Wellington Tramping and Mountaineering Club
Enjoying the great outdoors since 1947
Fourteen trampers started out from the railway station at 4.15pm. We had a long drive ahead of us – 6 hours up to Lake Tutira campsite, just north of Napier. We stopped for gourmet delights at Country Chef Fast Food in Dannevirke and then got back on the road. The campsite was only marked by … Read more
INTRODUCTION Breaking historical ground (as far as we know), Frances led the first WTMC Musical Tramp with expert skill and agility. The ‘genius’ behind this trip was in the detail: if either of the tramping or musical components had not been achievable – due to adverse weather, broken strings (including hamstrings), or an overcrowded hut … Read more
There’s nothing like gale forecasts of 100 km/hr to lend the run-up to the weekend a slight nervous edge. But spirits were high in the minibus so I could only assume either the others hadn’t seen the forecast or that I was the mad one: that heading up to a ridge with that forecast was … Read more
Mike: It’s Saturday night, before 8pm. I’m hunched below a top bunk of Cow Creek Hut, feeling very well fed and trying to scribble these notes by torchlight. Debbie and Eleonora are already trying to go to sleep. Debbie’s had the wood-burner going, and it’s toasty enough for me to have switched to a downstairs … Read more
We tramped the Pouakai circuit and we were happy because it was plan A. Dan planned everything so that we could have an amazing week-end. But one question remained: Did Dan carry food in his backpack? Friday night was a long drive, approximately 5 hours to arrive at the North Egmont camphouse. We didn’t forget … Read more
This tramp started from Putangirua Pinnacles, walking down to Mangatoetoe (Cape Palliser) via a number of huts. We had left Platform 9 at 5:15 pm on Friday for a couple hours drive to the Pinnacles campsite. Apparently the water at the campsite was not safe to drink, so we had filled our bottles at a … Read more
Given that our Medium Fit minibus companions were embarking on a trip entitled ‘Dundas: the Hard Way’, one could be forgiven for thinking that there is an ‘Easy Way’ to reach Dundas Hut. This would be a mistake. Dundas is a wonderful, challenging, rewarding trip… but easy it was not. We set off from Putara … Read more
Originally this trip was going to Howlett’s Hut in the Ruahines, but looking at the weather outside on Friday and the forecast ahead, Kevin and the trip leader of the tandem EM group (Garth) made the right decision to postpone and relocate to the Tararuas. After having a pie stop en route (unusual on the … Read more
Day 0 – Fly Camping at Mangahao Dam After Megan skilfully negotiated the windy road from Shannon to the top Mangahao Dam, we fly camped at the face of the dams. The recent rain had meant that the spillway was open and a little noisy. Day 1 – Mangahao Dams to Te Matawai Hut via … 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