Is Sayer Hut the oldest hut in the Tararua Range? Sayer Hut at Totara Flats in the Tararua Range is the oldest hut in the Tararua Forest Park and it has an interesting history. Yes, Sayer Hut is the oldest tramping hut in the Tararua Range and has a fascinating story to tell. In 1878 … Read more
Totara Flats – a brief history Totara Flats are a delight – but the story behind their formation is one of destructive geological movements along the Wellington earthquake fault-line. One of the nicest places in the Tararua Forest Park for an easy tramp is Totara Flats. There are a number of good tracks to take … Read more
Ten of us left Wellington Train station at 9am on a Sunday morning for the approx 2 hour drive to the start of the track. We took 2 cars – one group started at the Ashhurst end and the other group at the Woodville end. The plan was to meet in the middle and have … Read more
After a relatively quick ride to WTMC Ruapehu Lodge, we had the general introduction – we were asked to kindly not to put the lodge on fire and told when we were expected to be ready for the tramps. The lodge is much more comfortable than a road end since road ends don’t have spring mattresses, … Read more
This trip was a merger of the Pell Stream (Easy) and Lake Daniell (Easy-Medium) trips. David’s original plan was to camp at Kawatiri Junction on Friday night, get to Pell Stream Hut on Saturday night, and continue to Manson-Nicholls Memorial Hut at Lake Daniell on Sunday night. In retrospect, it’s clear now that the Easy … Read more
The rain on Friday night gave us an excuse for a very leisurely Saturday morning start to the tramp. We met at the Railway Station at 7.30am, and stopped for breakfast and a coffee at the Wild Oats Café in Masterton around 9am. So it wasn’t until 10.10am that we were at the Holdsworth road … Read more
This is a tale of two dogs. Saturday morning, eleven of us arrived with our van at the trailhead of Herepai. Upon arrival we were greeted by a dog – lets call him Rocky. Rocky ran alongside our car for the final 200 meters of our drive. His impressive sprint proved he could easily fill … Read more
The tramp to Rangiwahia Hut on the Saturday took us 2 hours with quite a few stops. The return trip on Sunday was quicker at 1½ hours and fewer stops. We walked about 4.4 kms each way, and climbed approximately 500 meters to reach the hut at 1,327 metres above sea level. The route This … Read more
On 12 December six intrepid explorers, led by Frances, set off from the Welly Railway Station at 8 am on Saturday for the northern stretch of the Tararuas to do the ‘easy’ graded Mitre Flats walk. The rest of the group was Jane, Julia, David, John and Antonia. After a brief but essential stop for … Read more
If you have never done the Tongariro Crossing or if you have never done any tramp in the Tongariro National Park, it is time to get your boots ready! The views of the volcanos, lakes, craters and tussock are just stunning; and you will wish you have been there earlier. Because we were an easy … Read more