2018
2, 9, 16, 23 January
Photo: Peter Barber
Photo: Simon
Clubrooms closed
30 January Summer barbecue
5.30pm - 9.00pm. BBQ at Peter Barber’s and Mary Kane's home, 100 Queens Drive, Lyall Bay.
Catch up with other club members and talk about your Xmas/New Year adventures.
Please bring your own meat for the barbecue, and food and drink to share.
06 February Clubrooms closed - Waitangi Day
Photo: Janette
13 February TTC Membership Survey
The 2017 membership survey was designed to provide statistical information to aid the General Committee in their decision-making. Hera Cooke will lead a discussion of the results.
Photo: Simon
20 February Canada's Arctic Barren Lands
Last September Barbara Camfield and David Holland went on a trip to the Canadian Arctic Barren Lands where they did some painting and fly fishing, and saw the Northern Lights, caribou, endless lakes, and glacial landforms called eskers.
27 February An evening for prospective members
Thinking of becoming a member of our club?
Come along and hear about the wide range of outdoor activities and instruction courses the club offers.
Meet new people and stay safe in the outdoors with the TTC!
06 March A traverse of Canada’s Homathko Icefield
For 25 days in April/May 2017, Henry Dengate Thrush and David Rowe, with Mike Rowe, Arran Whiteford, Joanne Elleouet, and Paul Mason, traversed the Homathko Icefield in Canada's Coast Mountains north of Vancouver.
On foot, skis, crampons, and in kayaks, they explored the wilderness.
From endless plodding to exhilaration, heart break to ecstasy, this epic trip had it all.
13 March Liz and Alan's Te Araroa - Part 2: Auckland to Wellington
Join Alan Graham and Liz Martin as they re-live highlights of their journey: Auckland's Coast to Coast walkway, the Hakarimata Ridge between Huntley and Ngaruawahia, Mt Pirongia, Waitomo, the Whanganui River, and the Tararuas.
20 March Reflections of a hunter
Scientist, hunter and writer(approve sites) Richard Hall reflects on what draws him into New Zealand’s wilderness to hunt, dive and fish, and shares his insights into our relationship with “this secret and enchanting world”. Copies of his recently-published book Dark Forest Deep Sea(approve sites) will be available for sale for $38.
27 March Cycling the EuroVelo 6(approve sites)
During a 10 week journey last year Matt and Francie Benge cycled from Nantes to Budapest and did a couple of side trips in Austria - the Salzkammergut(approve sites) and Tauernradweg.
03 April The Wahine disaster
On 10 April 1968, 14-year-old Tony Coard set out in his small boat Pugwash on a mission to rescue survivors from the sinking Wahine. Fifty years on he looks at the causes of the tragedy and the lessons that were learnt from it.
10 April Wild Alaska
In May and June 2017, Peter Smith and Trish Gardiner-Smith spent six weeks in Alaska, visiting Denali, Kenai Fjords National Park, and towns along the Alaskan Marine Highway. The highlight of their trip was the amazing wildlife.
17 April Walking in the Dolomites
In June 2017, Mike Crozier, Sally Marx, Tony Vial, and Margaret Emerson
spent two weeks walking in the Dolomites, a region of spectacular mountains, verdant meadows and charming villages located in the South Tyrol, Northern Italy. The stunning mountain scenery was enhanced by beautiful weather, meadows of alpine flowers, welcoming refugia, and comfortable accommodation.
24 April Bioacoustic monitoring of New Zealand birds before and after aerial 1080 operations
Aerial 1080 operations are subject to significant controversy, with claims that forests fall silent following drops.
Roald Bomans used bioacoustics, a developing area in ecology, to monitor native bird species in the Remutaka and Aorangi Ranges.
He investigates this claim over the aerial 1080 operations and presents his methods and results.
Roald is the first recipient of the Michael Taylor Bequest Study Grant.
01 May Mountain tourism in New Zealand
Photographer: John Adamson 1867‑1951
South Canterbury Museum(approve sites)
As a travel destination that promised adventure and the challenge of unclimbed peaks, New Zealand in the late 19th and early 20th centuries attracted some intrepid and colourful personalities. Cindy Jemmett looks at what drew four early tourists to the Southern Alps, their experiences, and their contribution to a growing tourism in the mountains.
08 May A return to Chile
After an absence of 30 years, Paul Bruce returned to Chile with Catalina Opazo. They spent two and half months catching up with relatives, politics and the transport system, did some great walks, and found some quirky places and things to do.
