Highlights and top tips Friday 5 September Saturday 6 September Deliberations The adventure begins The adventure gets real The evening Sunday 7 September All in all, once back in the van and warm and dry, we all reflected on what will be a truly memorable trip and the awesome group of people we had shared … Read more
We set off bright and early from Wellington on Saturday morning in the club van, after some convenient door-to-door pickups by our glorious leader Bryan. We then enjoyed a windy, motion sickness-inducing drive over the Remutaka Hill to Featherston, where we enjoyed a wee pastry and a coffee at the Baker before setting off. Once … Read more
Although relatively close to Wellington, a WTMC trip to the Queen Charlotte Track involves quite a bit of logistical organisation. It involves bookings the ferry, accommodation in Picton, and water taxis to and from the track. WTMC ran two concurrent QCT trips on the Matariki long weekend, which allowed us to incorporate the club van … Read more
Friday We set off to do this 3-4 day Great Walk in 3 days from Wellington train station promptly at 12:30pm. On the way to Waikaremoana Holiday park we stopped in Napier for a delicious dinner of pizzas, Pad Thai and kebabs. We arrived at the holiday park at around 10pm. We stayed there in … Read more
Friday After a quick debrief (read: debate over where to stop for dinner), the crew set off from Wellington Railway Station at 3pm. The trip to North Egmont carpark was uneventful with two exceptions: a brief detour to mighty P-town (Palmerston North) when our driver missed a turnoff (sorry guys) and a top-notch feed in … Read more
The navigation training started with learning some theory at a cafe in Eastbourne. We stocked up on breakfast and coffee while learning about map features, coordinates, how to use a compass and the basics of taking a bearing. We then headed up into the Northern Forest section of East Harbour Regional Park (See: https://www.wellingtonnz.com/visit/trails/east-harbour-regional-park). On … Read more
I had run the Puke Ariki track a few years ago but hadn’t spent much time in Belmont Regional Park since. After doing a day trip with the club to find Tin Hut last year, I remembered what a great walk Puke Ariki was, and how suitable it would be for a club trip. We … Read more
The Putaputa A-frame shelter in Kaitoke Regional Park had been on my to-do list for a while. (See: Putaputa Shelter) Tantalisingly close to civilisation, but involving either some off-track bush-bashing and a steep descent, or travelling up a gorge (where Putaputa Stream is located). It seemed like the perfect half-day trip. The fact it was … Read more
Date: 28 Feb – 2 Mar 2025Trip type: MediumLocation: Tararua Forest ParkAuthor: Georgia Trampers: Sara (leader), Georgia, Tawera, Brianna, Chrys, Callum (and Sophie) Friday – 28 Feb Five of us and Sara’s lovely dog (Sophie) met at the Wellington Station and drove up to the Wairarapa with the EM group. We met up with Brianna … Read more
Carkeek Hut, in the middle of the Tararuas, had long been on the minds of Mon and I. Surrounded by other Tararua landmarks (as noted below), we took the opportunity to craft a more ambitious long weekend plan when only the two of us signed up for the trip – we swapped out two nights … Read more