Trips currently away
Organiser:
Jack Huygens
A-Frame hut (AKA Traverse hut) is quite a unique one, it's very easy to access and is one of the very few huts in the bottom half of the Ruahines.
It's also right in the middle of the largest leatherwood forest in the world, which covers most of the southern Ruahine tops.
Despite that, the track access is actually really easy, and the walk in is only a couple of hours (Saturday).
On Sunday, we will do a proper day completing a loop along the ridge and down to Stanfield hut, then back to the roadend along Homes ridge (5-6hrs).
The second day involves some river travel and potentially some quite scrubby and overgrown tracks, so this is more of a medium trip despite the short walking times.
A-Frame hut is quite small and popular with 4wd access, so we'll bring plenty of tents.
if the weather is bad we also have the option of walking to Stanfield hut first, staying there, then just passing by A-Frame hut on the second day. This option could also include a stay at the nearby Cattle Creek hut too.
Since this does involve river crossings, if the weather is awful then the trip will be cancelled.
Come along to the first Tuesday meeting for the term (April 16th) to hear more about this trip.
Cost will be around $35 each ($30 for petrol, $5 for a shared dinner on Saturday night)
8 people attending this trip.
Sign ups
Participants
Jack Huygens
Leo McKinnon
Daniel Hunsche
Arlen Bandy
Henry Claridge
lochlainn kent
Vic Roberts
Annika Thornton
Organiser:
Zita Keller
To read and/or comment on our working draft, please click here.
The club will make a submission on the Fast-track Approvals Bill. We would love to hear your thoughts on our submission, so that we are submitting something that reflects more than the thoughts of a few committee members.
We would appreciate your comments by the end of 17 April. Submissions on the bill close 19 April and we need some time to put together the final submission. We are still grateful to receive comments after 17 April - we just may not be able to include them.
Here are some resources on the bill to get you started: Submissions close for bill which could affect the areas we tramp in | VUWTC There is a lot more on the web, too.
2 people attending this trip.
Sign ups
Participants
Justin Atkinson
Bryn Thompson
Organiser:
Tommy Thomson
You may think that in order to rock climb you need to drive for hours and camp, or take out a second student loan to pay for climbing gym admission. But no! There's a ledgendary crag(among 90s Wellington climbers) hidden in the gorse scrub behind Mt Kaukau in Ngaio called Punk Rock, a mere 45 minute walk from Simla Crescent station. I spent my teenage years scratching myself apart searching for this magical place, to no avail. But then some helpful person cut and marked a track to it and replaced the bolts, so now we can just go climbing there.
Meet at the gear shed at 9:15, then we will catch public transport to Ngaio. It gets really windy around Mt Kaukau, so bring a windbreaker and lots of warm clothes, as well as food and water.
If the group is brave enough, on the way back we could visit the even more mythical Mt Kaukau waterfalls.
9 people attending this trip.
Sign ups
Participants
Tommy Thomson
Lewis Thomson
Iliya Shulin
Marta Craviotto
Andrew Hsu
Antonia Dheere
Tram Chau
Patrick Hayes
Nic Samson
Upcoming trips
Organisers:
Alex Monckton
Lilly Merrall
Dates accurate but times may be off. Canterbury University Tramping Club's annual 24-hour orieenteering extravaganza.
More information: https://twalk.nz/
As yet undecided if VUWTC will send a team. Unless you want to organise it? Get in touch! Or organise your own team ⛰ or be a volunteer at the event 🍳
3 people attending this trip.
Sign ups
Participants
Seth St. Pierre
Will Buffaloe
Nicholas Jones
Organisers:
Tommy Thomson
Jack Huygens
It's time to bag all the huts in the Tararuas!
The goal of this event is to run a ton of simultaneous trips all in one go, with the goal of visiting every single official hut in the Tararuas in one go.
These trips range in difficulty from easy overnighters, all the way to 4-day missions along the main range.
We are running this event over 4 days between Thursday (ANZAC day) through to Sunday.
You can join one of the full 4 day options, or just a weekend trip depending on what suits you!
For this to happen, we need a ton of people, and lots of cars!
Here is a taste of a few of the beautiful huts you can visit:
More information will be added soon, especially once we've got some sign-ups and can start organizing people into groups and planning out different routes.
There will be route options available for all ranges of difficulty, like easy trips for complete beginners, all the way to advanced bush-bashes over the full 4 days.
So sign up and come and explore our local mountain range!
