2013
1 January
Clubrooms closed
8 January
Photo: Marg Pearce
Clubrooms closed
15 January Barbecue
22 January Have a go
David McCrone recently travelled to China where he visited the Zhangjiajie(approve sites) national park, the spectacular film location for the movie “Avatar”, and Huangshan, the “Yellow Mountain”, one of China’s major tourist destinations.
National parks in China are unlike any in New Zealand.
Liz Martin will show more of the FMC competition photos from 2011, the best photos from Clubs around the country
29 January Prospective Members Evening
5 February Saving the Black Rhino
Rampant slaughter of Black Rhinos for their horns brought them to the brink of extinction in the 1990s. Today, thanks to conservation efforts, their numbers are slowly recovering and now total about 5,000. Andrew Stringer is doing a PhD on the parasites of the Black Rhino. As well as conservation issues, he will talk about his experiences in carrying out his research and the dangers of walking in the African bush, and will show some short videos.
12 February Travels from the Antarctic to the Arctic
In 2011 Katja Riedel, an accomplished photographer, took 12 months leave to travel the world and tick off her personal bucket list. Her experiences included working on cruise ships in Antarctica, South Georgia and Svalbard (an archipelago in the Arctic), volunteering in Greenland, ski-touring on the biggest glacier in Europe, cycling the St James Way pilgrimage route in Spain, exploring ice caves in Romania, and trekking in Nepal and Patagonia. Please note that this presentation will be a little longer than usual.
19 February Nature photography with Simon Woolf
An award winning professional photographer, Simon Woolf is passionate about the New Zealand landscape and natural environment. Photographing wildlife requires dedication, patience and timing. Simon’s superb images of animals, birds, insects, and marine life display his creativity and technical skills in macro photography (extreme close-up photography of tiny subjects).
26 February Travel Doctor on a Film Set
Dr Jenny Visser was the doctor for cast, crew and local villagers whilst in Bougainville during the filming of Mr Pip last year. The journey presented unique challenges, both personally and professionally. Jenny works and teaches in the field of travel medicine and has a special interest in wilderness and expedition medicine. She has worked in Antarctica and Nepal and is the Medical Advisor for New Zealand Land Search & Rescue.
5 March Te Urewera - a 100 kilometre journey through Tuhoe country
Brian Dobbie works in the national office of DoC(approve sites) on the development and maintenance of recreation facilities. The announcement last September of the proposed Treaty settlement for Ngai Tuhoe(approve sites), and his fascination with a national park in New Zealand that has people living in it, made him take a serious look at Te Urewera(approve sites). He planned a trip that took in the lakes, the highest point, the sacred mountain, and encounters with locals. The result was a five-day, 100 kilometre journey from south to north that considerably exceeded his expectations.
12 March Youth in Asia
John Nankervis, Geoffroy Lamarche and Paul Maxim recount tales of adventure and adversity in the remote Himalaya. From lowland leeches to highland yaks, tropical rainforest to soaring peaks, alpine pastures to near vertical ice, the NZAC(approve sites) team of six experienced it all in their quest to summit two unclimbed peaks.
19 March Planning the future of Wellington's open spaces
The open space network comprises 3600ha of reserves, neighbourhood parks, sports fields and gardens between Miramar and Tawa. Mike Oates, Wellington City Council’s Manager Open Space and Recreation Planning, will talk about the changing role of the network, and proposed directions for its management and development over the next ten years.
26 March Shelter from the Storm: The Story of New Zealand’s Backcountry Huts
A singular feature of the New Zealand outdoors is our remarkable network of backcountry huts.
Trampers who venture into the mountains and bush often develop a strong attachment to these humble structures.
Shaun Barnett will talk about the often incredible efforts that were made to build these huts, with pictures and stories from his new book Shelter from the Storm(approve sites), co-authored with Geoff Spearpoint and Rob Brown.
Signed copies of the book can be purchased through Shaun at a cost of $60 each (RRP is $80) if ordered before club night, or for $65 (cash) on the night.
Email him -> mailto:blackrobin [snail] clear [period] net [period] nz to order a copy and he will provide his bank account details.
Shaun would find it helpful to know before his talk how many members wish to buy the book so that he can order an appropriate number of copies.
He will bring ordered copies to the Club meeting for delivery.
2 April Off the beaten track with a toddler
Last October, Pip Newton had a catch-up with her daughter and young grandson in Namibia and Zimbabwe.
During a trip which began at Swakopmund on the Namibian coast, she found herself playing in the biggest sand pit ever, glamping in the Namib desert, cruising the Zambesi, and checking out the world’s biggest waterfall.
Not exactly tramping but quite an intrepid journey with a toddler!
