Wharepapa Hut Bush-Bash – Remutaka Forest Park

We knew the Papatahi Crossing track was overgrown and, besides visiting Wharepapa Hut, we also wanted to see the extent of the growth to help decide whether the club should help DoC maintain the track. We met at Wellington Railway Station and headed over the Remutaka Hill in Mon’s car, arriving at the road end … Read more

South Saddle via Goat Stream – Remutaka Forest Park

Six of us left the Catchpool carpark just after 9 am in slightly cool conditions. We were soon in the Orongorongo Valley and headed upstream to Goat Stream. At Goat Stream Hut we had morning tea. We didn’t see the person staying at Goat Stream Hut, but the door was unlocked and there were signs of habitation in … Read more

Ridge Track – Kaitoke Regional Park 

The five of us met at Wellington Train Station at 9am on Sunday morning and drove out to Kaitoke Regional Park. The Park is located in the foothills of the Tararua Ranges. The plan was to drive out to the Te Marua entrance of the Park (5km north of Upper Hutt) and walk the main … Read more

Paekākāriki Escarpment

After meeting at the Wellington railway station we headed out to the Pukerua Bay end of the track. The weather was fine (18-20 degrees) with a southerly wind (average wind speed around 25 km/h). Apart from a few more exposed places, the wind was light and helped us avoid overheating too much on the steep … Read more

Puke Ariki Traverse: Belmont Regional Park

Belmont Regional Park is one of my favourite places in the Wellington area. The Park has plenty of tracks and is easily accessible by public transport. The Puke Ariki Traverse travels the length of the Park from the Dry Creek entrance to Cornish Street in Petone. The total length is about 24km. Polly and I … Read more

Akatarawa Forest – the Secret Seven and the quest to find 73

Akatarawa Forest

Way back in 2010 Tony and Jackie entered the Akatarawa 24 hour Rogaine with the idea of being totally non-competitive and just cruise around the course for fun. Although the forest is not an ideal area for a rogaine given its often dense bush and acres of even denser supplejack these were outweighed by having … Read more

Off track with the goblins in East Holdsworth

Trampers in the goblin forest, East Holdsworth

If you go off track in the Tararuas, beware of the enchanting goblin forests. The morning started with my favourite way to start a tramp, taking photos of amazing mushrooms before crossing a nice swing bridge. About an hour in we met a couple of veteran club members coming out of the bush to get … Read more

Kapiti Island

Photos by: James Wratt (professional looking ones of birds) and Tash (group shots from the top of the trig). A bleary-eyed group of strangers met at Wellington train station at 7am on Sunday morning. We drove north and arrived at Paraparaumu Beach in good time for our 8:30 sailing with Kāpiti Island Eco Experience. Our … Read more

Broken Axe Pinnacles – a day walk

Broken Axe Pinnacles

Broken Axe Pinnacles – a day walk in Tararua Forest Park A day walk along the Broken Axe Pinnacles in Tararua Forest Park via Pinnacle Ridge and Mt holdsworth. We arrived at the Holdsworth carpark at 8 am just in time to see the full moon setting below the western hills. Twelve hours later on … Read more