15 May Zero Invasive Predators
Last summer the Club's first Michael Taylor Bequest Conservation Intern, Andy Hope, spent eight weeks working alongside the Zero Invasive Predators (ZIP) field team at Bottle Rock Peninsula, Queen Charlotte Sound. The ZIP team field-tested new tools and techniques aimed at completely removing possums, rats and stoats from large mainland areas.
22 May The Old Ghost Road
Over five days in February, Helen Quinlan and Tricia Walbridge tramped 85 km along the Old Ghost Road from Lyell on the Buller Gorge to Seddonville near the mouth of the Mokihinui River. The stunning scenery, wonderfully tame bird life, mining history of the region and the fascinating story of the track made the Old Ghost Road an all-time favourite of theirs.
29 May Winter activities evening
Join the Club’s winter sports enthusiasts for a glass of gluhwein, then sit back and hear how the Club can help you to enjoy some great adventures in the snow this winter, and to stay safe.
Please note the earlier start time of 7.00pm and $4 entry charge.
05 June Ivory Lake from the Rakaia
In January, five members of the VUW Tramping Club led by Ivan Andrews set out on an 11-day Southern Alps crossing from the Rakaia to the West Coast via the Bracken snowfield and Ivory Lake Hut.
12 June Rafting the Alsek River
In June 2017, Carol and Ray Molineux did a 14-day rafting trip down the Alsek River between Haines Junction in Canada and the coast in Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska. The Alsek drains the eastern edge of one of the world’s largest non-polar ice-caps and flows through an area of incredible, pristine wilderness.
19 June Quiz night
Come along from 7.00 pm and enjoy a drink and nibbles followed by a fun evening of quizzing and prizes. There will be a raffle with proceeds going toward supporting young people in the club.
26 June Peaks, People and Publications: A Centennial talk by Paul Maxim
During the past eleven years Paul has combined his interests in climbing and writing about mountaineering. He is the author of a biography of the legendary Bill Denz and is currently working on a history of mountaineering in New Zealand, told through 25 selected climbs. Copies of the Denz biography will be available for sale at the meeting for $40 cash.
03 July Growing up in the Eastern Himalayas
From 1946 to 1964, George Borthwick was raised and educated in a multicultural home for orphans and abandoned children in Kalimpong, a hill station in the Darjeeling District and frontier town on the borders of Sikkim, Tibet and Bhutan. Local wildlife included jackals, wild dogs, monkeys, the odd tiger or elephant, flying foxes, exotic birds and a huge variety of flora and fauna.
10 July 100 Year Reminiscence Series - Part 1
John Gates recalls the hot summer day in 1949 when negotiating the Mid-Waiohine Gorge, his party was astonished to come across two men dressed in leather flying jackets and helmets...
17 July Tramping between the Ukraine and Romania
Lawrie Stewart spent six days walking in the Carpathian Mountains of Eastern Europe, learning a lot about the culture, language and identity of the Ukrainian people.
24 July Discovering the Hakatere Conservation Park
Peggy Munn and five other TTC members roamed around the headwaters of the Cameron, the Hakatere and the Potts crossing Wild Mans Brother and Big Hill Ranges.
True wilderness tramping.
31 July Tips for Pronouncing Te Reo Māori place names for Trampers
You’ve heard of Aoraki or Tititea? But do you know how to pronounce these words? What about the places closer to our Wellington home – how do you really pronounce Tararua, Aorangi, Atiwhakatu, Ngauranga,or Tapuae-o-Uenuku(approve sites)? Be prepared to have fun, laugh and learn as Joan Costello, a Te Reo Māori teacher, gives us a crash course.
07 August Wilderness Tramping in the South Island
In April, Chris and Peggy Munn returned to the Hakatere - Mount Somers region to circumnavigate and climb Mount Somers, and get into the Boundary Creek area behind Lake Clearwater. They also explored the now seldom visited seaward Kaikoura area behind Mount Fyfe, where they traversed countless landslides and experienced a sharp little earthquake while at Kowhai Hut.
14 August Cloudless Crete, Sunny Sicily, and Moist Malta
Diana Barnes recalls highlights of her trip to the Mediterranean last year.
21 August 99th Annual General Meeting 2018
- Annual reports and accounts
- Winchcombe Trophy Award
- Election of Officers
- Notices of motion
28 August 100 Year Reminiscence Series - Part 2
In 1977 the most difficult place to visit on earth was South Georgia Island which Alan Knowles and three mates wanted to explore. After seven years, hundreds of letters, top level negotiations, war and a false start, The New Zealand South Georgia Expedition 1984 boarded an RAF flight in Oxford bound for Ascension Island, and from there to the south Atlantic .... deputy leader Alan Knowles will show slides of minefields, sea elephant attack, exciting science, 17 peaks including 5 first ascents.
