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< joining | Why | facilities > On this page... (hide) Tararua Tramping Club - Activities There is always something going on, somewhere to go, someone to go with, with the Tararua Tramping Club. Whether you have never been into the hills before, or you are a seasoned adventurer, the club has much to offer. Club meetings are held every Tuesday night at our club rooms in Moncrieff Street. Our fixture card contains a number of trips each week, many of them being weekend tramps involving one or two nights staying in a hut or in tents. The wide range of activities you can join us in includes ... 
How do I come along on trips?Upcoming scheduled trips for all activities are listed on this website, the Tararua Tramper magazine, and the club noticeboards in the club rooms. We invite you to come along to the club meetings as there is always an interesting talk and you may hear about additional unscheduled trips too. Non-members and all levels of experience are welcome. You don't need to be a club member to come along on club trips, but members receive certain discounts. To sign up for a trip, contact the trip leader or come along to the Tuesday night club meeting and put your name on the trip's sheet on the noticeboard. Trips are usually arranged after the talk at the club meeting occurring the week before the trip. However, some family, extended or long weekend trips require earlier or different preparations, so check with the trip leader for the arrangements. The trip leader will usually arrange transport (often a car pool or a hired mini-van) or ferry tickets and will let participants know about the trip's cost, food and meeting time arrangements. Check with the trip leader about the difficulty of the trip and any special gear or equipment required. The club also has a gear room which loans out many types of tramping and climbing gear, such as stoves, billies, ice axes, crampons, parkas, and on on.
Day tripsWednesday TrampsIf you are free mid week you may like to join us on our Wednesday tramps. We offer 4 different grades each month and when a 5th Wednesday occurs a bike ride is offered. Most walks take place in the mountains and parks around the greater Wellington area. They range from a 2 to 3 hour ramble over gentle terrain through easy, easy/medium, to mediun trips which may take 6 or more hours over more rugged terrain and may often include off track work. The group can vary from 6 to 20+ depending on the trip offered and the weather. Wednesdays are usually fine !
Off track explorationNavigation using map and compass and perhaps altimeter remains an important skill despite the advent of GPS. An “off-track” component has long been a part of Saturday M, F and MF day trips. Of late the fitter trips have been listed on the fixture card as off-track exploration or OTE on the understanding that the participants are experienced and prefer a trip to incorporate the unexpected. Whereas the M daytrips normally cover familiar ground, the fitter trips seek out the new and unfamiliar. You can expect rough country, steeper slopes and scrub. Not specifying a destination until the week before the trip allows the leader to choose an area that minimizes the impact of bad weather. Information about the trip is promulgated week by week via the 'Fit' news group; any club member may join.   Off track tramping is an absorbing pastime, invariably a group effort, that by its very nature takes trampers into remote, wild, seldom visited parts of the ranges and that offers a real sense of achievement when some predetermined route is actually followed – more or less.
Tramping Dart River Flats  Mt Tupuae-o-Uenuku trip South Island There are several tramping trips to choose from every weekend, graded from easy through to fit. These could be day trips, or involve staying overnight in huts or tents.  Red Hills near Nelson Lakes NP  Playing checkers at the hut after a day's tramping, Tongariro NP The trips go anywhere from the Wellington, Tararua and Rimutaka region to further afield in the North and South Islands. Trips are run all year round, summer and winter, and overseas trips are held in some years. Those new to tramping may be interested in our Bush craft Course run every year. We also run a wide range of trips for families and children.
Mountain Biking and Cycling Cycling touring trip in Otago A variety of mountain biking and road cycling trips are run, ranging from one day trips around the Wellington region to weekend and multi-day trips around New Zealand. Occasionally trips are run to popular events and races around the country, such as the Martinborough Fun Ride and the Round Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge. Trips are graded from easy through to fit. Family cycling trips suitable for children and youths are also often run. Depending on the kind of trip, you will need to have your mountain or road bike and gear.
Kayaking, Canoeing, and Tubing Marlborough Sounds The club runs many kayaking trips ranging from one day trips around Wellington to extended multi-day trips at locations around New Zealand, such as Lake Waikeramoana, Fiordland, the Marlborough Sounds, and Abel Tasman National Park. Trips are graded from easy trips suitable for beginners through to fit trips for experienced sea-kayakers. Instruction days and family trips are also often run. Some trips are on inland, lake or harbour waters and others venture to the open sea. Arrangements can be made to hire kayaks, paddles, lifejackets & spray skirts for the duration of any trip.  Tubing Trip Tubing trips involve floating down a river in a large tyre inner tube. You get to see the bush from a whole new perspective. They are usually day trips to rivers close to Wellington, but occasionally weekend tubing trips further afield are run. Trips are graded from easy trips suitable for beginners through to fit trips for experienced "tubers".
 Approaching David Saddle, Easter 2006 photographer David Castle Instruction CoursesOur Bush craft and Alpine Instruction courses are extremely popular and equip pupils with a sound knowledge and skill base to enable them to enjoy the outdoors safely and proficiently. Vying with Alpine Instruction for space on the snow and in our alpine lodge on Mt Ruapehu (Tararua Lodge) during winter are the pupils of our Board and Ski Instruction course. Two weekends are held, usually at Tongariro National Park, in which instructors and pupils show one another who's best on the boards. Contact Ski Lodge Committee on (04) 383 4980 for details. We also run First Aid courses (with an emphasis on the special circumstances which tramping and climbing present) and Trip Leadership workshops.
Conservation The Club runs or joins in on a number of conservation projects, such as tree planting trips, Mana Island conservation trips, or the Tararua Weka Project. The club often makes submissions on public issues affecting conservation and back-country recreation.
Search and RescueThe Club is always looking for members to join the Search and Rescue (SAR) squad. Members are required to dedicate 4 days free training a year on first aid, rope skills, tracking, navigation and helicopter protocol. Members may be required to go on searches during work hours and need to get sanction from their employers to enable them to participate when called. This needs to be done before they get called. While SAR members cannot guarantee their availability, it is expected that they are available two thirds of the time when called upon. While searches by their nature are random, members on average are called up to half a dozen times a year.
Social Events and the Social CommitteeOur social committee arranges and runs the Tuesday night talks at the club rooms and several other social events, many of which are annual club traditions such as the:
Combining the social with the recreational is an activity generally known as the Gourmet Trip. Gourmet Trips can verge on the wacky, the bizarre or the downright ridiculous, but are always guaranteed good fun for the participants. They can involve tramping, skiing, yachting or whatever the trip leader can conjure up in their imagination. Joining the Social Committee is a great way to get to know people in the club.
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