Tramping Club Notes

Among the recent activities of the Club, one of the most successful trips was the Tararua winter crossing on August 15 and 16. The party left Pakuratahi at 2.15 p.m. on Saturday and started the long climb up to Alpha Hut, stopping an hour at Dobsons for tea. About nine o'clock from the top of Omega the Wellington and Hutt Valley lights were showing brightly while on the other side the clusters of lights indicated the various towns in the Wairarapa. At 10.30 p.m. after seven hour's tramping the party arrived at the hut.

During the night the weather had changed and in spite of the wind and mist a start was made shortly after seven next morning. From Alpha the route to Kime Hut entailed several hours tramping through snow above the bush line. Owing to the strong wind and steep slopes in places it was necessary to straddle the knife edge ridge or proceed on hands and knees. On one steep descent on a hard ice surface an involuntary glissade almost resulted in an accident and at this stage it was necessary to rope the party together and cut steps. After a short stop at Kime Hut the party continued to Field Hut and had dinner. From there an hour and a-half brought them to the end of the road from Otaki where a lorry was waiting.

The trip was interesting in that it provided alpine conditions, instructive because it showed the risk attached to trips of this nature, and successful since the club has not done it under snow conditions for a number of years and further no woman tramper had done it for several years. The success of the trip was largely due to the experience and capable organisation of the leader, Mr. T. R. Smith.

At Christmas, Prof. Boyd-Wilson will lead a trip to Mt. Tapuaenuku in the Inner Kaikoura Range. The party will travel by boat to Picton and then by lorry to Kekerangu. From there the food will be packed in and it will be a day's tramp to the Dee Hut where a base camp will be established. From the camp there will be plenty of opportunity for climbing since there are twenty peaks over 6,000 feet, including eight over 8,000 and two over 9,000, all within about fifteen miles of the hut. Besides the mountains the locality is noted for the excellent bush and the abundance and variety of the wild life, including pigs, goats, sheep, rabbits and even Amoebae. In such a setting the trip should provide an excellent holiday for the most active and the most lazy. The party will probably leave on Christmas Eve and return a fortnight later and the estimated cost is £5.

There will be another Christmas trip which will be more expensive but very comprehensive. It will be down the West Coast of the South Island over the Southern Alps via the Haast Pass to Dunedin and back to Christchurch. Those interested should obtain full particulars from the leader, Mr. W. K. McGavin.

The syllabus of tramps for the third term is on the notice board and further details for the various trips will be put up later.