Snow on Ruapehu!Our journey began with a scenic drive on Desert Road – with a radiant full moon and snow was glittering on the peaks of Mount Ngauruhoe and Mount Ruapehu. Being the shortest day of the year (June 21), not many people were out tramping. After a skilled late-night drive through winding roads and … Read more
Disclaimer: This trip report was written by ChatGPT. Trip start date – 17 March 2023: I can’t think of a better way of reconnecting with my deep and treasured Irish roots on St Patrick’s Day than a dry, teetotalling WTMC club tramp along the famously brown volcanic Central Plateau. I do not speak of hiking … Read more
I had never been to the Kaimanawa Forest Park so when Tereza put this trip on the schedule I signed up. This trip also coincided with the start of some annual leave for me, so if we had a late return to Wellington on the Sunday I didn’t have to worry about getting up early … Read more
This was a fishing trip enabled by a bit of tramping over the 2018 Easter Weekend. Two days exploring the Tongariro River at Turangi, followed by an overnight trip to Oamaru Hut with fishing in the Mohaku river. We also were a transport enabler for the Medium Tramp around the Cascade, Boyd and Oamaru circuit … Read more
I hadn’t been to the Kaimanawa ranges for over a decade. Would it be as awesome as I remembered? The answer: yes. Even without the clear weather that would have given us views of Mt Ruapehu, this is still a fabulous track. In fact, awesomeness was waiting for us as soon as we stepped from … Read more
Having scheduled a couple of trips to the Kaimanawas only to see them founder from a lack of interest I was getting pretty desperate to explore this unknown Forest Park. It was fortunate therefore that it now appeared on the schedule as both medium and easy medium trips, so I keenly signed up. Following … Read more
Author’s note: Here are boring track details for those that look for this sort of thing first. Overall my impressions are that it’s a relatively wide, well formed track along a scenic range overlooking the volcanic plateau. Approximately 5-7 hours from roadend to the hut via the ridge. Generally quite good track with only a … Read more