The adventure started before the trip even began. Heavy flooding stuck Wellington the day before, closing offices and stranding commuters. There was some concern that the road north might be closed and that even if it wasn’t driving in the direction of the weather we had just experienced was foolhardy at best. These concerns … Read more
INTRODUCTION This tramp was over the Easter four-day weekend, and the huts were booked out so we decided to camp each night. As such, we had big and heavy bags with the tents and food we needed, and so I tried to organise the trip to have easier days to suit the Easy-Medium (EM) listing. … Read more
INTRODUCTION This was listed as an Easy-Medium (EM) tramp, so we decided to begin on Saturday morning, rather than Friday night, because there is nowhere to camp at The Pines road-end. Some people also highlighted that they were not experienced trampers, and so I didn’t want to risk a long night-walk to the hut. … Read more
Friday night, waiting for the Ferry to load, there was a palpable sense of excitement for the upcoming adventure in the Kahurangi National Park. Would we see the reclusive South Island Kokako? Could Mike survive the trip with only six cans of V? And what exactly was going on in the back of the van … Read more
With rumours of Cyclone Pam encircling us, our determined band of ten trampers headed in to Otaki Forks, hopeful of some time on the tops. On arrival, our erstwhile leader Anna had to make a decision and with some reluctance, relinquished hopes of glory and great views in the face of uncertain weather and the … Read more
My hopes of Wellington being the sort of city that can be escaped in matter of minutes in favour of the great outdoors were dashed as we discovered the state highway choc-a-bloc with others making the same assumption. Spirits stayed high though for the long drive north. Our initial delays meant we couldn’t get as … Read more
We had a looong drive to Makahu Saddle carpark in the Kawekas and we arrived there at midnight. In our group there were two tents and I was put in charge of putting up the fly for three of us. Um, so surprisingly enough after all the time I have been with the club, I … Read more
An endless summer holiday period about to come to a close. Warmth and a lack of precipitation forecast. The remaining question was where to take a full van of EM punters. Our trip was originally scheduled for Waitaewaewae, but Sarah, Rachel, Dan & I had tramped that route recently due to route adjustment when trips sharing … Read more
We started with a well-used pattern: depart Wellington railway station, dinner at Bulls and then camp at the very nice campsite by the river at Mangaweka. For company on the trip we had a party of three cyclists. The night at Mangaweka was uneventful although the temperature dropped below zero and the tents were coated … Read more
Our journey to Holdsworth road end was more eventful than usual, with a few van issues to contend with. Let’s just say that Mark had a very warm bum from a and there may have been a tiny bit of ! Anyway, we arrived safely and set off to Atiwhakatu hut in the rain, arriving about 1hr … Read more