We left Wellington on a sunny Saturday morning and after a caffeine boost in Martinborough arrived at the Putangirua road ready for our adventures. With boots and packs on we set off to find orcs amongst the Putangirua Pinnacles. Possibly it was too sunny for the orcs to be out so we had no success … Read more
Saturday morning was sunny but quite cool when we emerged from the van at the road end. Extra layers of clothing were quickly added. Our track was a 4-wheel-drive route, at times deeply rutted and beginning with a huge muddy pool. We walked downhill through regenerating bush to the first of 10 river crossings and … Read more
This tramp started from Putangirua Pinnacles, walking down to Mangatoetoe (Cape Palliser) via a number of huts. We had left Platform 9 at 5:15 pm on Friday for a couple hours drive to the Pinnacles campsite. Apparently the water at the campsite was not safe to drink, so we had filled our bottles at a … Read more
Both Sharron and Marie have written up their experiences of the race Marie’s running adventures The Aorangi Undulator is a ‘run’ taking in some 30km of Aorangis over a series of bumps. Our trip leader decided to truly lead the way by doing the Aorangi 100 Ultra – a three day event taking in 100km … Read more
. We left Wellington early, arriving at a sun-streaked Putangirua Pinnacles after a quick 30 minute walk from the road end. These badlands had a starring role as Dimholt Road in Lord of the Rings, the road to the land of the dead. Heading up the ridge from the pinnacles, we quickly realised that this … Read more
I was down to lead the medium traverse of the Haurangis, one of my favorite tramping haunts, but with no punters signed up things looked grim until Craig McGregor, an ex-Chief Guide, signed up. It’s been a few years since our glory days at the Tongue & Meats and, with no one else signed up, … Read more
For Joanne, Debbie, Catherine and Paul, this was the first trip to the Mangatoetoe Hut in the Aorangi (Haurangi) Forest Park. The tramp was led by our illustrious leader Ray who had visited the hut once before. The tramp from the road end to the hut was relatively flat, and consisted of many river crossings, … Read more