would never have to put his advice into action. … Read more
The goal was to get to Top Gorge hut in the Ruahines where none of the group had been before. The forecast was variable, however it was predicted that the main issue was going to be the condition of the snow on the tops as the route involved a long day with a number of … Read more
There’s no point in roughing it until you have to, so Saturday morning breakfast was not cold muesli with reconstituted milk, but salmon on sourdough and espresso from the French patisserie in Greytown. I couldn’t resist slipping a tuna mayo roll from there into my pocket too. Mangatarere Roadend is a place less travelled. It’s … Read more
As Gareth and I headed up the south coast into a lively northerly breeze with about 100 other punters the same two thoughts were going through my mind as last year (1) this landscape is stupidly beautiful and (2) how many scratches and bruises will I incur on the way to the finish line? Sand … Read more
The long range forecast for rain morphed into a promise of a beautiful warm sunny weekend and with a nice hut at the end of an easy walk, a great weekend out was on hand. Ella and I had a rough start to our morning as we received a call from home advising us that … Read more