The Walls of Jerusalem Down Under
The Walls of Jerusalem is part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, a fabulous alpine wilderness with dolerite peaks and tarns.
Find out why “The Walls” is so named, and much more. David Holland and Barbara Camfield will relate adventures from their recent tramp there with '''Liz Martin and Alan Graham</stong>.
9 April The Overland Track: Australia's 'must-do' bushwalk
One of Australia's great wilderness bushwalks, the Overland Track is a 65 km, six-day trek through the heart of Tasmania's Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park. While travelling this iconic trail in January, Alan Graham, Liz Martin, Barbara Camfield, and David Holland were wowed by impressive dolorite peaks, enchanted by wallabies and wombats, and scared by snakes. Fortunately they managed to dodge the devastating bush fires that caused widespread destruction across Tasmania.
16 April gTTT
In November 2012 Simon Bell, Rob Hawes, Steve Dowall, and Lisa Wynne set out from Mt Cook Village to do a Grand Traverse of Aorangi/Mt Cook from the Hooker Glacier, followed by an east-west traverse of the Southern Alps via Mt Tasman to Fox Glacier. 'gTTT' is their take on what an adventure climbing trip is all about. Simon will talk about the logistics of undertaking a long (16 day) alpine trip, the highs and lows, the people, the food, and of course the weather!
23 April Awash in Arthur's Pass
Arthur's Pass receives four metres of rain per year. A downpour on the day Hugh Barr's Christmas trip party went over Cass Saddle soaked them to the skin before they could take refuge in the dilapidated (but very welcome) Cass Saddle Hut. Despite the threat of more rain, the party managed to fill their time in the National Park enjoyably. Places visited included Avalanche Peak, Carrington Hut, Waimakariri Falls Hut, Lagoon Saddle, Hamilton Palace, Cass Saddle Hut, and Temple Basin.
30 April Hiking, biking, sea kayaking - and a taste of margarita Last year Peter and Caroline Gates went sea kayaking along the coast of the Baja California peninsula, a top whale-watching destination with a rich marine environment, set against a dramatic landscape of cactus-filled deserts and towering mountains. They also went trekking in the highlands of Southern Mexico, and did some biking, hiking and a little margarita tasting in Cuba.
7 May Eradicating pest animals - the good-natured way
Biodiversity decline is one of our most serious ecological problems. The Goodnature company(approve sites) designs and manufactures automated re-setting traps that kill pest animals - possums, rats and stoats - cleanly and instantly. Stu Barr will talk about how the Goodnature team got the inspiration for their concept, and the advantages and effectiveness of their trap system. Two Goodnature traps were recently placed near Field and Cone huts.
14 May Return to the mountains of Patagonia
To mark the 50th Anniversary of the Tararua Tramping Club in 1969, seven members including Alan Bibby and Paddy Gresham mounted an expedition to the Northern Patagonian Ice Cap. Forty years later, five members of the expedition returned, with friends and family, to the mountains of Patagonia. Alan Bibby, who made a film of the 1969 expedition, has completed another film about the return visit. This film reflects on the changes that have occurred and what these have meant for both the mountains and the mountaineers.
21 May Surveying and mapping in Antarctica: The past and the present
In the 1950s and 60s, New Zealand surveyors doing fieldwork in Antarctica used rudimentary equipment to produce topographic maps of the Ross Sea region. Since then, the introduction of GPS and other advances in technology have transformed surveying and mapping techniques. Graeme Blick is the Chief Geodesist at Land Information New Zealand(approve sites). His passion for surveying and mapping in Antarctica has taken him to remote parts of the White Continent that many other scientists working closer to Scott Base(approve sites) do not get to. In recognition of his work, a mountain in Antarctica was named after him by the US National Science Foundation(approve sites).
28 May A wilderness survival epic
Over the Christmas and New Year break, Daniel Rogerson, Alison Davis, and Dave Cooper ventured into the Adams Wilderness Area for a nine day climbing trip. Several days into the trip, 600ml of rain fell in 48 hours and they found themselves in survival mode, holed up on a glacier for three nights and then in an emergency snow-cave for another three. Come along and hear their story!
4 June Rafting on the Clarence
Last December Jim Baltaxe and five other Club members went rafting in fine weather down the scenic Clarence River. Jim has some rapid-action movies to show and a raft of inflated stories to tell us about the trip.
11 June Winter activities evening
Join the Club's winter sports enthusiasts at 7.30pm for a glass of warm gluhwein, then sit back and hear how the Club can help you to plan and enjoy some cool adventures in the snow this winter.
The Club's Tararua Lodge on Mt Ruapehu is a wonderful base facility for skiing, snow boarding and alpine climbing and our ski, ski touring, and alpine instruction programme is about to get underway (there will be a final opportunity to sign up for these courses).
