Windy Tops

  • A popular comet

    We just went down to the south coast for another look at Comet McNaught, and wow! I was flabbergasted to see how much traffic there was. I thought it was popular a week ago when the parking area west of Island Bay was full, but tonight the roads themselves were full. It wasn’t just difficult to find a parking space, it was difficult to find a place where it was even possible to stop.

    At first we thought there must be some other kind of event on, but after asking around, it turned out that it was just Comet McNaught. Even as the comet gets fainter, it seems that it’s just getting more and more popular. Perhaps it’s just a word of mouth thing — so many people are suddenly hearing from their friends that this actually is a real thing, and that they actually will see something very bright if they take the time to go and look.

    Yay for bright comets.

  • Trip: North Egmont Overnight

    For the record, here are some more details of my overnight trip around North Egmont, during which I managed to make my knee injury a bit worse. Spending christmas with Stacey’s family in Taranaki was a perfect excuse to go for a wander around Egmont National Park.

    Dates: 29th – 30th December, 2006
    Location: Egmont National Park
    Huts visited: Pouakai Hut (0 nights), Holly Hut (1 night), Maketawa Hut (0 nights).
    People: Just me.

    [Photos]

    This post is a trip report. You can find other trip reports about other places linked from the Trip Reports Page, or by browsing the Trip Reports Category.

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  • Stacey’s dad broke my knees

    313825682_373bbaacd4_m-1322638
    Uphill

    Hmmm, first entry. Why do I want a weblog? I don’t know; just to try it out I guess. Please accept it as my own contribution to the useless content of the web.

    I was actually warned on this trip around Mt Holdsworth about bouncing around too much on the track. Someone (I forget who) pointed out to me that I should really be careful of damaging my knees. Anyway, I didn’t listen much then, and a few weeks later I managed to jar my right knee into quite a bad state.

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  • Daywalk: Towards Kime Hut

    Date: 10th December, 2006
    Location: Tararua Forest Park
    Huts visited: Parawai Lodge (0 nights), Field Hut (0 nights)
    People: Just me
    [Photos]

    I had a free Sunday, so I decided to drive to Otaki Forks and walk up past Field Hut. I almost got to Kime Hut, at about 1440 metres (1300 metres above the forks), but I ended up turning around and going back before finally getting there, because the snow was a bit slushy on the top and I was getting awkwardly close to risking getting stuck. (Plus it looked as if the weather might get worse for a while.)

    This post is a trip report. You can find other trip reports about other places linked from the Trip Reports Page, or by browsing the Trip Reports Category.

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  • Trip: Jumbo / Holdsworth Loop

    Who would have thought that a mountain range named after a brand of spreadable butter could be so pointy?

    Dates: 1st – 3rd December, 2006
    Location: Tararua Forest Park
    Huts visited: Holdsworth Lodge (1 night), Atiwhakatu Hut (0 nights), Jumbo Hut (1 night), Powell Hut (0 nights), Mountain House Shelter (0 nights).
    [Photos]

    This post is a trip report. You can find other trip reports about other places linked from the Trip Reports Page, or by browsing the Trip Reports Category.

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  • Trip: Longview / Awatere Huts

    Dates: 17th – 19th November, 2006
    Location: Ruahine Forest Park
    Huts visited: Longview Hut (1 night), Awatere Hut (0 nights)
    [Photos]

    This was a WTMC easy-medium-rated trip. We were originally supposed to get to Top Gorge hut (via Longview), but the weather caved in too much for us to easily get to Top Gorge. Instead, we stayed overnight at Longview and went for a series of walks.

    This post is a trip report. You can find other trip reports about other places linked from the Trip Reports Page, or by browsing the Trip Reports Category.

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  • Daywalk: The Tongariro Crossing

    Date: 11th November, 2006
    Location: Tongariro National Park
    Huts visited: Mangatepopo Hut (0 nights), Ketetahi Hut.
    People: Dave, Celeste, Stacey and me.
    [Photos]

    Dave, Celeste, Stacey and I went up to Tongariro National Park for the weekend with the specific intention of walking the Tongariro Crossing.

    This post is a trip report. You can find other trip reports about other places linked from the Trip Reports Page, or by browsing the Trip Reports Category.

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  • Trip: Rangiwahia Hut

    Dates: 22nd – 24th September, 2006
    Location: Ruahine Forest Park
    Huts visited: Rangiwahia Hut (1 night)
    [Photos]

    This was a WTMC easy-rated trip to Rangiwahia Hut in the Ruahine ranges, from Sep 22nd to 24th 2006.

    This post is a trip report. You can find other trip reports about other places linked from the Trip Reports Page, or by browsing the Trip Reports Category.

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  • Trip: Waitewaewae Hut

    Waitewaewae Hut
    Waitewaewae Hut.

    Dates: 9th – 11th September, 2006
    Location: Tararua Forest Park
    Huts visited: Parawai Lodge (1 night), Waitewaewae Hut (1 night)
    [Photos]

    This was a WTMC easy-rated trip to Waitewaewae Hut in the Tararua ranges, from Sep 9th to 11th 2006, but most people agreed that it would have been better rated Easy-Medium.

    This post is a trip report. You can find other trip reports about other places linked from the Trip Reports Page, or by browsing the Trip Reports Category.

    We stayed the night at Parawai Lodge, which is a basic 18 bunk hut just over the swing bridge at Otaki Forks. The DOC information says it takes 4 hours to get to Waitewaewae, but this figure seems to be very misleading. (It’s probably for people who are quite fit and don’t stop for lunch.) It took us about 7 hours give or take a little.

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