Hey guys,

what would y'all recommend for a 2-day tramp in the Wellington general area. Don't mind heading too far, looking for a sort of two day thing, walk for a day, stay in a hut, walk home with some nice sights along the way. Its for me and the girlfriend, she's fit enough - have taken her hunting etc before, knows how to slog it out. Also open to suggestions about shorter/longer routes.

Cheers,

Tom

Mt Holdsworth is a great 2-day tramp just over in the Wairarapa. Alpha is a nice hutt a little way before the summit. Day 1 is short, day 2 quite a bit longer, but it's not super hard going (the descent on day 2 is probably the hardest part, mostly because it just keeps going).

Wouldn't do it this time of year unless you have ALL the gears tho.

There are endless tramps in the Tararua ranges.

I am heading into Herepai Hut tomorrow for an overnighter. It is only a short walk in, but nice quick way to get high up..

wgtngrl wrote:Mt Holdsworth is a great 2-day tramp just over in the Wairarapa. Alpha is a nice hutt a little way before the summit. Day 1 is short, day 2 quite a bit longer, but it's not super hard going (the descent on day 2 is probably the hardest part, mostly because it just keeps going).

Wouldn't do it this time of year unless you have ALL the gears tho.

Are you suggesting Alpha hut is just before the summit of Mt Holdsworth? I think you may have your map upside down.
Dont know what route you are suggesting when you say Day 1 is shorter than Day 2 but if you stayed at Angle Knob then both days would be similar. Not much snow up there at the moment.

I know some one who has done a PK (putara kaitoke ) in Under 24h, and know someone who has taken 9h to get toWaitewaewae. so the range of fitness is quite large.

depends wheather you like trees or big views of farmland? how long do you want to walk for? if you like cold go to kime hut there is no fire there. cone hut is quite neet (oldest hutt) but I would stay at tutuwai but no views on that trip.

wgtngrl wrote:Mt Holdsworth is a great 2-day tramp just over in the Wairarapa. Alpha is a nice hutt a little way before the summit. Day 1 is short, day 2 quite a bit longer,

Powell ?
.

1scotty1 wrote:Dont know what route you are suggesting when you say Day 1 is shorter than Day 2 but if you stayed at Angle Knob then both days would be similar. Not much snow up there at the moment.

Think she's talking about the Jumbo-Powell circuit in that order. Day 1 to Jumbo Hut being the shorter day, it's just that slog up from the new Atiwhakatu Hut for Day 1 and the crappy water full of coal dust from the fire place that make Day 1 annoying. Day 2's nice along the tops. Shame you say there isn't much snow.

Yeah range of fitness is a point, not looking to go bowling up a mountain at full tit, just a nice walk with the lady - i'm sure you guys can sympathize. In saying that the hunt we went on was a full day of hard terrain chasing goats, she seems to be good at the long slow fitness. What about something a bit closer to Wellington, nice views and a casual two day affair. Sort of like one day walking in, one day walking out?

Blanketman always seems to be in town.

Jumbo-Powell circuit on Holdsworth isn't that bad/hard if you're taking it easy. We used to head up to Jumbo on Friday evenings leaving Wellington around 6pmish and getting to the hut sometime before midnight. However, although the track is well worn along the tops, if you're not happy with route finding in bad weather etc leave that trip for summer as it can get friggin cold and windy. It takes about 2 hours to get to the Mt Holdsworth carpark from Wellington!?!

An easier and more straight forward trip is from Kaitoke, up the Tauherenikau Valley to Tutuwai Hut. Nice valley but no sweeping vistas. All pretty much flat but still several hours dawdling in and stopping for smack talk. Plus it's much closer to Wellington than the Jumbo-Powell trip.

Starting at the same place in Kaitoke, you could head up Marchant Ridge to Alpha hut (long never ending up). Nice mossy beech forests with slightly exposed sections! If a nice day might get some views, and you could always stick your head out on the tops for a laugh then day 2 drop down to the Tauherenikau Valley and wander back to Kaitoke.

From Otaki Forks to Waitewaewae Hut. I find this trip incredibly boring but the hut is pretty sweet.

