Waiopehu Hut – Tararua Forest Park

We met on Saturday morning at 9am at Wellington Train Station – thanks to Debbie who was our driver for the trip. It was a small group – just the four of us (myself, Tony, Debbie & Jamie). It was Jamie’s first hike with the tramping club. When we arrived at the start of the … Read more

Te Matawai Hut – Tararua Forest Park

Summary:• Mud, mud and more mud!!!• Approximately 40 km over 2 days, including a side trip towards Pukematawai on the Tararua main range to get some views!• Te Matawai Hut is an 18 bunk non-bookable hut in the north part of Tararua Forest Park. Saturday 25 May 2024: 17.9 km As there were just two … Read more

Otaki and Ohau bush-bash – Tararua Forest Park

Day 1: Friday 12 January – Poads Road to Waiopehu HutThis trip was planned as a Medium-Fit trip in and out of Mid Otaki Hut via Poads Road. However, when it became clear a few other people couldn’t make the trip, and Mon and I wanted to visit South and North Ohau Huts as well, … Read more

‘Puggy-licious’ Waiopehu – Tararua Forest Park

We gathered at platform 9 on Saturday morning at 8 am and headed out to Poads Road end via a coffee stop at Paekākāriki. Our tramp began at 10 am and we spent the first 15 minutes or so trudging through very muddy paddocks to the start of the actual track. We took the most … Read more

Mini SK turned section of the TA

Day 1: Poads Rd to Te Matawai Hut (31st Dec) Poads rd to Waiopehu: 5hWaiopehu to Te Matawai: 4h We met at 8am at Ōtaki Forks, left a car there and drove up to Poads Road. It was 9am and already pretty hot when we started heading up Waiopehu track, which was suspiciously dry. After … Read more

Te Matawai Hut

Saturday 5th March – Enjoying the sun along the tops We had an awesome trip away to Te Matawai Hut in the Tararuas. I had never been into the Poads Road entrance of the Tararuas before so was keen to see some new tracks. Six of us (across a Medium, and Medium-Fit group) set off … Read more

Te Matawai Hut

Te-Matawai-Hut

On the Saturday morning at 7.30 am six still half-asleep but excited punters met at the train station and set off in the van making our way slowly to the Poads Road end to start our walk. The beauty about leaving at an early time on a Saturday morning is that there is no traffic … Read more

Mid Otaki

Upper Otaki River

Waitangi Day offered the perfect opportunity to take an extra day off and explore a little further in the Tararuas. I had been keen for a bit of a river trip for a while and decided on the Ōtaki Our route was Poads Road to North Ohau Hut, over to mid Ōtaki, then along the … Read more

Mud and sun at Te Matawai

Tararua Ranges

On Saturday we set off in the van from the railway station just after 6am. We arrived at the Poads Road end carpark south east of Levin at about 8am and were greeted by a local, very friendly chicken, and made to feel welcome. Most of us had the pleasure of sampling the especially ripe … Read more

Waiopehu Hut

We departed on Saturday morning from the Railway Station at 8am with a glorious day ahead of us. This was despite the small accident my water bladder had on the front passenger seat of the van. We stopped for water filling/coffee in Levin, and we also went on a tiki tour of farm land around … Read more