Tararua Range – what are some of its faults?

The Tararua photographed from Mt Hector

Tararua Range –what are some of its faults? The Tararua has many earthquake faults, and the Wellington Fault has left many obvious geomorphological features visible to the hiker. 🌧 One of the faults of the Tararua Range is that it rains a lot and there are only about 80 sunny days per year. But there are … Read more

Mitre Flats and floating the Waingawa River

Floating down the Waingawa River from Mitre Flats to the road

Mitre Flats and the Waingawa River in the Tararua Range On a fine warm day it’s so much more fun just floating down the river than walking down the track to get from Mitre Flats to the road. What better way to spend a fine weather Sunday than an easy WTMC day walk into Mitre … Read more

Carkeek Ridge (and Carkeek Hut)

Descending Carkeek Ridge in the Tararua Range

I have been determinedly Tararua hut-bagging for a couple of years now, having realised I’d haphazardly visited about three quarters of them. Carkeek Hut is one of the most difficult to get to being right in the middle of the range with no DoC-maintained tracks to it. I was waiting for a good weather weekend … Read more

Cow Creek Hut Loop with a little navigation

With Wellington returning to Level 1, and club life starting back up again, I was very keen to get out into the bush on a proper club trip. As the week progressed, the forecast dampened my enthusiasm. Not only was there going to be extremely high winds (between 40 and 90km/h on the Saturday and … Read more

Mitre Flats – a little gem

Mitre Flats Hut

Mitre Flats – a little gem A guide to hikers wanting to visit Mitre Flats in the Tararua – with descriptions of the track and hut. Some people don’t like the track into Mitre Flats. It’s named on maps as the Barra Track after the bushman that first cut it and it does seem to … Read more

A classic northern with a twist (Tararua Ranges)

Overlooking a ridge while standing at Bannister

The plan: a two day traverse via an interesting looking spur from Bannister to the Ruamahanga.  4.30am Saturday – the cell phone buzzes. Mike has dragged himself out of bed and is heading my way. It’s pleasant to have company for the trip to Poads Road and good to be walking by 7am under lights. … Read more

Mitre Flats

Mitre Flats

Organising and leading an easy club trip can often be a bit fraught. It usually starts with a full trip list at closing date but by payment time people suddenly have other plans, admit they had forgotten they actually signed up at all and now don’t have time to get themselves organised, or they just … Read more

Winter Womble to Tararua Tops

All photos taken by Tony S. Tony’s Tarn Ridge trip appealed to me for two reasons. The first being the physical challenge. The trip had an “MF” label that would usually have sent me screaming in the other direction. However, over the past few weeks I had done a number of long day trips and … Read more

Solo Adventurer – to Mid-King Biv and Beyond

This is the soggy tail of an overnighter-turned day trip. The plan: Donnelly Flats, Pinnacle Ridge, Baldy, South and Middle Kings, Mid King Biv, South Mitre Stream, the Pines and over the ridge to Holdsworth Lodge. The weather is glum for a 7.25am kick off. I’ve picked a handy looking spur below the first marked … Read more

Mitre Flats Hut navigation

Ten WTMC members set off on Saturday 3 December to do an EM navigation trip to Mitre Flats Hut via Blue Range. It was such a beautiful, sunny day that we wondered if it would be better to just head to the beach rather than go tramping. However, the first stop at Wild Oats in … Read more