Wellington Tramping and Mountaineering Club
Enjoying the great outdoors since 1947
After leaving the ferry at Picton on Friday evening, we drove to Rai Valley hoping to camp in one of two spots for free camping. Alas, by 10 pm both sites were chokka with vehicles. Available spaces were small and sloping, and puddles plentiful. So we backtracked to the DOC campsite at Pelorus Bridge where … Read more
Trip route details: Sat: Courthouse Flat via Blue Creek track to our campsite just above Sanctuary Basin. Approx 5-6hrs. Lots of layers and good down sleeping bags required – it’s cold! Sun: Campsite to Mt Owen. Approx 2hrs. Mt Owen to Granity Pass Hut. Approx 2-3hrs. Follow the cairned track to avoid crevasses and slippery … Read more
Bulmer Lake by photos A 3 day hiking loop trip into the Mt Owen area of Kahurangi National Park via Bulmer Lake in search of the Mt Owen Ice Cave. For another Mt Owen trip go to Mt Owen – and some thoughts on trundling*
The serious bit for those wanting useful details: We took the 6:30pm ferry to Picton, and drove 1hr 30mins to camp overnight at Kowhai Point beside the Wairau River ($6pp). Saturday morning we drove 2hrs to Flora Saddle road end. There is a phantom bridge across the Motueka River marked on the road atlas. Make … Read more
Ok, change of plans I thought. Dragon’s Teeth is out of the question, a 11 hour round trip not counting the ferry, no way. But what else is there? Preferably in the Mt Owen area of Kahurangi? Looking at the topo I thought, well you could go from virtually the same place, up and over … Read more
Mountain bikers can begin riding Kahurangi National Park’s Flora Saddle to Barron Flat and Kill Devil tracks now but are reminded they cannot begin riding the Heaphy Track until 1 May 2011, says the Department of Conservation. The DOC comments follow the announcement by the New Zealand Conservation Authority (NZCA) that it has approved a revised … Read more
We began with a beautiful morning on Friday 2nd April, clear blue skies & no wind at all. Heading up Brown Cow Ridge we eventually reached the bush edge & then sidled across to where the track drops to Boulder Lake. Here wonderful views of Boulder Lake, Green Saddle, Dragons Teeth etc opened up in … Read more
We all finally met in the vehicle line-up at the ferry car park. The trip leader had waited the previous half hour sunbathing and enjoying the perfect still evening air, watching the ironing board flat sea and the growing number of various shades of pink in the sky. An idyllic ferry crossing passed with pleasant … Read more