-
Haast Pass to the Wilken
Arriving on the tops above Haast Pass we had our first view of the spectacular main divide we would traverse. It was more dramatic than I had imagined. 3 months and many hours of planning had come together, an excellent forecast gave us a chance to follow our A plan. The A plan was inspired […]
-
Arthurs Pass | 3 Passes + Newton Saddle
At the end of our first day I was thinking we were going to have an easier than planned three day adventure in Arthur’s Pass, but by the end of day two I was wrong. Anthony eyed the steep snow covered scree slope from Park Morpeth hut, it looked very intimidating. We had a perfect […]
-
5 Passes Route Mount Aspiring National Park
This trip had been on my list for a few years. I had been on the Routeburn a few times recently and did a Rees Dart family tramp as a teenager. I had met a few folks who had done the route, all raved about the amazing country. After reading Geoff Spearpoints “The Great Unknown” […]
-
Fire & Ice, Ball Pass Ski Adventure
What makes a great adventure? A quest An unfamiliar environment An element of risk I turned the big 50 in July and to celebrate I planned a ski touring adventure with my good mates Anthony and Andrew. None of us had ever been ski touring before but we have been on lots of great adventures […]
-
Kaimanawa Kaweka traverse
When you look at the map of the North Island there is a huge wilderness area East of the desert road all the way out to Hawkes Bay. A few years ago I tramped a magic loop on the edge of this area up the Waipakihi river and back over Umukarikari. The Big Sunday Run […]
-
Kaimanawa Kaweka traverse packrafting the Mohaka
The count down was on for our second try at the famed dragons teeth route in Kahurangi-national-park, the covid out break was starting to sweep the country. The forecast was looking good for 3 days but it was going to rain 40mm on Saturday afternoon. We should be past the high route by the time. […]
-
Angelus Snow Trip
On the Friday night we ate like kings – tortillas warmed on top of the cast iron fire, filled to overflowing with hot sticky beans, carrots, cheese, greens, even sour cream had made its way in! No weight saving de-hy to be seen. One of our members had forgotten his spoon and proceeded to chisel […]
-
Ruahine Tops 1,600s and 1,700s: Saw tooth instead of Dragons teeth.
We had planned our Dragons teeth Adventure, spending hours researching the high traverse. Flights were booked based on a good long range forecast and the excitement was building. This trip has been on the wish list for a few years. Then the forecast took a turn, 77mm of rain for Friday night, not what we […]
-
Mt Tapuae-o-Uenuku | 3-day Hike | Marlborough Walks | NZ
At 2885m (9,645 feet), Mt Tapuae-o-Uenuku is the highest New Zealand peak outside the Southern Alps and is a popular three-day hike for experienced groups with good navigational skills. Tappy, as the locals call it, was the springboard for legendary mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary’s climbing career that took him to be the first person to […]
