This was billed as a new members tramp, but featured six enthusiastic non-members sampling some of what the club has to offer. Our destination was Paua Hut, the WTMC’s hut in the Orongorongo Valley, accessed from the Catchpool carpark (a 45 minute drive from Wellington Train Station via Wainuiomata). Given the walk to Paua Hut … Read more
The trip schedule proposed an Ōrongorongo hut-bagging trip, with a particular focus on visiting Baine-Iti and Goat Stream Huts. There are many private huts in the Ōrongorongo Valley, so the precise trip plan could be as relaxed or ambitious as the group desired. Eight people were keen for this spontaneous adventure. We carpooled to Catchpool … Read more
This was an easy day tramp to Mt McKerrow. The weather was chilly when we left the Catchpool carpark, but after a few minutes we had warmed up enough for most people to remove some layers. The first 20 minutes or so along the Five Mile Loop track is pretty flat, but the track up … Read more
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
A relaxed start and some questionable navigation lead us to the Ōrongorongo Station carpark at 9:30am. We left a car there, drove to the Catchpool Valley carpark, and were walking by 10am. In no time at all we were heading up the Ōrongorongo Valley. A vague attempt was made to keep boots dry on the … Read more
Eager Beaver Canyon v4a2IV** A long day hike to Waiorongomai Hut then to Eager Beaver Canyon and return after rappelling the three 40 m waterfalls. In 2021 club member Megan Sety wrote an article for Wilderlife titled, ‘Near Miss – How not to get into canyoning. It was the story of an attempt by a … Read more
Tapokopoko to South Saddle ‘Where is the Tapokopoko scree slope? The map shows it is right here.’ ‘The map lies. I reckon the cheeky aliens stole it out from under us and planted a whole forest of trees instead!’ Tony and I were standing on the edge of the supposed ‘scree slope’ that was marked … Read more
Route: Return trip from Orongorongo carpark to Barney’s Whare.Weather: Fine, no windGroup Time: 3.5 hrs + 45 mins A beautiful autumn day greeted us as we departed platform 9 at Wellington Railway Station. The Harbour was a millpond and as we crested the Wainuiomata Hill we disappeared into the thin layer of fog which enveloped … Read more
Six of us left the Catchpool carpark just after 9 am in slightly cool conditions. We were soon in the Orongorongo Valley and headed upstream to Goat Stream. At Goat Stream Hut we had morning tea. We didn’t see the person staying at Goat Stream Hut, but the door was unlocked and there were signs of habitation in … Read more
Waiorongomai Hut An overnight hiking trip to the Waiorongomai Hut in the Remutaka Forest Park A leisurely 9am departure from platform 9, along with the Papatahi Crossing group. Our first stop was delivering that group to their start point, but because we had plenty of time and only a short walk to Waiorongomai hut, we … Read more