04 September Shared Meal
Forget about dinner, bring a meal to share and come along and enjoy food together. This is a Bring Your Own everything (food & drinks) and starts around 7pm.
11 September East African Safaris
Tom and Paula Kneebone, members the Kapiti Camera Club, undertook four safaris in Kenya and Tanzania, East Africa. On the first journey, they crossed vast deserts and moonlike landscapes in blistering temperatures. Their photos capture their journeys and experiences of landscapes, wildlife and people.
18 September Hiking in the Pyrenees
In September 2012, Barry and Eva Durrant climbed Mt Perdido 3,355m the second highest mountain in Spain then hiked through the Valle de Odessa to Torla. Their next adventure involved tramping from Ax-Les-Thermes to Andorra.
25 September Yosemite National Park
In June this year, Nic Hankinson and Sandra Beckett met friend Carrie in California for some tramping in Yosemite National Park. Nic will show photos of their adventures, the wildlife and stunning scenery.
02 October Buy, Sell, Swap an evening for everyone
Bring that outdoor gear you no longer need. It could be tramping, climbing, ski gear, poles, packs, boots or sandals. Price it or donate it to TTC Centennial events.
There will also be a produce table for jam, marmalade, plum sauce, lemon curd, plants. Anything you think someone else may love to buy. Proceeds will go to the club.
Come along and support the club. Bring cash and your generosity. Jan Nye
09 October Zealandia: how social enterprise can transform a city
Zealandia’s 500 year restoration programme is succeeding ahead of expectations, with biodiversity now flourishing in backyards across the city. Transformation also involves a 20 year social enterprise now operating on a fully sustainable basis. Denise Church has been Chair of Zealandia for nearly six years, and will offer some reflections on how Zealandia is developing, its place in the city, and its impact in Wellington and beyond.
16 October 100 Year Reminiscence Series - Part 3
Margaret Foden presents " What we did in the Sixties" a nostalgic look at club activities when we were young.
23 October Tour Aotearoa 2018
Helen Kettles will share her biking adventure with us. 30 days biking from Cape Reinga to Bluff. The unexpected twists and turns of being off the beaten track, small town hotels and the characters she met.
30 October William Frederick Howlett BA 1850–1935
William Howlett lived most of his life at Makaretu, Eketahuna and Pahiatua. He was an articulate but eccentric journalist who wrote columns and letters in most of the small local newspapers and his writing was lucid, funny, sensitive, poetic; he was a naturalist who corresponded with Colenso, Hooker and Hector; and an alpinist who formed the first New Zealand mountaineering club. He should be recognised as New Zealand’s Henry David Thoreau.
Ian St George is a doctor, naturalist and amateur historian. He has written extensively on New Zealand native orchids and on William Colenso and is now writing biographies of a number of obscure but influential 19th century men who lived in Hawke's Bay and the Wairarapa.
06 November Biking in Europe
In May & June last year, Janie & Graeme Cook were back in Europe for more cycle touring. Their two main trips were the Slovenian Alps and unfinished business in Norway.
13 November 50 year and Life members night
Peru North and South
Nina Sawicki spent ten days circumnavigating the Alpamayo Massif in the Northern Peruvian Andes in stunning weather, reaching a height of 4,800 metres. This was followed by four days doing the Lares Trail in the Southern Peruvian Andes.
All members are welcome to this evening.
20 November Sanctuary to Sea - Kia mauriora te Kaiwharawhara
With a growing number of native birds leaving the sanctuary and a restoration focus on the rehabilitation of lakes and wetlands, Pascale Michel will tell us how Zealandia is promoting ecosystem health ‘beyond the fence’.
27 November 100 Year Reminiscence Series - Part 4
Over one hundred years ago Ian Baine's father, Jack, built the first Baine iti Hut beside the Orongorongo River. Making use of his family’s extensive photo collection, Ian takes us back to those magical pioneering days of tramping in the valley.
04 December Yoho NP and the Canadian Rockies
After their trip to Alaska last year Pete Smith & Trish Gardiner-Smith spent a few weeks in Canada. They will talk about The Iceline Hike in Yoho NP, the Plain of the Six Glaciers to Victoria Glacier and the Valley of the Ten Peaks to Sentinel Pass in Banff NP.
11 December Christmas Finale
An evening of Christmas cheer to celebrate the end of another successful tramping year. Come along, have some Christmas cake, and sing Christmas carols with The Salvation Army Band. Please bring a small Christmas gift for a child.
18 December Seasons greetings
Clubrooms closed
25 December Happy New Year
Clubrooms closed