Trip intentions

Spotlighting walkie in Ōtari Wilton Bush!
Basically come for a walk and a yarn along the stream & hope to see some cool things! What we might see (but no guarantees) : wētā, moths, spiders, glow worms, eels, (kūkupa and kōura?? idk how common they are in ōtari), ruru if we are lucky. If I can be bothered, I might set up a light trap. If there are enough ppl keen I also might bring some thermos with hot water to make kawakawa tea.

When/where: meet at the Ōtari carpark at 6:30pm (give or take 10 mins for ppl getting there by bus), I will be taking the 6pm #4 bus from Kelburn shops if anyone wants to join. I reckon we'll probably walk around for 1.5 hours maybe 2 if we find lots of sick things, but its gonna be pretty chill. 
What to bring: warm clothes, water & maybe a snack, a cup if you want kawakawa tea (but ill confirm this closer to the time - i need to get my hands on a thermos), headtorch/torch (red light is ideal if you have that), good shoes as it might be a bit muddy, something to take photos with if you want... u get the gist.

Taranaki Maunga: Pouakai Circuit and Syme Hut

Date: 8th of May to 11th of May

Location: Mt Taranaki

Difficulty: Easy-Medium. Approx. 7 hour days, good quality track, a couple big climbs in-between flat-ish ridges. Syme Hut is cold and has a scree climb.

Note: Drivers get priority! The trip may be adjusted as weather conditions allow. If we are unlucky with inclement weather, we will skip Syme Hut, or consider delaying by one week.

Costs: Huts are $25 per night, Syme is $10 per night + around $150ish in fuel split among your car. Group dinners will be $6.

Bring: You must bring everything on the overnight tramp list, your own lunches and breakfasts, and plenty of snacks. Warm and waterproof layers are a must, including a beanie + gloves. Syme Hut varies between 5/-3C in May. Poles and sunglasses recommended for Syme Hut but not necessary if you have confident footing.
 

Itinerary

We are combining two different trips - Syme Hut overnighter and the Pouakai Circuit overnight - but will break them up with a short drive inbetween each trailhead.

Thursday - Day 0 - Meet at the Hunter carpark and drive to the Kai Iwi beach for a detour. Stop in Stratford for food, then continue on to the The Plateau carpark. Lots of small tracks around to explore for the remainder of the day. Overnight at Waingongoro Hut.

Friday - Day 1 - Head towards the Dawson Falls Visitor Centre, then make the climb up to Syme Hut.

Saturday - Day 2 - Descend back down to the Visitor Centre, then back up to The Plateau. Drive to the North Egmont visitor centre, and begin the walk to Holly Hut. (Or Pouakai Hut if it's finished refurbishment and open to visitors)

Sunday - Day 3 - Get up before dawn and visit the Pouakai Tarns for sunrise. If we're at the Holly Hut, we'll have to depart the hut around 5am and tramp a bit through the darkness. If we're at Pouakai, then it's a breezy 15 min walk. Then we finish up the circuit and head back to the North Egmont visitor centre. Have some pizza at Stratford, then drive back to Welly!

Route

Thursday in red, Friday in blue, Saturday in pink.

Saturday in pink, Sunday in wine-red.

Have a secret love for playgrounds you feel ashamed to admit? VUWTC is the place for you! A mainstay of walkies are our playground crawls, where we rank a suburb's playgrounds! Past instalments have included Seatoun, Newtown, Johnsonville, and Tawa.

This time we'll head to Berhampore, Kingston, Mornington and Vogeltown. Never heard of those places?! Great, that's where we're heading :)

We'll meet at Courtenay place, then catch the 1 bus to Berhampore. We'll walk up through the Vogeltown area and end at the Brooklyn shops. The 7 and 17 buses go back to Willis St/Lambton Quay every 15-25min.

NOTE: the map says 1hr 30min, but the walk will be 3-4 hours due to socialising, playground testing, and buses.

