Lodge Update: Our Maunga July 2021

• 2 Aug 2021
• Wellington Tramping and Mountainneering Club
• We have passed the first group of school holidays with a good turn out of families staying at the lodge over the two-week period. Unfortunately, only the lower mountain was open for skiing due to the poor covering of snow on the upper mountain. Happy valley was open most days for skiing and the Rangatira ... Read more
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From the President … in July 2021

• 29 Jul 2021
• Wellington Tramping and Mountainneering Club
• Tēnā koutou I’m delighted that we now have a full Committee – and really pleased to welcome our new Chief Guide, Anne de Ferron. Anne has been leading trip for many years, as well as helping the club with the Mountain Film Festival and in many other ways. So many thanks to Matt C for ... Read more
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From the Editor, July 2021

• 26 Jul 2021
• Wellington Tramping and Mountainneering Club
• Greetings, Readers. It is I, the Newsletter Editor, coming to you with information and requests The Request Please keep sending me trip reports! Without trip reports to publish I would have to find a job or something to occupy my time with, or worse, I’ll start making up my own trip reports and then you’ll ... Read more
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King of the Hill

• 26 Jul 2021
• Wellington Tramping and Mountainneering Club
• Bleary eyed I emerged from my car at Takapu Rd Station. Here I encountered my first obstacle: getting into the WTMC van. This was was far too difficult for half past six in the morning, taking a swift blow from Richard’s boot to finally dislodge the door from its jammed state. At Wellington Station we ... Read more
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Flying Bed Story

• 25 Jul 2021
• Wellington Tramping and Mountainneering Club
• So you think skiing at Ruapehu is a bit of a hassle. A lengthy drive to the WTMC Lodge, sharing bunkrooms with noisy (or not noisy enough) others, cooking, cleaning and the other odd jobs that are actually just part of lodge life are all too much for you? Well, if so, then you don’t ... Read more
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2021 Best of the New Zealand Mountain Film Festival National Tour coming to Wellington

• 16 Jul 2021
• Wellington Tramping and Mountainneering Club
• The best of the New Zealand Mountain Film Festival National Tour is once again coming back to Wellington with a double feature! The festival started in 2002 and is internationally recognised as one of the world’s premier mountain film festival events. It’s NZ’s original mountain film festival with an international adventure film maker’s competition, as ... Read more
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• 26 Jun 2021
• Wellington Tramping and Mountainneering Club
• Lodge Update: Our Maunga June 2021 Last weekend we had the pleasure of joining a club trip celebrating the winter solstice. A good time was had by all with a Christmas meal, great music, dancing, and lots of good fun. The day trips on Saturday were varied but most did the Kiriwhakapapa circuit in pleasant ... Read more
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From the President … in June 2021

• 24 Jun 2021
• Wellington Tramping and Mountainneering Club
• Tēnā koutou I appreciate Wellington moving back to Level 2 is a settling time for many members, the club and our outdoors community. We will send out more information in a few days when it is clearer whether we are likely to return to Level 1 early next week or stay at Level 2 for ... Read more
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Te Puia Tramp

• 20 Jun 2021
• Wellington Tramping and Mountainneering Club
• Looking through past trip reports it seems the club has a tradition of organising Te Puia tramps over Queen’s birthday weekend. And it’s a great tradition; what’s better than soaking in hot pools on a winter tramp. So the 2021 tramp was organised to live up to the tradition and make the most of the ... Read more
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Holly Hut

• 20 Jun 2021
• Wellington Tramping and Mountainneering Club
• Intro The group had signed up to do Syme Hut, but changed plans given the conditions and out of respect for the two climbers who lost their lives on Mt Taranaki 4 May. Our first night was at Konini Lodge by the Dawson Falls Visitor Centre. Saturday we drove 50 minutes around the mountain and ... Read more
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From the President … in May 2021

• 27 May 2021
• Wellington Tramping and Mountainneering Club
• May has been another month of hearing about lots of fantastic club trips and adventures and getting to experience a range of club events.  The new Committee also had its first meeting and agreed on its priorities for the upcoming year. Building leadership capability and capacity will be an important focus – both in terms ... Read more
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Maketawa Hut

• 26 May 2021
• Wellington Tramping and Mountainneering Club
• Having done the drive up to Taranaki on Friday night (as is traditional), we and the Easy-Medium group all stayed at Konini Lodge at Dawson Falls visitor centre. It’s a great facility with cooking equipment, hot showers, decent bunk rooms and the rest; although in my experience it’s always been cold – consider yourself warned. ... Read more
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Tablelands – Cobb Valley (combined EM and M trip – Kahurangi National Park)

• 26 May 2021
• Wellington Tramping and Mountainneering Club
• Thursday 1 April: Our Easter weekend’s tramping began with a late ferry crossing to Picton, where we stayed in a bunkroom at Sequoia Lodge Backpackers. Friday 2 April: Next morning we drove to Kahurangi National Park, with stops at Pelorus Bridge and Motueka. We arrived at Cobb Reservoir roadend in the early afternoon and set ... Read more
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Tutuwai Hut

