All of club update – from the Committee

Kia ora,

We haven’t had a club newsletter for a few months, so this will be a bumper issue ‘from the committee’! Grab a cuppa and settle in to hear what’s been going on across the club.

This article provides updates from each of our committee portfolios and a look at what’s coming up over the summer months.

Ngā mihi,

Sara Harrison |

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From the Committee – August to October 2024

Acting President update

• Committee vacancies. The President role remains vacant.  If you are interested in taking on  this important governance position please get in touch. Please contact if you are interested.
• Update on FMC Backcountry magazines. As outlined in the President update in July, a reminder that members who have opted in to get an FMC Backcountry magazine will need to pick it up from the Club’s gear room (Tararua Tramping Club on Moncrief Street, Wellington) – on Wednesdays between 7-7.30pm. This change is due to skyrocketing mailing costs. If you wish to receive the magazine at home, you can sign up to the ‘Direct to You‘ (D2U) option through FMC directly ($20), or you can access Backcountry online. FMC discount cards will continue to be mailed out annually to Club members.

Chief Guide update

• New Chief Guide team. Sara Harrison stepped into the Chief Guide role in August and Mathew Denys has just stepped into the Assistant Chief Guide role. Our mission is to run trips that people want to go on and that leaders want to lead. To do this we need trip leaders with suitable experience & skills, good safety and incident management systems, and a well-maintained vehicle and gear. So that’s what we will be focused on.

• Summer trip schedule. The summer trip schedule from Dec 24 – Mar 25 has just been published – check it out and get in quick to secure your spot on some awesome trips! Thank you to all the volunteers who helped pull this together by providing ideas for trips and the trip leaders who put their hands up to lead. We are still short several trip leaders, so if you think you might have what it takes to lead a trip, please email . We are also doing some work in the coming weeks to review how we calculate and manage trip fees and make these more transparent. We expect to communicate what these changes are over the next few weeks, and intend to have the new trip fees loaded onto trip sign-up forms around mid-November.

• Highlights from winter trip schedule. Over the winter months we struggled a little with cancellations due to low sign-up numbers, no trip leaders, or poor weather. Despite this we still managed to get 19 trips out the door so far (as we go to print); 13 tramps, 4 day trips and 2 alpine trips. We still have 10 more tramps and 2 day trips planned between now and the end of November. All up, that will be around 190 happy punters who have headed into the hills! (haven’t done the detailed analysis on numbers yet).

• Trip leader training. The club is  funding an ‘Intermediate Bushcraft Course’ from 1-2 February 2025 (through Outdoor Training New Zealand) with a priority on attendance for those currently leading trips or those who are interested in leading trips in the future. Sign up here. We will also be looking to run another ‘Intro to Leading WTMC Trips’ workshop in the new year (dates TBC).

• FMC ‘Love our Huts’ campaign. It’s only a few weeks away til the ‘love our huts’ campaign kicks off. We have a network of fabulous huts and tracks like nowhere else on the planet, so  we are super excited to be supporting this campaign with club various trips signed up to give the following huts our love: Waitewaewae, Mangatoetoe, Kawkakawa, Pararaki and Washpool, Jacks Flat Biv, and Waiopehu. FMC have advised that all huts in the Tararua Ranges have now had someone register – the first area in the country to be completely registered!! FMC have also advised that when Macpac heard about the campaign, they thought it was so awesome, they decided to give FMC members (which you all are) a 40% discount off their branded gear for November and December. Woo-hoo!!

Treasurer update

• Move away from Paypal. The club will soon cease using PayPal to process payments for the lodge and Paua Hut and will instead use a different payment gateway – Seekom Pay. You will still be able to use a credit or debit card to make these bookings. Please note however that there will be an additional fee of 30 cents per transaction that will be added for credit or debit card purchases that you will need to pay. The change to Seekom Pay is estimated to save the club in excess of $1,500 a year in PayPal fees. These savings will be able to be reinvested back into the lodge and Paua Hut. If you have any questions about this change, please contact Daniel at .