Some of the available routes:
Dundas loop
4 days - Medium
Classic loop of the main northern Tararua huts. This track has been recently cleared so it's nicer than it used to be, but still requires lots of steep climbs
Roaring Stag -> Cattle Ridge -> Dundas -> Herepai
Maungahuka loop
4 days - Medium
A famous Tararua route, visiting several main-range huts spread out over 4 days. Lots of steep ascents & descents, so decent fitness required
Powell -> Mid Waiohine -> Aokaparangi -> Maungahuka -> Neil Forks -> Totara Flats -> Sayer
Carkeek loop
4 days - Hard
Challenging loop to grab the more remote northern Tararua huts, includes some long days and a bit of bush-bashing
Blue Range -> Cow Creek -> Arete Forks -> Carkeek -> Dorset Ridge -> Mid King Biv -> Mitre Flats
Main range Te Araroa
4 days - Medium
A one-way clean up mish to grab all the remote main-range huts. Dropped off at Otaki forks and then picked up at Poads Rd (Levin)
Parawai lodge -> Waitewaewae -> Anderson Memorial -> Nichols -> Dracophyllum-> Arete -> Te Matawai -> Waiopehu
Winchcombe - Cone loop
3 days - Medium-Hard (Friday to Sunday)
Challenging day along Neil-Winchcombe ridge, then an easier return route via Alpha and Cone
Winchcombe Biv -> Kime -> Alpha -> Tutuwai -> Cone
Ohau rivers + Mangahao Flats
3 days - Medium-Hard (Friday to Sunday)
A mix of river travel and off track travel between Poads and Mangahao Flats via North and South Ohau
North Ohau -> Mangahao Flats -> Te Matawai -> South Ohau
Renata - Kapakapanui
3 days - Medium (Friday to Sunday)
Medium walk to pick up some of the outskirt huts. Leave Wellington Friday night at ~5:30pm, head into Renata (about 3 hours) from the Akatarawa Saddle. Next morning a couple of us can head over to Elder hut to pick it up and then make it all the way back over to KapaKapanui hut for the night. Then out to the road end for a Sunday pickup about lunchtime. Total Distance: 35km (Can take 4 people total!)
Renata -> Elder -> Kapakapanui
Kime weekend
3 days - Medium/Easy (Friday to Sunday)
Friday night + weekend trip up to Kime, including a side trip to Mt Hector and also staying in Field hut along the way.
Otaki forks -> Field -> Kime -> Return the same way
Holdsworth - McGregor overnighter
2 days - Medium/Hard (Saturday to Sunday)
Completing the classic Holdsworth - Jumbo loop, plus McGregor biv as an overnighter. Powell and Jumbo are booked out on Saturday night, so it will likely involve an overnight stay at McGregor biv!
McGregor biv is a tiny 2-person dog box, so this is best suited for a very small group
Powell -> Jumbo -> McGregor Biv -> Atiwhakatu
Penn creek overnighter
2 days - Easy/Medium (Thursday to Friday)
Thursday night includes a moderately rough and steep track down to Penn Creek hut, but nothing too hard
Field -> Penn Creek (return trip)
Waiotauru overnighter
2 days - Easy (Saturday to Sunday)
An easy length overnighter
Waiotauru hut (return trip)
Burn hut overnighter
2 days - Easy (Saturday to Sunday)
A short overnighter with a little bit of river travel near the end
Burn hut (return trip)
North Mangahao Biv bash
2 days - Hard (Sunday to Monday)
Navigation bush-bash over Sunday night
North Mangahao Biv (return trip)
72 people attending this trip.
Sign ups
Participants
Rewa Walker
jasmyn mccall
Anna Madden
Lucia Wallace
Grace Harman
Jos Williams
Pebbels Heatley
Elsie Wilson
Cella Connell
Matthew Ireland
Dundas loop
FULL
4 days - Medium
Classic loop of the main northern Tararua huts. This track has been recently cleared so it's nicer than it used to be, but still requires lots of steep climbs
Roaring Stag -> Cattle Ridge -> Dundas -> Herepai
Participants
Justin Atkinson
Henry Claridge
Hugo Blair
Cara Reid
Samuel Willis
Carkeek loop
FULL
4 days - Hard
Challenging loop to grab the more remote northern Tararua huts, includes some long days and a bit of bush-bashing
Blue Range -> Cow Creek -> Arete Forks -> Carkeek -> Dorset Ridge -> Mid King Biv -> Mitre Flats
Participants
Jack Huygens
Ocean Allemann
timoty diebold
Toby Burgess
Maungahuka loop
FULL
4 days - Medium
A famous Tararua route, visiting several main-range huts spread out over 4 days. Lots of steep ascents & descents, so decent fitness required
Powell -> Mid Waiohine -> Aokaparangi -> Maungahuka -> Neil Forks -> Totara Flats
Participants
Jackson Brown
Iliya Shulin
Nick Maguire
Alan Ye
Arlen Bandy
Main range Te Araroa
FULL
4 days - Medium
A one-way clean up mish to grab all the remote main-range huts. Dropped off at Otaki forks and then picked up at Poads Rd (Levin).
