Pizzas and Powell Hut – Tararua Forest Park

The first stop on this trip was the mysterious Mount Holdsworth Pizza restaurant. This joint – a Canadian Rockies style log building located close to the Mount Holdsworth camping area – is only open on Friday nights during summer. It’s a full-blown pizza restaurant however, serving delicious pizzas to an enthusiastic clientele. I can recommend … Read more

Holdsworth to Jumbo tramp

Mt Holdsworth in winter

Walking from Powell Hut to Jumbo Hut in winter [Aimee] Tony said it was time for another trip. We all agreed. Outside of working hours, the best weather window was between Friday evening and Saturday mid-morning. Because of this, Tony suggested we go for a day walk, but at night. Recalling the last time we … Read more

Off track with the goblins in East Holdsworth

Trampers in the goblin forest, East Holdsworth

If you go off track in the Tararuas, beware of the enchanting goblin forests. The morning started with my favourite way to start a tramp, taking photos of amazing mushrooms before crossing a nice swing bridge. About an hour in we met a couple of veteran club members coming out of the bush to get … Read more

High Ridge Adventures Part II

On my last trip to High Ridge we did not manage to get to Totara Creek or Totara Flats hut and instead found ourselves marooned on Flaxy Knob on the Saturday night. There is good travel along High Ridge and I was keen to do the section from Flaxy Knob to Totara Creek. Pete put … Read more

Mid-Waiohine Hut (transformed into High Ridge Adventures)

I had last visited Mid Waiohine hut many years ago and I’ve been keen to go back there for a while. So I signed up for Matt and Maj-Britt’s trip there. We met at Wellington station on the Friday evening and departed for the Wairarapa. As we were driving we were already discussing other options … Read more

Big Day Out: Jumbo-Holdsworth in pictures

Group times (approximately): 8:00am Holdsworth Carpark – 9:00am slip – 9:50am Atiwhakatu Hut – 12:00pm Jumbo Hut – 3:00pm Powell Hut – 6.00pm Holdsworth Carpark.

Broken Axe Pinnacles day walk

Broken Axe Pinnacles

We arrived at the Holdsworth carpark at 8 am just in time to see the full moon setting below the western hills. Twelve hours later on the ridge between Jumbo and Mt Holdsworth we saw a blood-red full moon rise slowly above the eastern horizon. In between we enjoyed a glorious Tararua early-winter day travelling … Read more

Familes Group finally do Jumbo-Holdsworth

After the last attempt to go around the loop was stopped due to bad weather in the Tararuas (how surprising!), some of the punters were more than keen for another shot. Fortunately a good weather window coincided with the trip schedule. Some us were left waiting at the road end ready to go, wondering where … Read more

Mid-Waiohine in a Mid-summer’s Frost

It had been a beautiful week of weather. Of course the forecast for this, the following week is also primo! However, in-between, we would be tramping in horizontal rain with a southerly bringing a wind chill and a not-so-balmy minus 5 degrees. Most of us had what we needed and other put a little more … Read more

Family group tramp to Powell hut and Totara Flats hut

For once the Metservice long term weather forecast for the Tararuas was accurate, promising a three day potpourri of sunshine, gale force winds and heavy rain following on from a snow storm on the Friday. This necessitated a change from the original plan of the Jumbo-Holdsworth Loop due to the gale force winds on the … Read more