Wharepapa Hut Bush-Bash – Remutaka Forest Park

We knew the Papatahi Crossing track was overgrown and, besides visiting Wharepapa Hut, we also wanted to see the extent of the growth to help decide whether the club should help DoC maintain the track. We met at Wellington Railway Station and headed over the Remutaka Hill in Mon’s car, arriving at the road end … Read more

Sunny Trip to Snowy Hut – Tararua Forest Park

We decided on a day trip to Snowy Hut, after a changing weather forecast swept away our plans for a 6-day expedition. Starting out from Otaki Forks just after 8am, we walked for about an hour on the road until we reached the start of the Waiotauru Hut track. In the first few kms of … Read more

Pouri Hut – Whanganui National Park

We left Wellington Train Station at 4pm on Friday and drove to our accommodation for the night at Te Wera Valley Lodge (www.tewera-lodge.co.nz) located on a remote road called the Forgotten World Highway – about 37km from Stratford. It was a very cold winter night and we arrived at 9.15pm. We were the only guests … Read more

Mt Patriarch – Mt Richmond Forest Park

What a trip, what a weekend, what a day! We had a wonderfully smooth sail on the Interislander, and used the time to scour our maps and discuss where we would go! It’s a wonderful feeling to pour over topo maps and evaluate track options when possibilities abound!  So exciting! We had been informed by … Read more

Pig Flat Hut and the Remutaka Trig

My hopes to complete a circuit in the Kawekas over King’s Birthday weekend were compromised by the ongoing impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle. Without being able to confirm road access or track conditions, we were onto plan B: a delightful off-track adventure in a remote part of Whanganui National Park. However, with heavy rain in the … Read more

Mount Richmond with penguins and snails – Mt Richmond Forest Park

Mt Richmond is on my aging list of ‘50 Best Tramping Peaks’ from the Wilderness magazine, way back, hence why I suggested it for the WTMC trip schedule. And on this weekend, it did indeed turn out to be a spectacular tramping peak. There were six of us, plus three from the EM group, on … Read more

Tauwharenīkau River – Tararua Forest Park

Trains, Tubes, Bikes and Boots ‘The 9.55 am train to Masterton has been delayed’ boomed the loudspeaker at Wellington Railway Station. Harry was unfazed. ‘This always happens to me’ he sighed. With a tight timeframe, we planned to train to Woodside, cycle to Bucks Road, tramp to the Tauwharenīkau River, tube the gorge and then … Read more

Mount Reeves – Tararua Forest Park

Due to poor weather, the plan for this trip ended up changing quite a bit. Originally, this was meant to be a Howletts Hut overnight trip in the Ruahine Ranges, but due to this walk having a decent portion of ridge travel and river crossings, we decided to do a loop walk a little closer … Read more

A tramp of two halves

Aorangi crossing

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

Tongariro Northern Circuit

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