Lodge Convenor update

• After a challenging season at Whakapapa due to a lack of snow, I am pleased to report a reasonable use of the lodge, certainly higher than was expected. Thank you to those who have stayed there over the winter months, despite the poor snow conditions! Your support of the club and lodge is very much appreciated.
• On a really positive front, it looks very likely that a new operator for the ski field has been found, with confirmation due any week now. If this is confirmed, the guessing games of the past couple of seasons will be behind us and we can look forward to next season with much more confidence. The snowmaking crew have learnt a lot this season and are feeling positive about getting better snow coverage next year, regardless of natural snow falls.
• But don’t wait until next winter. There is a great lodge waiting to be used this coming summer. With plenty to do without snow, including sightseeing, loads of walks varying from one hour to five days, gondola rides, New Zealand’s highest restaurant/cafe, rock climbing, or just to break your trip further North into two relaxed days, the lodge is your ideal place to stay.

• Some season stats. Over the winter, we had a total occupancy rate of 26%, which is slightly down on last season, but understandable given the severe lack of snow and open terrain. We had particularly good mid-week occupancy compared to previous years.  We also had a few big bookings by member family and friend groups and two external groups; Campion College from Gisborne and the New Plymouth Ski club, both regular users of the lodge.

Liaison Officer update

• Club Photo competition. We had another great year for our photo competition this year, with a great turnout at the TTC hall to enjoy some photos from talented members. Big thanks to Tony Gazley for judging and to Mat Denys for organising behind the scenes. And of course, the whole thing wouldn’t have been possible without all the fabulous people who entered, we had 83 photos submitted this year. Winners received vouchers generously donated by our sponsors, Bivouac and Coffee Outdoors. Here are some of the winning photos and the judge’s comments.

• Hello Club Upgrade. HelloClub (our membership system) will be down for a day or so on Tuesday 29 October, for a system upgrade. All logins will need to be reset. For those of you who have logged in to HelloClub over the past 12 months you will receive an email to let you know what’s happening.
• Social schedule. Our next social is a ‘New Member Evening’ on Wednesday 20 November 7.30pm – If you are new to the club or know someone that is thinking about joining, come along. You will hear about what to expect on WTMC trips, and different club members will also share their experiences on trips of different grades. We will also share a little bit of info on what to pack and gear for trips.

Our Volunteers!

• Volunteer spotlight. She may be small, but she is mighty. For the past few years Jamie Hawkins-Elder has been our Assistant Chief Guide and more recently filled in as the Acting Chief Guide. Thank you for your service Jamie – we don’t know how many hours you put in, but it was a lot!! Jamie is also an active trip leader, and I am sure we will continue to see her out on the trails.

• Volunteers needed! A club like ours couldn’t run without volunteers. At the moment, we are seeking volunteers to help with the website, leading trips, hosting social evenings, Ruapehu Lodge bookings, and emergency contact people.
  • Are you a communications professional, with content management experience and a little bit of spare time to give? We would love to hear from you. Please contact if you are interested.
  • If you think you might have what it takes to lead a trip, have a chat to a current trip leader or touch base with the Chief Guide at . 
  • On the 3^rd Wednesday of every month we hold a social evening at the Tararua Tramping Club. Social hosts turn up around 6.45pm, set up drinks and biscuits, welcome everyone, welcome the speaker, call for announcements, handover to the speaker, send people home, and tidy / lock up. If you are interested in helping out email .
  • We are looking for a bookings officer to join one other person on the Ruapehu Lodge bookings team, with a view to taking the lead by mid-2025.  It’s generally busier during the Jul – Oct period each year. We are after someone who is good with technology and can work their way around a spreadsheet, although support and training would be provided. If you’re interested email .
  • Emergency contacts receive intention sheets from trip leaders and ensure that information is passed on should a PLB be activated, or a trip is late out. Please sign up to the emergency contact sign up schedule here.

• Recognising our trip leaders – We couldn’t have got so many trips out the door over the winter months without some of our new trip leaders stepping up! Thank-you and well done to Lia Missena & Jeremy Toms, James Wood, Matthew Deely, and Jeanna Gordon. Thanks also to Anne de Ferron, Daniel Madley, Megan Madley, Monique Bon, Sara Harrison, Regan McGillicuddy, Emily Shrosbree, and Jane Latchem for leading at least one trip!

• WTMC Scholarship. The Committee are delighted to award scholarships to the value of $500 each for two of our members; Emily Shrosbree and Mathew Denys. Ngā mihi and congratulations! Emily and Mat are each awarded $500 towards the cost of attending a High Alpine Course. These scholarships are a way to recognise the time and effort club volunteers have already given. The programme also invests in our members so they can invest back in the club. Over the next year or so, the Committee will look to prioritise scholarships to align with the club’s current developmental focus; developing trip leaders with strong bush craft, leadership and alpine skills.