Tramping Club Articles in Whanganui Chronicle

MAKING TRACKS with Scroggin: Whanganui Midweek 25 November 2020

DOC contends with unstable landscape

All Crown land in New Zealand designated for conservation and protection is managed by the Department of Conservation. This is about 30% of our land area or about 8 million hectares of native forests, tussock lands, alpine areas, wetlands, dune lands, estuaries, lakes and islands, national forests, maritime parks, marine reserves, nearly 4000 reserves, river margins, some coastline, and many offshore islands.

All of the land under its control is protected for either conservation, ecological, scenic, scientific, historic or cultural reasons, and for recreation. Providing for recreation is a major part of DOC’s core work, and this covers the management of family picnic sites, as well as maintaining rugged backcountry tracks and over 1000 accompanying backcountry huts that are used by hunters and recreational trampers.

Clearly, DOC has a huge brief and a lot of infrastructure to maintain so it is understandable that it thinks hard before deciding to add to the hundreds of kilometres of tracks in its network. And given the unstable nature of our country, tracks are continually crumbling and slipping and needing repairs. An example is the track to the popular Rangi Hut in the western Ruahine. Because of a huge unstable slip, DOC built a major diversion some years ago but now the area needs further attention. This promises to be an ongoing problem as the range is noted for a high level of erosion from its many fault lines, a poor soil structure and harsh climate.

The Wanganui Tramping Club’s full programme for December is: --

Sat-Sun 5-6, Taumarunui weekend, leader Dave

Sun 6, Mt Zion, leader Jacky

Sat-Mon 12-14, Orongorongo Valley, leader Mike

Sat or Sun 12 or 13, Whangaehu Beach, leader Adrian

Sun 20, cafe trip, leader Sandra

Make all enquiries about trips to Barbara phone 348 9149 or Dorothy phone 345 7039. The midweekers have a full programme of interesting trips every Wednesday. Those who get out on Thursday are in two groups, with a longer walk on 3 and 17 December and shorter ones for the TT2 group on 10 and 24 (maybe) December. The Wednesday contact is Victoria, phone 027 6888 190, and the Thursday contact is Val, phone 345 0456.

To join weekend trips call the leader by the previous Tuesday at the latest. Call by the night before for day trips. As some trips have limited numbers, leaders have the final say about who to take as they are responsible for the safety and well-being of everyone on their trips. For further information contact Barbara at 348 9149 or visit our website www.wanganuitrampingclub.net

The next club meeting on Wednesday 2 December at the Deerstalkers’ Hall, Peat St, at 6pm will feature the club’s end-of-year BBQ followed by a talk by Anne-Marie Broughton on her personal knowledge and experience of tikanga, customs and traditional values as applied to the New Zealand outdoors context.

Crumbly track resize.jpg — Wanganui Tramping Club members negotiate a crumbling section of the track leading to Rangi Hut in the western Ruahine last July. DOC has since created a diversion around this piece of track.

WHANGANUI MIDWEEK: 25 June, 2020

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WHANGANUI MIDWEEK: 27 May 2020

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE: 25 Mar, 2020

WHANGANUI MIDWEEK: 29 Jan, 2020

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE: 25 Mar, 2019

Local Focus: Wilding pines cleared from Mt Ruapehu by volunteers and conservation workers

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Mt Ruapehu in the Tongariro National Park is an icon but we take it for granted. Like much of New Zealand, the North Island's highest peak would look completely different had wilding pines been left to run rampant. Introduced into New Zealand for forestry and erosion control in the 1930s, pinus contorta has the ability to spread via wind borne seeds over huge areas, rapidly taking over the landscape. Twenty five years ago the government cleared masses of pines from the Tongariro area.

Volunteers and the Department of Conservation worked to get the land back to its natural state. "Such big areas were too much for volunteers to do," said Whanganui Tramping Club member and pine-pulling volunteer, David Scoullar. Since then, groups of outdoor enthusiasts "have just been mopping up", he says.

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"Poet, peasant, philosopher, friend"

Article in Wanganui Midweek, 27 June, 2018 page 5 Making Tracks with Scroggin

"Trampers are strange mixture: somewhere in the time between the innocence of childhood and the finality of the grave (or marriage) you find the phenomenon known as the tramper."

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Poet, peasant...read full article

A Whanganui tramper in the rest position. Well, it had been a tough day on the track.

"Conservation Comment: Waitotara Forest deserves more conservation attention"

Article from 11 June, 2018 in Wanganui Chronicle, by Brian Doughty, tramping club member.

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Waitotara Forest

Upper waitotara valley forest is lush with nikau palms.

"Sandals on march for local trampers"

Article from Wanganui Midweek 31 May, 2018

Trampers are always interested in the gear and clothing of fellow travellers on the trail. These have been modified greatly over the years. A new revolution in the Wanganui Tramping Club is in footwear, where sandals are on the march.

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Sandals on the March