Tramping, Tales, Training and Travails
With a week off work and still stiff from a tramp on Sunday, I plan an adventure on Monday morning, pack the car and drive to Stratford in Taranaki, 4.5hrs north of Wellington. Tonight I hunker down in my tent at the Stratford Holiday Park. "Hope you have a good sleeping bag" the host cheerfully says, as... Continue Reading →
The Atene Skyline Track is a 6-8hr loop track on eastern side of the Whanganui river, about 45 minutes north of Whanganui. It catches my eye as a day trip while returning from walking the Pouakai Circuit. Leaving a cabin bright and early, I drive 45 minutes to the start of the walk. The road itself... Continue Reading →
'Tramping in winter you need crampons and ice axes' I've heard. I haven't tramped in the snow but I want to go have a look. With a small dusting on the Tararua ranges, the Holdsworth-Jumbo circuit is the go - I put an ad on Meetup and a party of five gathers. I wake at 5am and stumble... Continue Reading →
Date: 20/05/2018 – 21/05/2018 Party: Colin, Dan, Raj, Catherine, Jo, Theresa, Carolyn, Larry Night location/s: Paua Hut 'Anyone keen to lead a trip to Paua Hut? It's booked but noone's going'. Knocking off another Orongorongo hut seduces me more than my intended weekend activity - working - so I say 'sure'. As the meetup time creeps closer, storms lash the region. The... Continue Reading →
Date: 06/05/2018 – 07/05/2018 Party: Rachel, Kristyna, Larry Night location/s: Penn Creek Hut Hosting a tramp overnight on Sunday is an experiment - how many keen shift workers are around? With howling gales and rain forecast, the answer is just one. So Rachel and I gear up to walk to Penn Creek, when a mutual friend (MB) puts us... Continue Reading →
Date: 28/04/2018 – 29/04/2018 Party: Gerry, Larry Night location/s: Roaring Stag Lodge Leaving Putara Roadend at 12:30, we cross five minutes of farmland before reaching the first bridge (320m), over a tributary of the Mangatainoka River outside Eketahuna. From here we follow along the banks of the waterway, climbing slowly to 400m and another bridge, much bigger at 1:10 (40min... Continue Reading →
Date: 21/04/2018 – 22/04/2018 Party: Rachel, Mae, Julia, Jeff, Catherine and Larry Night location/s: Tutuwai Hut Meetup has a tramping group I joined a while back to connect with more trampers. The only problem is most trips are often fully booked - so I put my hand up to organise some myself. This trip is my first Meetup lead. Our intention... Continue Reading →
Date: 08/04/2018 – 09/04/2018 Party: Larry & Dave Night location/s: Boar Inn (DOC sole occupancy) A little brotherly outing on a Sunday night, Dave and I set off from the Catchpool carpark at 3:30pm. We climb the Butcher Track, a consistent 300m climb over 1km, entering the Beech forest characteristic of this side of the ridge, with plenty of fantails for... Continue Reading →
Date: 31/03/2018 – 01/04/2018 Party: Larry & D Night location/s: Tutuwai Hut Easter is the last combination of balmy weather and public holidays for many trampers; plans are set to travel far and wide. We had these plans too, but end up going overnight to Tutuwai Hut in the Tararuas instead. We set off at 11:20 from the Kaitoke Scout Camp.... Continue Reading →
Date: 24/03/2018 – 25/03/2018 Party: Larry & 7 respectfully anonymous folks (3 with the initial 'M'!) Night location/s: Haurangi Hut We depart Sunny Grove at 9:30am, shrouded in perpetual shade. We are a party of eight, connected through the Wellington Tramping Group on Meetup. Our destination is Haurangi Hut, a 10 bunk DOC hut available by booking only. M booked... Continue Reading →
Date: 03/02/2018 – 04/02/2018 Party: Larry, Dave and Martin Night location/s: Matthews Stream (tenting) We climb the Whakanui Track at the south end of ironically named Sunny Grove Wainui at 11am. The party is bro Dave, his mate (and now mine) Martin and myself. It is a relatively steep climb from 140m to 540m, where we meet the... Continue Reading →
I have decided to write 'trip reports' for my tramping, for future reference and because I find those written by others very handy. This first one will be me figuring out how best to do it. A bit less 'travel writing' and more 'useful information concisely' perhaps, if I can convince myself! Date: 27/01/2018 - 28/01/2018... Continue Reading →
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