List of playgrounds:

- Te Papa Tākaro o Jim Belich (Jim Belich Playground)

- Jeypore Street Play Area

- Farnham Street Play Area

- Quebec Street Play Area

- Vogelmorn Park Play Area

- Krull Street Play Area

- Harrison Street Play Area

- Mitchell Street Play Area? (bonus, an extra 25min walk from Brooklyn shops, 17 bus goes from here)

Help us restore the coastal environment at Point Gordon! This is a great opportunity to learn about our unique native fauna and flora, give back to nature by helping with some coastal weeding and meet new people!

CVNZ will provide all of the tools/equipment required as well gloves and vests. We will also provide morning tea refreshments and snacks.

Please wear: long sleeved clothing to protect yourself from cuts and scratches, a hat, waterproof jacket and sturdy, covered footwear.

Volunteers are welcome to meet our team onsite, or get a ride in our CVNZ van. *We can transport upto 9 people, please contact our office at: wellington@cvnz.org.nz or call 021 057 1370 to check our availability as we have limited seats.

Meet at the carpark on the rocky outcrop located to the North East of Scorching Bay. Search Google maps for "Scenic view on Great Harbour Way. Also, if you haven't already, please signup to CVNZ "https://volunteerportal.conservationvolunteers.co.nz/s/registration?startURL=" to make an booking for this conservation cleanup, but also please signup here as well :)

Aiming to set off at 10:00am

Meet at Te Kopahou Visitor Centre at the start of the Red rocks trail (leave at least 1.5h to get there from campust by public transport)

The route goes along the southern coast, before cutting up to the cliffs (with good views on a clear day), and continuing allong the top of the hills to the wind turbine, where we drop back down through Waimapihi Reserve

The full hike is roughly 16km back into central Wellington, however there are options to leave the trail earlier and get the bus back if you decide you want a shorter walk on the day (8km at the shortest loop) 

Weather forcast is dry with shade, but the route is fairly exposed, so bring suncream and waterproofs

Wellington is taking part in the global wildlife count, City Nature Challenge! This is an collaboration between the VUW Tramping Club and SCB Wellington. The City Nature Challenge is an annual global event where cities from all the over world compete to see who can document the most nature observations on iNaturalist app over four days. It's a great way for people in urban areas to get outside, explore their local ecosystems, and contribute to scientific research, all while having a bit of friendly rivalry with other cities. It is a wonderful way to connect to Te Taiao.

It's a fantastic challenge that promotoes environmental awareness, citizen, science, and the appreciation for the natural world. Even if Wellington doesn't end up on of the leaderboard, the real winner is our connection to Te Taiao, the natural environment that sustains us all.

What To Bring

• Sturdy footwear
• Water and snacks
• An device that can use the iNaturalist App (recommened)

We'll meet at the Aro Valley Great War Memorial and walk along the bushes of Waimapihi Reserve.

Follow these steps to get set up on iNaturalist:

1. Download the iNaturalist app and create an account.

2. Take photos of wildlife around you.

3. Upload your observations to share with the iNaturalist community. Learn more as your finds are identified by experts.

Driving down to Lewis Pass via St Arnaud and back for a family tramp. 3 seats available if anyone wants a cheap ride to SI tramps. Just pay for your ferry walk on tickets, and maybe $20 fuel.

Get in touch 027 524 9323 if you've got a plan. 

Hey y'all we're heading to Kawakawa Bay in Lake Taupo to touch some rock this weekend!  You need to have experience with top roping. Lead experience is recommended. It is absolutely required that you know how to conduct yourself safely when climbing outdoors. Unless you are willing to pay for a boat, the crag is a 2-3 hour easy walk from the parking lot to a beautiful bush camp. You could also ride a bike as its a cycle trail.

The club will provide most climbing gear, but you will likely need to bring your own shoes (and harness if you want to lead climb). The rest of the kit you will need is basic overnight hiking/camping gear. The weekend looks dry but cold, so bring an extra down jacket and some warm socks! 

Fuel costs will be $50-70ish. Food is whatever you want to spend, we can chat about doing group dinners:) Camping is free.

We'll leave as early as we can on Thursday afternoon (~4pm), camp the night on the road somewhere and walk in to the crag on Friday.morning.

Let me know what gear you will need on the sign up form. Any questions text 0223288564:)

Mid-break tacos! Bring some taco ingredients to contribute :) 

Sign up and we'll email you the address on the day (it's not where we usually live).