Tramping Club

"V.U.W.T.C. goes everywhere" was an entry in a hut log book recently, and if you want to get out and about in the more remote, desolate and beautiful parts of N.Z. then the V.U.W.T.C. is the club to belong to. Last year all the National parks were visited as well as many other areas, and this year promises to be no exception.

Conceived in 1921, the club has flourished and those who can add will realise that it is now in its jubilee year. Preparations are under way to make it a shit-hot celebration and already a couple of trips have been run to trace out a 50 in the Tararuas to publicise the event. A jubilee dinner is to be held on the 1st May followed by a day tramp in the Orongorongos on the Sunday for past and present members.

This year the club has over 100 financial members and so far has fielded at least 40 members on each weekend trip. The Tararuas are the club's main playground during term time and trips ranging from day trips, easy weekend social trips to F.E. trips, are run to cater for all standards of fitness and debauchery. Easter, study week and other holidays see trips away to areas such as the Urewera, Mt. Cook, Aspiring, West Coast pubs, etc., and these are always enjoyable events.

The club caters for those who haven't tramped much before by running a bushcraft course each year and for those who aspire to the "harder" stuff, [unclear: rockclin ing] and snowcraft instruction is given. These courses are not only fantastic fun but essential for safe trips into the Southern Alps and other similar areas. Speculation is rife in the club that as a result of these courses an attempt is to be made on the last mountaineering bastion in N.Z., namely a grand traverse of Mts Easterfield, Kirk, and Hunter.

However basically the club caters for the ordinary down to earth tramper who enjoys wandering the hills at a not too strenuous pace, even though V.U.W.T.C. Wharry Keyes did carry off the honours in the recent marathon tramp.

Socially, the club is out of this world with activities ranging from the annual hut bash, which is really a spewing affair, to mundane things such as the odd bottle around the fireplace. If you're an unsociable crint a weekend out with club members will change that hang-up drastically due to the very nature of tramping.

As the V.U.W.T.C. is going to be a shit hot club to belong to this year those of you who are not turned off by this rample can join up at any club evening or contact: Noel, Wharry, Colonel or Stink at 554-438.