• 26 May 2021
• Wellington Tramping and Mountainneering Club
• We shared a van with a medium group heading to Alpha Hut, and left Waiohine gorge road end at around 9:30. We first “investigated” a trail that headed down to the river, before heading back and crossing the river on the swing bridge. We next “investigated” the start of the trail to Cone hut, before ... Read more
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Mt Matthews – a Circumnavigation

• 26 May 2021
• Wellington Tramping and Mountainneering Club
• “The lights are moving—the aliens are coming for us now!” I jokingly teased Tony and suggested we both hide in our tents… Tony and I had decided to do a two-day tramp exploring our own backyard a bit more—a circumnavigation of Mt Matthews that would include both on and off-track travel in the Remutaka Forest ... Read more
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Mid King Madness

• 26 May 2021
• Wellington Tramping and Mountainneering Club
• “Is anyone alarmed that I’m still considering the original plan?” This question came on Friday night from our trip leader James after consulting the weather forecast to see that not only did we have a severe weather warning for the Tararua Range due to heavy rain rolling through, there were also gale force winds forecasted ... Read more
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Lodge Update: Our Maunga May 2021

• 26 May 2021
• Wellington Tramping and Mountainneering Club
• The mountain has had more sprinklings of snow indicating that things up there are getting cooler along with the days getting shorter. The lift operator is flat out making snow in the Happy Valley beginners’ area which will be open from Queens Birthday weekend. Our Summer rates apply over Queens Birthday. We can only open ... Read more
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Puke Ariki Traverse: Belmont Regional Park

• 16 May 2021
• Wellington Tramping and Mountainneering Club
• Belmont Regional Park is one of my favourite places in the Wellington area. The Park has plenty of tracks and is easily accessible by public transport. The Puke Ariki Traverse travels the length of the Park from the Dry Creek entrance to Cornish Street in Petone. The total length is about 24km. Polly and I ... Read more
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1000 Acre Plateau

• 12 May 2021
• Wellington Tramping and Mountainneering Club
• Ferry booking mix-ups and more than an hour’s delay to board meant it was well after 10pm when we arrived at the Matiri Valley West Bank road end. The hydro scheme construction works mean the walk in to Lake Matiri hut is now only 50min mostly on construction road, which during working hours you need ... Read more
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From the President … in April … 2021

• 29 Apr 2021
• Wellington Tramping and Mountainneering Club
• A new club year and Committee This year’s AGM went well – I’m pleased to welcome the new Committee. There’s a number of familiar faces, including some in new roles, and some new Committee members (welcome Beverley Holder and Mike Campbell). I’m also delighted that post-AGM we now have a new Promotions Officer, Social Convenor ... Read more
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Bounds Circuit – Leatham Conservation Area

• 27 Apr 2021
• Wellington Tramping and Mountainneering Club
• Day 1 – Leatham Road end to Hidden Hut via Boulder Stream and Wye TrackStart 9.15am, Finish 5.45pmWe left our cars on the grassy patch next to the farmer’s gate, in case the ford (about 10-15 minutes further walk along the 4WD track) was too difficult to cross. We followed the 4WD track until it ... Read more
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Gillespie Pass: How to Get a Date With a Circus of Kea

• 25 Apr 2021
• Wellington Tramping and Mountainneering Club
• Tramping Gillespie Pass has been on my radar for a while and when Pete mentioned that he was planning to tramp it over Waitangi weekend I was keen – with a stroke of good luck I had the time off work already and managed to book flights last minute that didn’t cost an arm and ... Read more
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Lodge Update: Our Maunga April 2021

• 25 Apr 2021
• Wellington Tramping and Mountainneering Club
• The mountain has had a few sprinklings of snow indicating that things up there are gettingcooler along with the days getting shorter. Reflecting on this time last year things were a bit nerve wracking with a close down of thecountry and not knowing what the future would bring for the lodge. We can move into ... Read more
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Tennyson Inlet Kayak

• 19 Apr 2021
• Wellington Tramping and Mountainneering Club
• What a fantastic way to spend Easter! A very memorable experience kayaking the Marlborough Sounds indeed. What made this trip so special? Everything that could go right, went right. If anything didn’t go to plan then it effortlessly became an adjusted plan. An early start to the long weekend on Thursday with an anticipated ferry ... Read more
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Searching for a Needle in a Haystack

• 2 Apr 2021
• Wellington Tramping and Mountainneering Club
• The Matiri Range and 1000 Acre Plateau Searching for a Needle in a Haystack Tony assured me that I would be able to find The Needle in The Haystack easily. Well, he wasn’t wrong but the bush bash to get to The Haystack was legendary. Any trip with Tony, regardless of where you go, is ... Read more
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