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
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
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
Saturday By the time we pulled up at The Pines at 9am on Saturday morning, there was a stunning, but chilly, forecast for the following two days- with no wind. Yes, you read that correctly…no wind in the Tararuas! The Waingāwa Valley was clagged in, so we set off with not much faith in the … Read more
Day 1: Shields Flat car park to Field Hut Weather: Humid and no windDOC travel time: 1-3 hrs from Otaki Forks plus 45mins from Shields Flat carparkElapsed Time: 3.38hrs, Time moving: 3.09hrs. Distance: 10.51km, Ascent: 744m, Descent: 158mThe trip was planned for a 4-day Anzac break so that a leisurely pace could be taken around … Read more
Not a great walk, but an epic one! You know you are up for an incredible weekend when you have a smooth drive out from Wellington, enjoy a primo kebab a la Bulls (OMG those chips and Iskenders), and instantly connect with a bunch of awesome people from the get-go! This weekend was no exception. … Read more
Two Thumb Range – Boundary Stream, South Opuha River A 3 day hiking loop trip through The Two Thumb Range above Lake Tekapo passing through Boundary Stream and the Opuha River areas. As is a common occurrence, this trip started life as three days of perfect weather camping in the basin below the Dasler Pinnacles … Read more
We set off on Friday after work with the club van and headed for Hawke’s Bay. After dinner in Carterton and a few driver changes, we parked at North Block Rd end at 10pm, and were asleep by 10:30pm at Triple X Hut. On Saturday we could take it easy and have a relaxed breakfast … Read more
On a Friday night in May 2006, a band of hardy WTMC M trampers ventured into Northern Tararuas. Three days later they emerged – scratched and broken by leatherwood, attempts at compass navigation in the dark and arguments about oversized watches. Their Haukura Ridge trip was to gain enduring life as a case study in our … Read more
We set off on Friday evening to get to Paua hut so we could make an early start on Saturday. It was a perfect warm calm evening for us to sit outside Paua Hut and Alastair to talk us through the trip he had in mind, and to give some a crash course in navigation. … Read more