Blue Skies for Blue Range

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

Dreaming of a view at Kapakapanui

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

Renata Hut via Maymorn Junction: 20% brain, 30% muscle, 50% fun and 10% luck

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

Tutuwai instead of Alpha

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: Good company, good custard.

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

Totara Flats (and the best veggie shepherds pie ever tasted in the Tararuas…)

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

Herepai: A tale of two dogs

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

The Tararuas January to December

The 2016 Tararua Calendar – a trip through the Tararuas from January to December By Harry Smith When you are an unemployed layabout, living on boiled rice and scavenged apple cores and reusing teabags six or seven times over, you will accept any freebie you can get your hands on. So when Tony Gazley offered me a free … Read more

Renata Ridge

There’s nothing like gale forecasts of 100 km/hr to lend the run-up to the weekend a slight nervous edge. But spirits were high in the minibus so I could only assume either the others hadn’t seen the forecast or that I was the mad one: that heading up to a ridge with that forecast was … Read more