Meeting Report – April 2026
NOTMC Meeting 13-4-26
Colin chaired our meeting tonight.
Completed trips;
Jollie Hut: Tramp from the end of Lake Pukaki following the Jollie River up to Green Point Hut. A good area for hunters and trampers.
Big Ben: 9 people walked from the end of Domet Rd west across a farm then followed a zigzag track to the to. Nice weather and lovely views
Cameron Hut: 6 people walked up Cameron creek in the Arrowsmith range to a climbers hut It was over rocky terrain. The glacier at the head of the creek has shrunk a lot and this made walking harder. Keas were seen in the area.
Wednesday Walkers: gave their report.
Up and Coming trips;
North Temple: Walk up the circ and tent for the night
Dunedin Weekend: Explore the Lammermoors.
Cambell Hills: Walk the hills near Waiarunga.
Spurs Hut: Lake Heron area. Small hut, tents probably required.
Travel costs: John has adjusted travel costs in line with the fuel price rise. Now 42c a Km or $50 per hr 4WD
A reminder was given of our AGM next month.
Speakers’ tonight were Julian and Lynette Hardy. In October 2025 Julian Lynette and their son trekked to Everest Base Camp, “Intrepid Travel” organised the group of 14 people. 1 leading guide and 7 other guides and porters. They started at Katmandu and flew to Lukla (2660m above sea level) landing on a very short runway, after a short stop on to Phakaling (2860m above sea level) where they stayed in a teahouse overnight. Trekking started the next day, 8.6km to Namche. The Hillary Bridge was an interesting feature. A rest day to acclimatize in Namche Bazaar was in order. Namche is in the Sagarmatha National Park (3443m). Phortse (3810m) a 14 km walk and the next stop, they were starting to feel the altitude now. They stayed the night here then on to Dingboche (4410m) and stayed to acclimatize here. Lobuche (4910) 10km away was the next stop. They were now really feeling the altitude and cold despite the good weather, only 6 km to base camp from here. On to Gorakshep with quite a lot of snow around for a quick stop then continued on to base camp (5364). No tent city as it was autumn, everyone posed on ‘The Rock’. It took 8 days to reach base camp and only 4 days to return. They carried out some rubbish with them. Their trip ended back in Katmandu for a few relaxing days.
Meeting closed at 8.50pm followed by a cup of tea.