Wellington Tramping and Mountaineering Club
Enjoying the great outdoors since 1947
Kākāpō Peak – with no unicorns or doughnuts left behind A 4 day hiking trip up the Cobb Valley and climbing Kākāpō Peak in Kahurangi National Park ‘Where are the Kākāpō? Where are the kea?’ Suddenly I am surrounded by a blessing of five unicorns sitting next to me on the summit of Kākāpō Peak. Well … Read more
Mt Owen – and some thoughts on trundling* A 3 day hike to the summit of Mt Owen via Bulmer Lake in Kahurangi National Park. *Ref “The Art, History And Ethics Of Trundling” Below me, Tony jumped as a rock went whizzing past him at head height, missing him by a few inches. He looked up … Read more
WTMC member Regan McGillicuddy will talk about his 12 day solo trip though our 2nd largest National Park, visiting 24 huts. *WTMC social nights are open to WTMC Club members and the general public. You don’t need to book or RSVP, just turn up! It’s also a great time to come along and ask questions … Read more
Day 1 Cobb Hut to Fenella Hut (with a side trip from Fenella Hut back to Lake Cobb)Total time: 6 hours, 20 minutesTotal moving time: 4 hours, 45 minutesDistance: 18.9km After packing up at the Motueka Top Ten after four hours of sleep we all jumped in the van and drove the two and a … Read more
I love a mystery and was intrigued when this tramp appeared on the schedule: Top of the South Mystery Tramp. Jump on the ferry and go on an adventure! Interesting rock formations, travel on the tops and along a river. Good snacks and optional river swims. Expect up to 6 hours walk every day. Track … Read more
Thursday (3h20)After the customary ferry delays and many dolphins, we drove to Rolling junction via a kebab shop in Richmond, arriving at the road end at 8.30pm after crossing the Dart Ford without issues. With head torches, we walked at a good pace along the great wall grade track for a few hours. Arriving at Kings … Read more
As is tradition when heading to the South Island, our trip began with a delayed ferry. Unfortunately this meant that our original plan of completing the Dragon’s Teeth crossing was rendered infeasible, so we took the time before our rescheduled crossing to brainstorm an alternative. Wanting to stay within the Kahurangi National Park, we formed … Read more
Thursday 1 April: Our Easter weekend’s tramping began with a late ferry crossing to Picton, where we stayed in a bunkroom at Sequoia Lodge Backpackers. Friday 2 April: Next morning we drove to Kahurangi National Park, with stops at Pelorus Bridge and Motueka. We arrived at Cobb Reservoir roadend in the early afternoon and set … Read more
Ferry booking mix-ups and more than an hour’s delay to board meant it was well after 10pm when we arrived at the Matiri Valley West Bank road end. The hydro scheme construction works mean the walk in to Lake Matiri hut is now only 50min mostly on construction road, which during working hours you need … Read more
On Friday night our party of 11 stayed at Owen River Tavern campsite. The next morning, we drove 30 minutes over an unsealed road to the trailhead at 442828 and started our tramp at 8:40 after the obligatory group picture. There hadn’t been any rain for days, so the river crossing in the first bit was quite … Read more