18 June Trekking the Har Ki Doon Trail
Har Ki Doon ('Valley of God'), a hanging valley in the Garhwal Himalayas, has been described as ideally suited to the fair-weather trekker seeking easy access to views of the rugged peaks of northern India and "an authentic alternative to the teahouse circuits of Nepal". Since 'discovering' Har Ki Doon In 2004, Javer (Joe) Naran -> mailto:javernaran [snail] gmail [period] com (04 972 9737, 021 525 528), a retired school teacher, has taken three groups on nine-day excursions along the 80 kilometre Har Ki Doon Trail.
25 June A journey around East Timor
Jan Nye spent three years living and working in East Timor, a country with mountains that soar to 2,963 meters and dive spots with wonderful names like Bob's Rock and Jim's Crack. Jan will take us on a journey around this newly independent country, which has seen tough times and is now determined to move on.
2 July Christmas in Cusco
In December 2011 Elizabeth Bridge travelled to Peru to walk the Inca Trail and visit the Amazon rainforest. On the way she enjoyed Christmas and New Year in the city of Cusco (altitude 3,350 metres), climbed thousands of stone steps to Macchu Pichu and visited a Peruvian tributary of the Amazon River.
9 July Encounters with moose, orcas and bears
Peter and Caroline Gates spent two months over last northern summer travelling from the Yukon Territory through South East Alaska and British Columbia. They did some river canoeing in moose territory, sea kayaking with orca whales, and hiking in bear country.
16 July New Zealand's changing glaciers
Please note that this talk has had to be postponed at short notice because the speaker is unable to get back to Wellington via Cook Strait ferry in time. An alternative activity will be arranged.
23 July Travels in the mountains and deserts of Xinjiang, China
Natural heritage consultant Les Molloy has travelled widely in the mountains, forests, steppes and deserts of East and Central Asia, evaluating areas nominated for World Heritage status. He describes the Xinjiang region in north-west China as “this most fascinating, wild, remote and rarely-visited part of Inner Asia”.
30 July The harmonious call of the little spotted kiwi
Dr Andrew Digby has carried out kiwi surveys on remote island locations around New Zealand. With other researchers at Victoria University(approve sites), he recently conducted the first-ever acoustic study of little spotted kiwi, based at Zealandia(approve sites). The findings have revealed surprising behavioural features, including a previously unknown form of vocal ‘cooperation’ between males and females, and are helping to provide new tools for the conservation of New Zealand’s national icon.
6 August Thrills and spills on the Landsborough
Heavy rain warnings led to a change of plans for the two-part Christmas trip led by Peggy Munn. After tramping the Motatapu track from Arrowtown to Wanaka in drizzle, thunder, lightning and snow, the party flew in to the Landsborough by helicopter. Then followed a thrilling rafting trip down the fast-flowing river, with plenty of action. Chris Munn will tell us all about it.
13 August Hiking and history: Norway and northern isles of Scotland
Last summer Sheena Hudson fulfilled a long held ambition to travel north of the Arctic Circle. After hiking in the Lofoten Islands(approve sites) and around Sognefjord in Norway, she steeped herself in the history of Orkney and the Shetland Islands, from the Neolithic era to the oil boom of the 20th century.
20 August Caring for Baring Head
Since Greater Wellington purchased Baring Head in 2010 and added it to the East Harbour Regional Park, it has become an increasingly popular recreational destination. Join Mark McAlpine (East Harbour Regional Park Ranger) and Colin Ryder (Friends of Baring Head Trust(approve sites)) for an update on what’s been happening recently and some exciting new developments.
27 August 94th Annual General Meeting
Come along and have a say in the running of your Club. As JFK might have said: And so, my fellow Tararuans, ask not what your Club can do for you; ask what you can do for your Club … and what together we can do.
3 September The Denniston Plateau(approve sites): Can it be saved?
The Denniston Plateau’s unique ecosystem is under threat from the devastating effects of opencast coal mining. Kevin Hackwell will update us on Forest & Bird’s campaign to stop mining plans and proposal for a new 5,900 hectare Denniston Reserve.
10 September TTC MasterChef 2013
Ever wanted to show off your cooking talents in front of a discerning audience of hardened trampers? Think you can make better bacon butties than Paul Maxim? Do you have what it takes to be crowned the 2013 TTC MasterChef?
17 September Sixty miles west of yesterday: The sub-Antarctic Bounty(approve sites) and Antipodes(approve sites) Islands
One of the last frontiers of our marine environment, New Zealand’s sub-Antarctic Islands have huge ecological importance. In 2009 Debbie Freeman took part a marine research expedition to the Bounty and Antipodes Islands. Surveys of near-shore rocky reef communities revealed new species and habitats and helped inform the development of marine protected area proposals for this remote part of New Zealand.
