Happy New Year!
Hope you had a wonderful holiday break and managed to fit in some tramping during the unusually fantastic sunny weather. Just a reminder that this Wednesday, 13 January, is gear return only. If you checked out gear before the holidays it must be returned this week between 7 and 7:30pm. Returning gear on time is important as it often goes back out on trips the following weekend. If you can’t return the gear yourself, ask a friend or fellow tramper from your trip.
Starting next week we kick off WTMC Social nights with a bang!
20 Jan 2016 – Megan Sety – Walking from Arthurs Pass to Mt Cook: Four WTMC members walked from Arthur’s pass to Aorangi/Mt Cook over the Christmas holidays and lived to tell about it. Between the 4 cameras there are hundreds of photos and even a video of the chopper taxi.
27 Jan 2016 – Derrick Field from exNZFS – Keeping our historic huts alive: The exNZFS are a volunteer group of ex NZ Forest Service deer cullers that maintain and restore huts from the deer culling era in the Tararua ranges. That maintain some hidden and not so hidden gems. Derrick will be talking about their work and how you can support them. All proceeds from the door this night will be donated to exNZFS. So come support them! You can find out more about the deer culler way of life on their website.
3 Feb 2016 Mystery Social Night – Good food guaranteed: We’re experimenting with our social nights this year and will offer occasional nights with extra special food and tea, and more time to just hang out and socialise. So if you haven’t had a chance to catch up on recent trips or plan a new epic adventure, now’s your moment!
10 Feb 2016 WTMC New Member’s Night: Our Annual new member’s night is here! If you’re new to the club or just curious, come along to check us out. This night we showcase all the activities the club does, talk about how to join and get involved, and provide tips for those new to tramping in NZ. Feel free to bring friends and family who have always been curious. More details coming soon – watch our website or facebook page and if you’re interested in volunteering or helping promote the night, contact Andrei at .
17 Feb 2016 Jamie Stewart from FMC: Jamie Stewart will be talking about the Federated Mountain Clubs including the history, the current priorities and the current advocacy challenges around the country: Huts and Tracks, Forgotten Lands, Great Walks, Public Access, Accepting Risk. Bring your questions and issues. Follow them on facebook for the latest news.
24 Feb 2016 Sharron Came & Marie Henderson – Trail running gear and safety: You may have noticed that Sharron and Marie, a few other members of the club, have been slowing racking up a hefty list of long trail and mountain runs. With summer here, there will be more running events and even a few on the schedule that might tempt you, so come along to hear Sharron and Marie talk about how to break into the sport focusing on running gear and safety.
Social ideas? Lend a helping hand?
If you did a trip over the Christmas/New Year holidays, I would love to hear about it and so would the rest of the club. Let me know if you’d like to give a club talk or send a trip report to the newsletter editor. And I’m looking for a few extra hands on Wednesday night to help setup the projector, put chairs out and get cups of tea and biscuits on the table. If that’s you, give me a shout at .
Remember, club now starts 30 minutes earlier with doors opening at 7pm and club talks starting at 7:30pm.