Monthly Report

August 2025 Meeting Report

Wednesday, August 20th, 2025

Meeting Report

Colin chaired the meeting.

Trip Reports

Bike Ride: Port Chalmers to Portobello
Fourteen people took the ferry from Port Chalmers to Portobello, then biked the 32 km back to their vehicles. The weather was perfect and the harbour was calm.

Luxmore Hut
Four people left early on Saturday and travelled to the start of the Kepler Track. They climbed to Luxmore Hut, where two of our members were acting as hut wardens. The group was warmly welcomed with hot scones and a toddy. The weather was fine and they returned on Sunday.

Roseneath
Nine people walked near Aviemore, heading up Fern Gully from the old village site to a rocky outcrop with good views, then back down to Wharekuri in good weather.

Ben Ohau
Five people enjoyed a walk with a good dusting of snow. They climbed to the trig, took in the views, and returned via Greta Stream.

Wednesday Walkers
A report was given.

Up and Coming Trips

Mt Nimrod Reserve
Inland from Waimate, an interesting area with a good hill to climb.

Awakino
Possibility of enjoying some snow near Kurow. This may be an overnighter.

Canyon Creek / Mt Hyme
Camp at the bivvy rock and enjoy a good climb.

Trip planning for the Spring Programme followed.

The meeting closed at 8.40 pm, followed by a cup of tea and a chat.

July 2025 Meeting Report

Sunday, July 20th, 2025

July Meeting Report

Julian chaired the meeting.

Trip Reports

Otekaieke Hill
A fine day with a frosty start. The river was high, so the group climbed 1000 m, followed the ridge for about 2 km to the trig, then returned the same way. Deer were seen in the area.

Arthurs Pass Trip
Five people travelled to Jacksons, crossed the high Taramakau River, and walked to Lake Kaurapataka. The weather was wet, with many river crossings required to reach the hot pools. They returned to camp by following the true right of the river. A very watery weekend.

Wednesday Walkers
A brief report was given.

Up and Coming Trips

Port Chalmers Bike Ride
Ferry from Port Chalmers to Portobello, then bike back to the cars.

Luxmore Hut
Stay in Te Anau on Friday night, climb to Luxmore Hut on the Kepler Track on Saturday, stay the night, and return Sunday.

Aviemore to Ben Ohau
Walk from Aviemore to Ben Ohau.

Cape Wanbrow
Mark outlined a planned vision for the Cape tracks, including metal sculptures depicting ancient animals and plants found in the area. These will become an attraction worth visiting.

There was no photo competition as advertised. Instead, Jonathan demonstrated several useful websites for planning tramps. The Mountain Safety Council site offers good advice on topics such as river crossings and weather forecasting. Outdoor Access Maps and Topo Maps are also helpful for route finding, showing actual topography and allowing overlays. Members found the session informative.

The meeting closed at 8.45 pm, followed by a cup of tea.

June 2025 Meeting Report

Friday, June 20th, 2025

June Meeting Report

Colin Wollstein, our new president, chaired the meeting.

Trip Reports

Bike Ride
Weather forecasts affected turnout, and only three people took part in a ride around the Enfield area.

Dave’s Track
A working bee was held in the Trotters Gorge area, starting at the top of the track. Work included clearing the track, tidying steps, and installing markers.

Ahuriri Valley
The group walked to the head of the valley, had lunch at Shamrock Hut, then continued on to stay the night at Top Hut. The walk out the next day was cold and windy.

Up and Coming Trips

Otakaieke Hill
Up the hill, then on to Jacksons Creek and the Bridle Trail.

Arthurs Pass
Two nights in the Otataki area, with opportunities to soak in hot pools near the Taramakau River and optional day walks.

Silverpeaks
Exploration of the area, leaving early on Saturday morning.

A discussion was held on working bees, noting that organisers would appreciate prior notice of who will be attending so tasks can be matched to participants.

