Nei te mihi maioha ki ngā kaitiaki o Tararua maunga. Arā, ko Rangitāne o Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua, ko Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa, ko Muaūpoko, ko Ngāti Toa Rangatira, ko ngā iwi o taua wāhi katoa hoki. Tēnā koutou katoa. A warm thanks to the guardians of the Tararua range. Namely, Rangitāne o Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua, Ngāti Kahungunu … Read more
Four hardy souls decided to tackle the Dundas Loop over a weekend. The original plan had been to tramp from Putara carpark to Dundas Hut on the Saturday. But common sense prevailed. So Friday afternoon saw us making the two-hour drive from Wellington to the remote Putara carpark. After a brief stop in Greytown for … Read more
Day one – The tramp started with a meet up at Wellington train station under a reasonably grey sky. The drive was long, so it was hard to pick what the weather was going to be like when we made it to the start point – but we ended up with rain. Steady slow rain. … Read more
We had a lovely trip to Roaring Stag Hut in the northern Tararua Ranges (Mangatainoka Valley) in the first weekend of October 2021. Five of us met at the usual spot at Wellington Train Station (very grateful to be leaving on a Saturday morning!), and our leader, Anne, kindly drove us the 2 1/2 hours … Read more
This trip was Marie Henderson’s idea. Walk into Roaring Stag on Friday night and sleep in the hut. Then packraft down the Ruamahanga River on Saturday to a Mt Bruce exit on the highway. But at the last hour Marie was called by SAR for four days assistance in the search for a tramper missing … Read more
When I put an “SK” on the schedule for Easter weekend, I envisaged four glorious sunny windless days on the tops of the Tararua Ranges. More than one fellow club member laughed at me for such an ambitious trip over a typically mixed bag weather weekend. However, right up until the week before, I was … Read more
The eight of us met at 8am Saturday, many clasping coffees to assist with the early start. I’ve done plenty of tramping, but this was my second trip with the club, so I was looking forward to meeting other “easy” going trampers. As I’d hoped, the conversation flowed readily with everyone. Lots of rain was … Read more
Tramping to Dundas Hut with a medium/fit group for my first WTMC trip isn’t the best decision I’ve made in my life. I thought I was fit from running around hilly Wellington but the muddy, tree-root covered, relentless steep climbs and descents of the Tararuas made me feel like I’d never exercised in my life. … Read more
Our group left Wellington first thing on Saturday morning and encountered a great snow scene driving over the Rimutakas. Luckily the weather was feeling friendly and we soon left the snow behind – a beautiful weekend was ahead. A stop at the Clareville Bakery, just north of Carterton, was a given for pre-tramp calories and … Read more
Roaring Stag Hut had been described to me as a typical Tararuas tramp and a staple on the WTMC tramping schedule, so as a fully -fledged member now I thought it was one that I must do. The tramp started at 9.00am on Saturday morning at the Railway station. Ten of us piled into the … Read more