Rory: Well, after an exceptionally early 7am meeting at the train station, (I am used to 9am) introductions were made, bacon and egg English muffins were crammed into mouths and we were on our way with Paula only stalling the manual van a few times before getting to the destination. Rory: After about a 1.5 … Read more
Saturday –Waiohine Gorge Roadend –Cone Hut-Tutuwai Hut We left the railway station at 8:30am on Saturday morning and drove to the Waiohine Gorge Roadend. We hit the track at about 10:45am by crossing the highest swing bridge in the Tararuas and took the left track that would take us through to Cone Hut. From there … Read more
Originally we were supposed to be picking up the Moonlight Southern Crossing (FE) group on Sunday at midday-ish, but as that trip was called off we had a lot more freedom on departure times and return times. We left the station at a very reasonable 9am on Saturday morning, a nice change from the typical … Read more
Our weekend starts with Katie pulling out at 5.30pm on Friday due to a pulled muscle. We hear there was a good party on Saturday night too…. Katie was a good sort, acting as a shuttle driver to and from the club van, and passing over her group rations; including a wonderful dessert that even … Read more
The forecast for our 3 day Tararua based tramp over Queen’s birthday was excellent. So, we tramped in Friday night from the Waiohine Gorge road end to Cone Hut on the south eastern Tararuas with real optimism for nailing what looked like a substantial medium trip. Saturday morning was magnificent: neither wind nor clouds. We … Read more
On a dreary Saturday morning we contemplated alternative routes as we made our way to Levin. A southerly was forecast and there was already snow on the coastal foothills of the Kapiti coast. As we ascended the windy road to Mangahao Dam 2, the sunny calm weather convinced us to stick with our planned trip … Read more
Friday night we made the long drive from Levin to the Mangahou road end. The evening was cold but very still at the tail end of the miserable southerly which had blown hard all week. Morning saw a cold and very light drizzle, we donned coats and warms and made haste round the lake, getting … Read more
Renata Hut has loads of ambience. Ambience of a basic tin shed with some paint slapped on about 100 years ago with a collection of critters and the special indoor garden found in all continually damp locations. But I have never yet been sad to see it. All routes in I have taken so far … Read more
We left Wellington on Friday evening, so that the Medium Fits we were travelling with could hit the trail early the following morning. Parking up at the trail head we put on our head torches and made the short walk out to Parawai Hut. For Jo and I this was the first time tramping with … Read more
Weather Fine start on Saturday, overcast developing with a couple of light showers in the afternoon cloud breaking for a clear Sunday. No wind. Track conditions The track appears to be infrequently maintained; so although generally pretty easy to follow, there are quite a few tree falls which haven’t been cleared so there is a … Read more