Mt Paske

This trip promised great things: 3 days away, good weather (which always seems to happen in Nelson Lakes), an easy walk in and an achievable peak.  And that was before I met everyone else on the trip.  Our party were: Mike P, stalwart leader, Katie, Rini, Paul, Gary, Kevin and myself (Paula).  The ferry trip … Read more

Turere Lodge trip

This trip had been anticipated for a long time. Turere is a popular Orongorongo hut that needs booking well in advance. Planning began back in May for this trip. We met on Saturday at Catchpool, where bags of food were distributed for punters to carry in for our substantial dinner. The weather was kind on … Read more

Waiopehu Hut

Our weekend starts with Katie pulling out at 5.30pm on Friday due to a pulled muscle. We hear there was a good party on Saturday night too…. Katie was a good sort, acting as a shuttle driver to and from the club van, and passing over her group rations; including a wonderful dessert that even … Read more

Iron Gate Hut

Friday night departure went smoothly. But things slowed to a halt when two of us ordered dinner at the Thai slow-food takeaway in Levin. Eventually our dinner arrived and we set off again. Our driver safely manoeuvred around the many roundabouts in Fielding, and after a bit of exploratory detouring we arrived at the busy … Read more

Rangiwahia Hut

A few months ago my husband – Lean – mentioned experimental research which proved that spending time 1,000m or more above sea-level resets the hypothalamus (metabolism function), and supports the thyroid gland. My thyroid is hypo-active, so naturally I was totally keen. We signed up for Rangiwahia Hut with Megan and Ian, Yao, Nicky, and … Read more

Orongorongas (North saddle traverse)

We left platform 9 on a cold Friday night with the promise of clearing skies and a warmer end to what had been an extremely cold month. The 40 odd minute drive through Wainuiomata, down coast road to the Orongorongos, sped by. We had boots on the ground before 6:30pm. Night tramping over the five … Read more

Butterfly Creek walk

How about that? It was the middle of winter and I was debating coating the children in sunscreen. You’ve got to make the most of cloudless, windless days in Wellington and we were looking forward to spending this one on the Butterfly Creek walk in the East Harbour Regional Park. The meeting spot on Kowhai … Read more

Teaching girl guides snowcraft

On the 6-8th July, Jenny Beaumont and Steve Austin took a club van up to Ruapehu – along with 10 girl guides/rangers from the Wellington region and 3 guide leaders. We stayed at the Scout lodge (just along the track from the WTMC lodge) and taught the girls basic snowcraft skills – walking in snow, … Read more

Toughing it out in the Raglan Range (medium-without-fit-or-alpine trip on Queens Birthday)

Spencer said bring ice axes, crampons and helmets because we are doing an alpine trip in the Raglan Range. As a trip leader he was pleased with the uniformly high level of fitness and experience of the punters on his trip; quite uncharacteristic for a medium trip. However, there was a reason for this, said … Read more

Neill Winchcombe

The forecast for our 3 day Tararua based tramp over Queen’s birthday was excellent. So, we tramped in Friday night from the Waiohine Gorge road end to Cone Hut on the south eastern Tararuas with real optimism for nailing what looked like a substantial medium trip. Saturday morning was magnificent: neither wind nor clouds. We … Read more