Tramping, Tales, Training and Travails
A impassable rock cliff drops to a deep pool at the end of the narrowing riverbank before us. Do we forge around, off-track and wet feet 10 minutes from the car, or back-track? This is my dilemma, facing the slippery riverbank of the Waiotauru River at the southern Otaki Forks campsite. We're not ten minutes in and I've... Continue Reading →
I picked up a NewTopo Map of the Tararua Ranges a while back. It's a great planning map - the whole range is there, including estimated walk times on various routes, and it marks various things unfound on some other modern maps. What sets us on our journey today is a point of interest W of... Continue Reading →
Only after I began peeing over the fence did I notice the periodic zap of the electric line mere inches from the action. We're at the farm carpark where the Ruamahanga river meets State Highway 2, a bit below Mt Bruce. We miss the road in the first time, as it looks like a driveway. I... Continue Reading →
R eyeballs the Pinnacle Ridge in the mid-Tararuas as a place to get some off-track navigation practice. He collects some of his friends who're keen to do similar, of which I am one - so I head off for the first trip I haven't had to do anything for in ages. When you haven't been in the back seat... 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: 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: 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: 17/03/2018 – 18/03/2018 Party: Larry, Garry Night location/s: Kapakapanui Hut The Kapakapanui track circuit perches on the eastern edge of the Tararuas. It was recommended to me last year as a good first tramp for Gerry and I. Gerry protested due to GHOSTS. So this weekend I took a different G up for his first... 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 →
I have longed to explore the Tararua ranges since my early 20s, but through a lack of knowledge, company and the semi-regular deaths-of-the-ill-prepared, they have remained out of reach. Not anymore! This entry covers my first tramp - the Southern Crossing. Often snow-covered in winter, the Tararua Ranges are a seductive untamed wilderness so close... Continue Reading →
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