Trip intentions

Our club is collaborating with DOC rangers to care for huts along the beautiful Ōrongorongo river on a mid week overnighter!

Route:

This trip is easy-medium difficulty. The walk is about 2.5 hours (6.4km) each way, with a few steep sections and some mud/tree roots to navigate.

Day 1 (Tue 28 April) - We'll meet at Kelburn campus at 8am. We'll carpool to Catchpool Valley campsite (45min drive), and have a safety briefing. It's an easy medium 2hr walk along the Ōrongorongo Track, which is mostly flat but ends with a steep descent to the river. It's then 30min walk along the Big Bend Track to Tūrere Lodge, which is a bit steeper and windier. We'll have lunch at Tūrere.

We'll then split into three groups, walk back to the river and cross it. We'll head to Jans Hut, Raukawa Lodge and Boar Inn to do some easy maintenance tasks. Each hut is about an hour from Turere. We'll then return to Tūrere and enjoy the evening.

Day 2 (Wed 29 April) - We'll pack up and finish off maintenance work. One group will stay at Tūrere, while another group will walk 1 hour return to Haurangi hut. We'll leave Tūrere about 12pm and aim to reach the carpark between 2:30-4pm (taking the same route as Day 1). Lunch and optional exploring on the way. It's then a 45min drive back to Wellington.

Tūrere Lodge info

Ōrongorongo Track info

Big Bend Track info

Gear:

You need overnight tramping gear. See the club gear list: https://www.vuwtc.org.nz/resources/gear-list

You need basic overnight tramping gear. Key things are a tramping pack, warm clothing, a windproof raincoat, tramping boots or trail runners, a sleeping bag, a bowl/cutlery, a headtorch, a big water bottle, and a first aid kit/personal medication. Bring a pot/cooker if you have them. I also recommend a towel/togs.

NOTE: the gear shed has closed for a week due to flooding, so sadly I can't get any club gear for you. Please ask if there's anything important you need, I'll do my best to help.

Food:

Please bring 1 breakfast, 2 lunches, 1 dinner, snacks and drinks (NO glass bottles please!), and some emergency food in case we get delayed in the valley. Have breakfast on Tuesday before arriving at Kelburn.

Cost:

- $5-10 fuel per person

- Free night's stay at Tūrere Lodge! (a big thank you to DOC)

VUWTC heads out every few months to Opau Bay (near Mākara) for an awesome day walk and beach cleanup event!

We partner with Sustainable Coastlines to clear rubbish from the beach. We then count it up to help scientists and policymakers deal with pollution. Along the way there'll be plenty of yarns and laughs. You'll get gloves and pink fluoro vests (to stay safe and stylish)!

Cost: $3-5 for petrol.

Plan:

1. Meet at Kelburn campus at 9:30am

At the Hunter carpark, we'll sort out car groups and split up survey gear.

2. Drive 30min to Mākara Beach carpark (arrive about 10:15am)

DRIVERS! We need people to get us there, with no Mākara bus. Drivers will be reimbursed for fuel costs.

3. Walking time! (10:30am to 12:30pm)

Trek up Mākara hill and down to Opau Bay (2hr with breaks). This is a medium walk, with a STEEP bit at the beginning, a flat bit in the middle, and then a meander downhill to the beach. We'll pass old military bunkers, windmills, sheep, cows, and great views. If we get a clear day, the South Island will be visible!

4. We pick up rubbish!! (about 1pm)

After lunch, we'll set up a 100m x 20m area and collect all the rubbish inside. Equipment provided: gloves, funky pink fluoro, bags, mallet! There'll be a health and safety briefing, then we'll search for one hour.

5. We walk back to the cars via the coast! (about 2-3pm)

We'll return to Mākara by walking across the rocky beach. This is an easy walk, just long!

6. Return to uni! (about 3-4pm)

We might stop at Mākara's nice coastal cafe (open on public holidays)!