24 September Lighting New Zealand’s coast
Helen Beaglehole will look at the contributions of two important people as New Zealand’s system of lighthouses was developed to provide the navigational aids so critical for a small colony at the far reaches of the Pacific. Helen is the author of Lighting the Coast: A history of New Zealand's coastal lighthouses and Always the Sound of the Sea: The daily lives of New Zealand's lighthouse keepers
1 October TTC Photo Competition 2013
Come along to this popular annual event and enjoy wonderful photos of stunning landscapes, native flora and fauna, historic features, and club members doing their thing in huts, camps and the great outdoors.
8 October Whitcombe and Lauper’s very first crossing
Hilary Low will discuss Whitcombe and Lauper's crossing of the Southern Alps in 1863: who they were, the purpose of the expedition, and why it went so horribly wrong. Hilary published her new translation of Lauper's vivid account of the expedition in her book(approve sites), Pushing his Luck: Report of the Expedition and Death of Henry Whitcombe.
15 October New Zealand's changing glaciers
Since the late 1800s, glaciers in the Southern Alps have lost kilometers of length and hundreds of metres of ice thickness. Brian Anderson, a glaciologist at Victoria University’s Antarctic Research Centre(approve sites), combines field research with modelling to reconstruct the evolution of New Zealand glaciers since the end of the last ice age and to predict how they might change in the future.
22 October Mountaineering: The expert and the novice
Nina Sawicki and Lorraine Johns will show photos of some South Island climbing trips, featuring Mt Earnslaw and Mitre Peak, and talk about aspects of mountaineering as a lifelong journey of learning: the ins and outs of group dynamics, taking responsibility for your own climbing, the importance of mentoring for all climbers, and how beginners can improve their skills.
29 October Oil free Wellington
Paul Bruce and Gareth Hughes will argue that we shouldn't be exploring for oil in the Pegasus Basin or fracking the Wairarapa coast shales.
5 November Fifty Year and Life Members' Evening and talk "Kia Ora Kenya"
One can be sure that in October 1919, our club’s founders would not have envisaged that their little tramping club would not only have grown to the size it is today, but would be fast approaching its 100th birthday.
Now in 2013, TTC has over 700 members, an incredible 10% of whom are either Life Members or have been in the club for 50 years or more.
The first of these was Otaki MP Willie Field in 1922, and since then 46 men and women have had their names added to the rimu board that hangs on the clubroom wall.
As well as these life members, TTC also has a remarkable 59 members who have been with the club for 50 years or more.
On Tuesday 5th November we will celebrate and applaud the Life and 50 year members who are such an important part of our heritage, and present our newest 50 year member Karel Austmann with a certificate and badge to celebrate his contribution to the Tararua Tramping Club.
In 2009, a trip to Africa led Denise Carnihan and her husband down a completely different life path.
They built, and now own, a school for 300 children in a Kenyan slum, named the "Kia Ora Children's Learning Centre".
12 November Quiz night
The quiz will cover recent TTC events and trivia as well as tramping-related topics.
19 November Coralline algae: Seaweeds we shouldn’t overlook
Often referred to as ecosystem engineers, calcified red macroalgae are vital components of near-shore ecosystems and provide structural strength to coral reefs.
They are threatened by global climate change and acidification of the world’s oceans, as Wendy Nelson of NIWA(approve sites) will explain.
26 November Forecasting New Zealand’s weather
Erick Brenstrum, a weather forecaster at MetService(approve sites) with over 30 years’ experience, will describe New Zealand’s weather systems and the forces that shape them.
Erick is the author of The New Zealand Weather Book(approve sites), has been writing a column on weather for New Zealand Geographic(approve sites) magazine since 1989, and is regularly interviewed on National Radio’s Nights programme(approve sites) by Bryan Crump(approve sites).
3 December Hiking in Utah’s national parks
John Shultis, an Associate Professor at the University of Northern British Columbia(approve sites), will talk about his recent hiking trip to several national parks(approve sites) in Utah.
He is in New Zealand doing research on the use of recreation equipment and the impact it has on the experiences of trampers and climbers while in the bush.
10 December Christmas Finale
It's that time of year again!
Join us at the club rooms to celebrate with other members and reflect on the year's trips.
Over some Christmas cake and drinks of course!
To add to the Christmas cheer there will be carols with the Salvation Army, and you are welcome to bring a small gift which will be donated to a child in need.
17 December
Clubrooms closed
24 December Seasons greetings from Tararua Tramping Club
Clubrooms closed
31 December Tararua Tramping Club wishes you all the very best for the New Year
Clubrooms closed