Wellington Tramping and Mountaineering Club
enjoying the great outdoors since 1947
When the Aorangi Crossing has been on the schedule in the past it has attracted a handful of signups. This time however, there were two handfuls – in fact a round baker’s dozen of keen beans signed up. The reason for this, I believe, is simple – people love a challenge. The last club trip … Read more
Saturday morning 6:30 we set off from Whakapapa village to join Juan to tick off his final great walk. The crisp morning led us to shatter the DOC times and tramp to Mangatapopo hut in 2:15 instead of the designated 4 hours. After a quick break we joined the refugee caravan on the Tongariro crossing. Hundreds of … Read more
We had a good group of people keen to get into the Richmond Range and do some reconnoitring over the long Wellington Anniversary weekend. Having recently come out of a mission to Carkeek Hut (and beyond) I was still a bit sore but keen to get into this great part of the south island, having … Read more
A warm sunny evening greeted our group as we departed Wellington on the Friday night. We stopped for dinner at the yummy Turkish restaurant in Carterton before making our way to the Anzac Campground near Norsewood. We arrived after dark meaning we had to set up our tents with our head torches on, but as … Read more
On Friday night our party of 11 stayed at Owen River Tavern campsite. The next morning, we drove 30 minutes over an unsealed road to the trailhead at 442828 and started our tramp at 8:40 after the obligatory group picture. There hadn’t been any rain for days, so the river crossing in the first bit was quite … Read more
In one of our first trips together, Caryl and I signed up to Maarten’s “Easy-Medium” to Renata Hut. Unfortunately we only made it as far as Kapakapanui Hut on that occasion, so we both felt we had unfinished business with Renata Hut. When I saw it on the winter schedule I thought leading it would … Read more
We left the train station Friday at 5:45pm and headed towards the Wairarapa. Traffic was surprisingly good so we made good time as we travelled north to Ruahine. We stopped in Carterton for an awesome meal at ‘Istanbul’ and then carried on to Dannevirke. The weather started to get worse with rain and wind as … Read more
Despite the miserable forecast for Saturday, I was looking forward to Uta’s Medium ‘Holdsworth to Waiohine’ trip in the Tararuas. Not only is Uta a most excellent leader, but the company promised to be top-notch. In particular, I was looking forward to being reunited with my snowcraft buddy Juan who (when I wasn’t clinging to … Read more
Two van loads of happy WTMC trampers reached our lodge close to midnight. Everything was completely fogged in. Luckily the green lights up at XXC gave a good hint where to stop and try to find the stairs to the lodge. Most of us were lodge virgins and when we arrived we were all in … Read more
Somewhere on the western side of the Tararuas, between the more popular spots around Otaki Forks and Poads Road end, is a selection of old meandering forestry tracks that go nowhere in particular. One of these, for reasons unknown to the author, is called the Mick Track. The Mick Track offers up the standard Tararua … Read more