Mid-Waiohine — Jumbo — Holdsworth, Tararua Forest Park — I live my life a quarter-mile at a time. The difference between Vin Diesel and me is that that quarter mile takes a heck of a lot longer when you’re slogging it up a hill rather than dragracing to somehow save the world in a never-ending cringeworthy franchise. Nonetheless, speed…

Sayer Hut and Neill Forks Hut, Tararua Forest Park — I just can’t say no. A third weekend in a row I found myself bundled into a car on route to the Tararuas. Our plan was to have a leisurely walk into Sayer Hut, before continuing on to Neill Forks the next day and then finally walking out. Tim was…

Maungahuka and the Snowy River — Tararua Forest Park — The Tararua Ranges are punctuated by ‘classic’ tramps, routes trodden by trampers over many decades. Of these, the southern and northern crossings are perhaps the most well known, but I would assert that the traverse of the main south range, from Junction Knob to Bridge Peak, is the most spectacular…

Cattle Ridge — Dundas Circuit, Tararua Forest Park — Public holidays sound like a great idea, until the reality of fitting five days’ worth of work into four hits home. Our eyes had been set on the Kaweka Range for an Easter trip, but in a manic lead up to Good Friday all plans were up in the air…

Douglas Range, Kahurangi National Park — Three imposing rocky pinnacles tower over the headwaters of the Anatoki River, the Dragons Teeth. …

Renata Hut, Tararua Forest Park — Roads are convenient things, often providing easy access to the playgrounds of trampers. That being said, ‘road-walking’ is often something thought to be best avoided if at all possible. A trip down Odlins Road (aka Waiotauru Rd) presents a unique exception to this rule. When I was trying to think…

Waiorongomai Hut, Remutaka Range — Prologue There exists a scale of ‘fun’ often toted by fans of the outdoors. It ranges from Type I fun (enjoyed at the time, enjoyed the memory later) to Type II fun (did not enjoy at the time, enjoyed reminiscing on the pain). The bold may even claim that the scale…

A Southern Crossing of the Tararua Range — I read recently that the word ‘tramping’ is dying out. Apparently the Mountain Safety Council (who arguably themselves are dying out) examined some New Zealand Google searches and found that the word “hiking” was becoming the more common parlance (there’s a good obscure word for you). …

Cass — Lagoon Saddle Loop, Craigieburn Forest Park — Coming out of the bush from tackling the Gladiator I had a problem. I needed to work out how best to spend the next few days whilst making my way to Christchurch to fly back to Wellington. Slowly but surely a plan started to form, starting with a memorable New…