7. Sort and weigh rubbish at uni (4-6pm)

We'll count up the amount and weight of rubbish we found. This info goes into an online database to help map Aotearoa's plastic pollution. This might sound boring, but it's actually super fun. We should be done by 6pm. If you need to leave once we get back to uni, no problem! :)

What to bring:

• Lunch and snacks (if not we can get some at the cafe afterwards)

• A full 1-2L drink bottle

• Warm and windproof layers, long sleeves and pants RECOMMENDED to reduce the chance of injury

• IMPORTANT: Sturdy closed toe footwear, as we'll walk over pebbles and driftwood.

• Sun smart gear (sunscreen/hat/sunglasses)

• Hand sanitiser

More info on Sustainable Coastlines

Mākara walk info: https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/wellington-kapiti/places/makara-beach-area/things-to-do/makara-walkway/

Data from our last survey in Nov 2025: https://litterintelligence.org/data/survey?id=3710

Mt Matthews is the tallest peak in the Remutaka range (941m), and I have been looking at it EVERY DAY from afar through my window in Welly. I cannot go all year seeing this thing so often and not stand on it!!!

The plan is to meet at Hunter Carpark at 12pm on Friday 1st. Trip capacity will be limited by number of drivers, which at the moment is just me (so 5 people total). We will leave ASAP for the Catchpool Carpark, and walk in along the usual track.

We will walk approx 2.5-3 hours to the Baine-Iti Hut, which is perfectly located at the start of the Mt Matthew Track. The hut is small and a bit worse for wear, but has a working fire and space to camp outside too.

The Mt Matthew Track can be challenging for some - it is 3.5km long and climbs over 830m. At the top of the mountain, I will try and spot my house. Surely if I can see the mountain from the house I can see the house from the mountain, right?

We will head up Mt Matthews and down and all the way out and back to Welly on the Saturday. I want to be back in Welly for 4pm, so it will be an early start on Saturday. It will be quite a long second day overall (almost 18km). 

Gear list and food arrangements TBC soon, but it will be the usual kinda stuff.

Cost: fuel and any group food contribution (<$10)

Looking to get away from the stress of assignments and spice up your life on a random Thursday night? Keen to visit playgrounds you have grown too old for under the cover of darkness? Then come along to this playground crawl! 

We’ll be visiting 7 different playgrounds in the mairangi/ōtari/thorndon area and giving each a rating out of 10. 

Wear comfy shoes and warm clothes, we’ll be walking about 7km and ending up back at Kelburn campus around 9:30pm depending on how speedy we are/how long we spend at each location, but we can alter the course/timeline depending on what people feel like on the night :)

Meet on kelburn parade outside maki mono at 6:20pm (ish) to gather and catch the 6:30pm number 4 bus to Mairangi together

Route below !! 

Playgrounds : Izard Park, Warwick Street, Surrey Street, Pembroke Road, Glamorgan Street, Botans, and Salamanca Road

Psst - don't tell the run club, but the tramping club is now also doing the odd run and swim.

The Details:

Meet at Freyberg pool for a 5km run up towards the airport around the bays. 
Finish up with a cheeky dip at oriental bay.

Get some coffee afterwards for the hell of it.

Welcome to Wednesday Climbing Nights!

Want to try indoor climbing for the first time, or meet some like-minded climbers? Come along to our weekly climb nights! We climb at Hangdog (Bouldering & Top roping) in Lower Hutt, and Faultline (Bouldering) on Willis St. 

This week, we'll be climbing at Faultline, which is a bouldering gym. This = no ropes/harnesses & no belaying. There are grades for every level of experience, so no matter how much climbing experience you have you’ll have plenty to get stuck into! 

IF THIS IS YOUR FIRST TIME CLIMBING AT FAULTLINE, SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE (https://www.wellingtonclimbing.co.nz/first_visit_fl/) AND SIGN THE ONLINE WAIVER BEFOREHAND! 

This week: Faultline 

Schedule:

• Sign up!

• Meet outside Faultline at 5:20 p.m.
• CLIMB!
• You can leave whenever you like (We usually finish up around 7:30-8:00 p.m), return to your flats and halls by bus or walk from the gym.

Entry costs: $15 + $3 for shoes 

This is not paid for through the club—there is no piking fee if you pull out. Pay at FL when we arrive.

To get the VUWTC entry price, just let the front desk know you are with VUWTC. Our discounted price is only from 5:30 pm onwards on Wednesdays.