Ten of us (4 M and 6 EM trampers) met at 1pm on Waitangi Day (a Thursday) for the drive to Kaweka Forest Park. After stopping for leg stretches in Shannon and Woodville, and a meal in Hastings. We arrived just before dark at the road end campsite and pitched our tents for the night. … Read more
Day One: Travel Day – Wellington to Mangatutu Hot Springs campsite Day Two: Makahu Road to Ballard Hut Day 3: Ballard Hut to Te Puia Hut and hot springs Day 4: Te Puia Hut to Wellington
The long weekend started with a Friday evening drive to Norsewood, to camp overnight. This allowed us to break up the long drive, along winding gravel roads, to the beginning of the track at Makahu Road road end – about 1.5 hours from Napier. It was sad to see some of the damage caused by … Read more
4th June – Mangatutu Hot Springs to Te Puia Lodge and Mangatinoka Hot Springs Total Walking Time – 2.5hours Total Hot Pool Time – 2.5hours After a long drive our group arrived at the Mangatutu Hot Springs camping ground at around 1:30am on a very cold evening. Our road weariness and the cold, hard ground … Read more
The Te Puia Lodge area in the Kaweka Ranges is well known for more than just its stunning scenery; it is one of the few tracks in New Zealand where trampers can relax in spring-fed hot pools at the end of each day. With the winter chill beginning to set in and fine weather predicted, … Read more
Friday afternoon had arrived and it was the long weekend – that meant only one thing – off to explore the hills! I knew it would be a long drive after our 30min dinner break in Carterton but our group got off lightly as we were dropped off at road end just below Makahu Saddle Hut, … Read more
The last long weekend for a while meant quite a few people headed to the Kawkeas for three days of excellent tramping. The medium’s plan was to camp out all three nights, which meant lugging our tents up hill and down dale. No huts for us, even though there were a few on the route. … Read more