Since this trip requires tricky transport, it will now just be done as a solo quick rush by Tommy.
Parawai lodge -> Waitewaewae -> Anderson Memorial -> Nichols -> Dracophyllum-> Arete -> Te Matawai -> Waiopehu
Participants
Tommy Thomson
Winchcombe - Cone loop
FULL
3 days - Medium-Hard
Challenging day along Neil-Winchcombe ridge, then an easier return route via Alpha and Cone. This trip is now being done as a solo quick mish.
Winchcombe Biv -> Alpha -> Tutuwai -> Cone
Participants
Chris Russell
Holdsworth - McGregor overnighter
2 days - Medium/Hard
Completing the classic Holdsworth - Jumbo loop, plus McGregor biv as an overnighter. Powell and Jumbo are booked out on Saturday night, so it will likely involve an overnight stay at McGregor biv!
McGregor biv is a tiny 2-person dog box, so this is best suited for a very small group
Powell -> Jumbo -> McGregor Biv -> Atiwhakatu
Participants
David Veldmeijer
Renata - Kapakapanui
3 days - Medium
Medium walk to pick up some of the outskirts huts. Leave Friday night, head into Renata from the Akatarawa Saddle and make it out at the Kapakapanui road end for a Sunday pickup.
Renata -> Elder -> Kapakapanui
Participants
Nathan Cobbald
Hollie Anderson
Luke Meehan
Ohau rivers + Mangahao Flats
3 days - Medium-Hard
A mix of river travel and off track travel between Poads and Mangahao Flats via North and South Ohau
North Ohau -> Mangahao Flats -> Te Matawai -> South Ohau
Participants
Joe Todd
Britte Kragten
Burn hut overnighter
FULL
2 days - Easy
Saturday night (Saturday - Sunday) a short overnighter with a little bit of river travel near the end
Burn hut (return trip)
Participants
Johan Irion
Tram Chau
Caitlin McArley
Emilie Cseh
Nic Samson
Lauren Britton
Melanie Kimble
Zoe Allen
Emma Phibbs
Libby Shearer
Penn creek overnighter
FULL
2 days - Easy/Medium
Thursday night (Thursday - Friday) includes a moderately rough and steep track down to Penn Creek hut, but nothing too hard
Field -> Penn Creek (return trip)
Participants
Vic Roberts
Connor Sheppard
Zita Keller
Sofie Claridge
North Mangahao Biv bash
2 days - Medium
Navigation bush-bash over Sunday night (Sunday - Monday)
North Mangahao Biv (return trip)
Participants
Patrick Hayes
Sayer overnighter
2 days - Easy/Medium
Saturday night (Saturday - Sunday) a short overnighter (3-4hrs DOC time each way).
Involves a 500m hill climb up and over to Sayer hut down by the river.
Sayer hut (return trip)
Participants
Natalie Stewart
Eder Lee
Lottie Stevenson
Kieran D'Souza
Antonia Dheere
Keira Conboy
Bree Souster
leila barraud
Kime weekend
FULL
3 days - Medium/Easy
Friday night + weekend trip up to Kime, including a side trip to Mt Hector and also staying in Field hut along the way.
Otaki forks -> Field -> Kime -> Return the same way
Participants
Arlen McCluskey
Jasmine Philip
Charlie Shirreffs
Likith Pilli
Charlotte Nielsen
Edwin David
Leo McKinnon
Orlando Pedraza Jr.
Grace Edgar-Booty
Isaac Jarden
Waiotaru - Snowy mish
FULL
2 days - Medium/Hard
A medium walk to Waiotaru hut followed by some hard bush-bashing and river travel around the area just for fun (and bagging the unofficial Snowy hut).
Otaki Forks -> Waiotaru -> Snowy
Participants
Lewis Thomson
Hannah Ellis-Ducobu
felicity wills
Hazel Murray
Zade Viggers
Max Honiss
Elliot Schreurs
Organiser:
Tommy Thomson
Day trip to East Harbor Regional Park to practice our navigation skills
We will catch the 9am ferry to days bay (lets get in while it's "only' $7 each way for under 25s). They like you to arrive 10 minutes early to buy tickets at the ticket office, but you can also pay with cash or EFTPOS onboard. We will spend most of the day off-track in the upper Gollans, since this is to teach route finding it's going to be your job to figure out where we are going, but probably to the eastern ridge(east of Gollans Stream) and back. The park has some wonderful open beech forest, but the hills are realitivly small so it's perfect for practicing navigation.