Any of these trips are do-able for any mildly fit person in 2 days. Just check the weather forcast and plan it to that and bring lots of warm clothes esp. if heading for the tops. It's amazing how cold the Tararuas can get.

Yogi wrote:Jumbo-Powell circuit on Holdsworth isn't that bad/hard if you're taking it easy. We used to head up to Jumbo on Friday evenings leaving Wellington around 6pmish and getting to the hut sometime before midnight. However, although the track is well worn along the tops, if you're not happy with route finding in bad weather etc leave that trip for summer as it can get friggin cold and windy. It takes about 2 hours to get to the Mt Holdsworth carpark from Wellington!?!

An easier and more straight forward trip is from Kaitoke, up the Tauherenikau Valley to Tutuwai Hut. Nice valley but no sweeping vistas. All pretty much flat but still several hours dawdling in and stopping for smack talk. Plus it's much closer to Wellington than the Jumbo-Powell trip.

Starting at the same place in Kaitoke, you could head up Marchant Ridge to Alpha hut (long never ending up). Nice mossy beech forests with slightly exposed sections! If a nice day might get some views, and you could always stick your head out on the tops for a laugh then day 2 drop down to the Tauherenikau Valley and wander back to Kaitoke.

From Otaki Forks to Waitewaewae Hut. I find this trip incredibly boring but the hut is pretty sweet.

Any of these trips are do-able for any mildly fit person in 2 days. Just check the weather forcast and plan it to that and bring lots of warm clothes esp. if heading for the tops. It's amazing how cold the Tararuas can get.

2nded

thou you could also go in to the Tauherenikau vally then hand a left up the hill to alpha hut and then out down the Marchant Ridge a bit of bothe wourlds

I recomend the jumbo powel circuit too, its nice and easy over 2 days (we sometimes do it in 1). Its a well used circuit, so its hard to get lost (if you have some experience). There will be snow up there at the moment though and it is deep in places so you might want to take ice axes for peice of mind.

Book a DOC hut in the Orongorongo Valley, then walk in via the Orongorongo track:
http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recrea ... o-valleys/

I'd say 2-3 hrs walking in depending on the hut. Nice bush, close to town, can take all manner of non-tramping essentials as there are no hills to worry about (wine, choc cake..). Could then climb Mt Matthews or other lesser peaks on the second day before walking out (which is slightly downhill) to the car park.

We went into Burn Hut from No. 2 Dam at Shannon last weekend. We had our rifles and were going to head up the river for a hunt and fly camp on the riverbed, but decided to head up to the hut as the weather was iffy and river levels can rise rapidly there. It was a pretty hard going with a pack, steep up to the hut and a slip that got the heart ticking as there were limited foot and hand holds not ideal with a pack and holding a rifle, but we managed. The hut is small and cosy, no fire but fairly new and no drafts and best of all hubby and I had it to ourselves. We were rocked to sleep by gale force winds and struggled to stand up on our way back out the next morning, kept getting blown over which was pretty funny watching each other. All in all an awesome way to spend a weekend, shame we didn't get a chance to hunt but still had a good walk.

Lynskey wrote:Yeah range of fitness is a point, not looking to go bowling up a mountain at full tit, just a nice walk with the lady - i'm sure you guys can sympathize. In saying that the hunt we went on was a full day of hard terrain chasing goats, she seems to be good at the long slow fitness. What about something a bit closer to Wellington, nice views and a casual two day affair. Sort of like one day walking in, one day walking out?

From Wainuiomata you can get into the Orongorongo river valley - it's only a couple of hours along the main track, then you can go upstream or downstream as far as you feel inclined and pitch a tent. There are also some pretty flash DOC huts you can rent if you don't want to carry a tent and a stove. http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-visit/wellington/poneke/catchpool-and-orongorongo-valleys/. You could stroll in, set up in the hut and then do a brisk walk up to the top of Mt Matthews for awesome views.

It's close enough you could even ride to the Catchpool roadend on your SS.

Totara flats is a nice easy tramp and a pleasant place to camp or stay in the DOC hut if that's your preference. It always used to have a good swimming hole too but I guess rivers change so not certain at the moment. Can go in either via Waiohine Gorge or from Mt Holdsworth.