Guest Speaker

Tonight’s speaker was Hugh Wood. Hugh is a botanist, and in July 2024 he travelled to northern Sweden (Lapland) to see native plants in bloom. He joined a group of nine others and two guides, travelling from Kiruna to their base beside a lake. Weather was generally rainy in the mornings and fine in the afternoons, with temperatures between 14–20°C.
Each day they explored a different part of the 77 sq km national park. Hugh showed a range of excellent photographs of colourful flowering plants, including a very rare orchid. Many of the plants are parasitic, feeding on the roots of other plants or on insects. It was an interesting talk and highlighted how different the vegetation is from that of New Zealand.

The meeting closed at 8.45 pm, followed by a cup of tea.

April 2025 Clubnight

Monday, April 14th, 2025

Julian chaired our meeting today.

Trip Reports
Elephant Hill 8 people enjoyed this walk including some from Waimate. A round trip,visiting both the head and the backside of the elephant.Good weather.
Glen Warren Twilight Walk
The public were invited to join us on this walk starting and ending at the gardens.
Nth Temple
5 people went up to the Temple valley hoping to make Rabbiters Peak but because of the very windy conditions were driven back but made it as far as the tarn.
Mt Kyeburn 
6 people did this walk.They enjoyed good views and good weather.
The Wednesday walkers and the wanderers gave their reports,
Up and Coming Trips
Mt Heim via Canyon Creek
Oahu Peak or Egg Lake 
Lake Coleridge .Options from a base accommodation.
A reminder of our A.G.M. and Trip planning for next months meeting.
Our speakers tonight were Julian and Lyn Hardy telling us about their recent trips ,walking the Motatapu track,the Heaphy track and up to the Mueller hut.The Motatapu Trackgoes from Arrowtown to Glendu Bay.This track is almost all along high ridges which are exposed but with great views.A lot of up hill grunts.They spent 3 nights in good huts. The track passes through Soho Station and luckily the weather wasn”t windy.
  The Heaphy track was enjoyable .It runs from the Collingwood area to Karamea and is 78.4 kms long.They spend 3 nights and 4 days covering this in good company and in good huts.A great tramp with varying terrain,bush, rivers and beaches and they crossed the new bridge over the Heaphy.They also had good weather for their tramp.
  Another walk they did was in the Mt Cook area up to the Mueller Hut They had beautiful weather and great views.
 Meeting closed at 8.20pm followed by a cup of tea.
 
 
 

March 2025 clubnight

Monday, March 10th, 2025

Jenny chaired our meeting.

Trip Reports
Nth Peak Cave  10 people did this walk from Trotters Gorge .Made it to the cave then on to the top of  Nth Peak for lunch.Good views from the top on a fine day.
Twilight Walk
A walk around Cape Wanbrow was held on Feb 17th and the public were invited to join us.3 people took up the offer and enjoyed the evening walk.
Dusky Trail  4 people left the Pukaki Canal carpark and had a hot but picturesque walk along this biking/walking trail.
Lake Herron to Lake Emily  Hakatere
A nice easy walk from Lake Heron to Double hut then on to Manuka hut.Tents were required at Double hut but the weather was good. Beautiful views in this backcountry area.
Mt David
7 people climbed this peak from Danseys Pass Rd.A gentle start then steeper and nearer the top quite tricky.Lovely 360 views and Mt Cook could be seen in the distance.A rewarding climb but a big day.
Wednesday walkers gave their report.
Up and coming trips     Skyline walk at twilight
East Matukituki at Anniversary Weekend
Nth Temple with options include Rabbiters Pass
Mt Kyeburn
 
Members Summer Adventures 
Neville spoke about exploring the East Matukituki  with Colin and doing the Wanaka Skyline walk.This is from Mt Roy carpark to the top then on over to the top of Mt Alpha.Amazing views,some interesting rock formations,but a very hot day out.
Mary showed us photos of a coastal walk in the Palmerston area This was on a beautiful day and her photography reflected this.
Jenny reported on her `Round the Mountain` bike ride.This started with a trip across Lake Wakatipu on the Ernslaw to Mt Nicolas Station then biking around the Eyre Mountains and through Garston and finishing at Kingston.Good accomadation at old hotels on the way.An easy ride with only one hill.Fabulous views.
She also had lovely photos of her Glacier Burn near Kinloch.
 
Meeting closed at 9.00pm.