An early Saturday morning meet up (7am) and we headed off up the coast turning onto SH57 at the south of Shannon. A gravel road for the last 40 minutes or so to upper Mangahao Dam, the back seaters started to feel woozy and we were relieved to park up and get going on a … Read more
This was a sunny Sunday day trip into the Tararuas. We had a late start (due to Aimee arriving late with the van!) So after asking my team to be at the Railway Station at 8am sharp, I made them wait for 15 minutes. But we were on the road by 8.15am, and it was … Read more
Kapakapanui (1102 m) is known for its fine views across Kapiti and into the Tararuas and our group of five was looking forward to seeing it for ourselves. With Kapakapanui being so close to Wellington (inland of Waikanae), we had a leisurely start and left from Wellington Railway Station at 9am on Saturday and then … Read more
When Tony emailed out the trip plan to me, the sole punter, there were strict instructions to meet at platform 9 at 7.30am Saturday with my car. Since I was still struggling with daylight saving, my thought was pretty much ‘Struth! Tell him he’s dreaming.’ At 7.32am my clapped out wannabe Holden Barina screeched into … Read more
The trip was originally planned as a navigation trip to Alpha hut via the Quoin Ridge, and then returning via the Eastern Hut river. Amanda’s initial email warned that this would likely be at the upper end of the medium grade with two longish days of up to nine hours. In the end there five … 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
The rain on Friday night gave us an excuse for a very leisurely Saturday morning start to the tramp. We met at the Railway Station at 7.30am, and stopped for breakfast and a coffee at the Wild Oats Café in Masterton around 9am. So it wasn’t until 10.10am that we were at the Holdsworth road … Read more
This is a tale of two dogs. Saturday morning, eleven of us arrived with our van at the trailhead of Herepai. Upon arrival we were greeted by a dog – lets call him Rocky. Rocky ran alongside our car for the final 200 meters of our drive. His impressive sprint proved he could easily fill … Read more
Lost tramper found by a tree A tramper reported missing in the Tararua Range was fortunately found by a tree . It has been reported that the search for a missing tramper ended happily. Police were called by the mother of a middle-aged man overdue on a day-walk in the Tararua Forest Park when he … Read more
The tramp began at 8.35 pm on Friday evening at the end of Mt Holdsworth Road, reached via Carterton. Although we set out for Atiwhakatu Hut when it was still light, it quickly turned dark while we were walking and we had to get the head torches out. The gravel track is in good … Read more