We will aim to get out by the last ferry at 5:30pm, which gets back to Wellington at 6.
Please bring good shoes or boots, plenty of food, drink bottle, raincoat and warm clothes. The club will provide maps and compasses, but we only have 11 compasses so please bring your own if you have it.
20 people attending this trip.
Sign ups
Participants
Tommy Thomson
Zita Keller
Andrew Hsu
Caitlin McArley
somsai Ninthavong
Seth St. Pierre
Emilie Cseh
Asmaa Fakhreddine
Laura Yate
timoty diebold
Isaac Jarden
Di Fang
Yasemin Unsay
Leon Rodrigues
Anna Sang
lucia Adams
Orlando Pedraza Jr.
Lila Blank
Julian Muller
Camille Smokelin
Organiser:
Rewa Walker
Welcome to our Merch Design Comp for 2024!
The club hasn't made any new merch in a veryyy long time and being the busiest, largest, sexiest and most exciting club on campus, we reckon it's time we look the part!
We're seeking designs to put on our merch this year, they can be anything from a logo to a landscape or a slogan. At a minimum we will be making T-shirts, but feel free to design whatever your heart desires! In the past we have made beanies, patches, stickers and hoodies, and we're quite keen to also make mugs this year (VUW Dragon Boating are offering to make us mugs as a fundraiser).
The details:
- Submit your designs by 19/4 to vuwtcpublicity@gmail.com, they can be digital or a photo of something hand drawn.
- Your design should identify the club, either 'Victoria University of Wellington' or 'VUWTC.' However, if you design something for both sides of a T-shirt (for example), only one side must identify the club.
- Designs will be voted on at the meeting on 23/4. If your design is chosen you'll win a free piece of whatever you've designed!
- For any questions, send an email to vuwtcpublicity@gmail.com or flick the club a message on facebook or insta.
Happy designing :)
3 people attending this trip.
Sign ups
Participants
Zita Keller
Melanie Kimble
Pebbels Heatley
Recent trips
Organiser:
Jackson Brown
Something TBC.
8 people attending this trip.
Sign ups
Participants
Jackson Brown
Caitlin McArley
Cara Reid
Emilie Cseh
Charlotte Nielsen
Seth St. Pierre
Edwin David
Chris Russell
Organiser:
Tuscany King
Welcome to Wednesday Climbing Nights!
Every week, there will be an opportunity to climb at one of three climbing gyms!
We bounce between Hangdog Adventures in Lower Hutt and Faultline Climbing on Willst St!
There are grades for everyone: people who prefer to test out the basic climbs to those who love a good challenge, so come along! No matter how much climbing experience you've had, you are welcome.
Entry costs $17! This covers entry into the gym and shoes!
For this week, we will travel to Faultline!
Schedule:
- Sign up! ( So I have time to sort out transport).
This week, we will travel to Faultline Climbing from the University to the climbing gym. We will be walking down.
- Meet at the Hunter Carpark before 6 pm. We will leave the carpark at 6 pm.
- Travel to the Climbing Gym by foot.
- CLIMB! Until 9 pm/closing, return to the University carpark - unless you are bussing/walking from the gym.
If you have any questions, find me at the Tuesday meetings or flick me an email!
16 people attending this trip.
Sign ups
Participants
Alan Ye
Edwin David
Finlay Main
Marta Craviotto
timoty diebold
Grace Rotherham
Andrew Hsu
somsai Ninthavong
Charlie Shirreffs
Lukas Joy
Zade Viggers
Max Honiss
felicity wills
Saskia Barker
Lewis Thomson
Hannah Ellis-Ducobu
Organiser:
Tommy Thomson
Hey everyone,
The comittee has decided to subsidize members to attend the snowcraft course hosted by the Wellington Division of the New Zealand Alpine Club. More information is at https://www.wellingtonalpineclub.org.nz/courses. I think pretty much everyone in our club would only qualify for the level 1 course. They are running 2 course which are 3 days + a theory night in late July and early August. The course is $412 which covers accomodation and food. Additional costs are $70 for a NZAC membership(which includes additional benefits), about $60 for transport, and likely $40 for a gondala pass.
VUWTC can offer $400 each to up to 8 people towards this, as well as any club gear you might need. We will also be sharing transport to and from Whakapapa. Please fill out below if you want the subsidy, we will be deciding on Wednesday who to pick based on your involvement with the club, particularly if you are avalible to teach what you learnt on our Snowcraft 2 course.
9 people attending this trip.
Sign ups
Participants
Tommy Thomson
Zita Keller
Antonia Dheere
Cella Connell
Patrick Hayes
Chris Russell
Tram Chau
Ira Griffen
Rewa Walker