On Saturday morning an Easy-Medium and a Medium club group set off together in the club van from Wellington Train Station to Putara Road end, via a bakery in Carterton. The group of 14 of us all started off together on the track in the rain. We needed to cross some swingbridges along the way … Read more
Nearly two years on from my last tramp, I thought it would be a great idea to get back into the bush — with an 11-hour trek up Mt Hector. No, this isn’t a tale of regret and sore muscles, but one of feeling reinvigorated through reuniting with tree roots and the rugged tops of the … Read more
FridayThe weather leading up to the weekend had been sketchy, with persistent rain and more forecast. Our original plan was to head into the Kaimanawa Forest Park – camping at the road end on Friday and making the 7-hr trip to Waipakihi Hut on Saturday. However, with heavy rainfall in the area leading up to … Read more
After a wet and rather dreary couple of weeks, our group of 7 Easy Medium (EM) walkers were very happy to see the sun coming out as we drove out of Wellington Train Station with a Medium Fit (MF) group from the club at 8am on Saturday morning. Day 1 – Saturday We dropped the … Read more
I was originally inspired to start bagging plane wrecks in the Tararuas at a club talk back in 2021, so I am happy to report that four years later I have now ticked off two plane wrecks. The first was near Mick, on the western side of the range, so it is appropriate that this … Read more
This trip was organised a bit late in the piece, after we were unable to secure enough bunks at Jumbo Hut (where we had originally planned to go). SaturdayWe travelled in the club van with another group from the tramping club who were heading to Jumbo Hut – departing from Wellington Train Station at 7am. … Read more
Friday Every time I walk the Barra Track I make a big deal of telling everyone who will listen about how much I dislike it. Yet once again, I found myself walking it – this time by head torch on a Friday evening – which of course made it take even longer than usual. We … Read more
I was slouching up against the wall of an Indian takeaways on Kent Terrace when I made the call. A weather bomb had hit the Tararuas, swelling rivers and drowning my dreams of taking my troop of ‘easy-medium’ punters to Mangahao Flats Hut. Instead, I spent the time waiting for my butter chicken pondering an … Read more
Friday 14th Feb We combined resources with the MF trip group who were heading to Holdsworth trailhead. We all set off in the club van from Wellington Railway Station at 4.30 pm. We had decided on this earlier meet up time to give us more time for the walk into Mitre Flats Hut on the … Read more
After 6 months of casual day trips and regular wine and cheese tasting overseas, I wondered what the best way would be to get back into tramping in NZ… and the answer appeared on the trip schedule listed as a Emily’s MF trip “Waiohine Pack Float via Jacs Biv”: good company, some tops travel, another … Read more