Maungahuka Hut – Tararua Forest Park

Fri 11 Oct – Waiohine Road End to Totora Flats HutWe joined the medium group in the van on Friday after work and headed over the hill to Waiohine Gorge road end, via the supermarket and takeaways in Greytown. This was to be Isabella’s first tramp in New Zealand! – very gutsy going straight for … Read more

Unicorns, rainbows and halos: A cruisy Howletts – Daphne dash

After a recent trip into Kahurangi National Park, when we all donned party hats during a successful summit of Kakapo Peak, a theme of tramping unicorns seemed to emerge! https://wtmc.org.nz/trip-report/kakapo-peak-with-no-unicorns-or-doughnuts-left-behind/. This time we decided we would go all out and find proper unicorn themed apparel to wear during our weekend trip into the Ruahines. This … Read more

Otaki and Ohau bush-bash – Tararua Forest Park

Day 1: Friday 12 January – Poads Road to Waiopehu HutThis trip was planned as a Medium-Fit trip in and out of Mid Otaki Hut via Poads Road. However, when it became clear a few other people couldn’t make the trip, and Mon and I wanted to visit South and North Ohau Huts as well, … Read more

Kylie Biv – Ruahine Forest Park

Our journey began on Friday night with a drive up to the Ruahine Range. We parked at the track end on Mangleton Road, and donned our packs for a 5 minute walk in to Sentry Box Hut. After that exhausting ordeal we headed straight to bed, ready for a slightly longer day tomorrow. Saturday dawned … Read more

Hopelessly Cupola – Nelson Lakes National Park

An epic weekend spent picking off a few huts in the Travers valley in Nelson Lakes National Park. The trip began with us all meeting at Wellington Train Station to catch a 3.45pm sailing to the South Island. With Daniel and Mon in the group, we spent a lot of time talking about club policies! … Read more

Dundas Loop – Tararua Forest Park

Four hardy souls decided to tackle the Dundas Loop over a weekend. The original plan had been to tramp from Putara carpark to Dundas Hut on the Saturday. But common sense prevailed. So Friday afternoon saw us making the two-hour drive from Wellington to the remote Putara carpark. After a brief stop in Greytown for … Read more

The Three Kings – Tararua Forest Park

I am not a fan of the Barra Track. It is my least favourite part of the Tararuas. So as we started off from The Pines, I was wondering why I had planned a trip to visit The Three Kings. I still don’t really know the answer, but I’m happy I did because it made … Read more

Arete Forks Hut – Tararua Forest Park

Day 1: Friday Tash, Nate, Richard, and I met at Wellington Train Station and started driving north, stopping in Masterton for sneaky kebabs. With our stomachs (very) satisfied, we continued to the trailhead at Kiriwhakapapa Campsite. As darkness settled in, we donned our tramping gear and headlamps and set off towards Blue Range Hut. The … Read more

Winchcombe Biv – Tararua Forest Park

Fri – Waiohine Gorge car park to Cone HutWithin minutes of starting our journey to Cone Hut, in an attempt to avoid getting wet feet, I had somehow managed to fall (timber-like) sideways into the creek. I hit my knee, there was blood and a bruise-in-the-making, and I needed a minute to recover. Not a … Read more

Maungahuka Hut and marshmallows in the rain – Tararua Forest Park

The forecast for the weekend was pretty uninviting – gale force winds on Saturday with increasing rain throughout Sunday. The low on Saturday night was forecast to be -3°C at Kime Hut. I figured there was no way we would be going ahead with our planned route along the tops. In fact I was so … Read more