Trip Etiquette

Trip Etiquette

When you go on a trip - it always pays to follow the rules of trip etiquette. Most people are great, the main thing to remember is that trip leaders are volunteers, not paid tour guides.

1. Always let your trip leader know well in advance if you can’t make it to a trip. If there is some reason you can’t make it - let the trip leader know as soon as possible - and in the most direct way possible, ie. telephone rather than e-mail. It takes a lot of organisation to run a trip!

2. ALWAYS pay your driver for petrol, preferably in advance.

3. Be honest about your level of fitness, your gear etc. You don’t want to end up putting others or yourself in danger.

4. Never moan about the dinner someone has cooked for you. It takes lots of effort to cook for a group of people - especially after a hard days tramping.

5. Look after others on the trip or those that you are sharing the hut with i.e. don’t become enraged with someone going slow(unless they broke etiquette rule #3.) Make room for late comers to a crowded hut.

6. The trip leader can refuse to take anyone on their trip, especially if they are not experienced enough or have the right gear, and they can delay or cancel the trip if the weather is bad, or the conditions are dangerous for any other reason.

7. Thank your driver/trip organiser.

Failure to follow the etiquette rules could see you kept off trip lists, shunned or even banned from the tramping club for repeat offenders! So be nice to the people that want you to have fun and be nice to you. :-)

How to Organise a Trip

Here are some ideas for trips if you would like to lead one. To start with, leading a day trip is the least stressful place to start if you don’t have that much experience leading, you can always move on to more complicated trips as your skills rise and confidence grows. One of the benefits of leading is that you gain leadership and organisational skills as well as navigation and other bush craft skills. If you want to run a more advanced level trip, but aren’t sure about your skills, email the trips officer and ask if they can suggest an experienced club member to come along on your trip. If you are new to running a trip, or the type of trip you are planning on running, we advise having a chat to an experienced trip leader. It's also a good idea to talk to someone who has done the trip before, or something in a similar area, to give you a good idea of what to expect and plan for. The trips (trips [at] autc [dot] org [dot] nz) and alpine (for alpine trips, alpine [at] autc [dot] org [dot] nz) officers can help you or put you in touch with appropriate people. Coming along to the weekly quad lunches (during semester) is also a good way of meeting and chatting to experienced leaders.

To organise a trip;

a) Decide where you want to go. If don't have a map of the area, you can contact the trips officer (trips [at] autc [dot] org [dot] nz) and ask for one (AUTC has a supply) and a compass to go with it. New Zealand topographic maps can be downloaded from http://www.linz.govt.nz/topography/topo-maps/map-chooser/index.aspx or http://gis.doc.govt.nz/website/Internet_NZMG_2005/viewer.htm if you want to get a good to look at an area before you get hold of a proper map. 

b) Decide what day and time you want to go. If it is an overnight trip, decide what you want to do for food, everyone brings their own, or will you provide dinner, in this case everyone should chip in for the cost. Recipe ideas can be found at http://www.autc.org.nz/wiki/tramping_recipes

c) Email the club list telling everyone about your trip, and advertise the trip on the website (if you are not sure how to do this, the trips officer can give you a hand). Tell people about how long it is, when and what time to meet (meeting place is usually the Tramping club notice board in the quad or in front of the library) what gear to bring, how much it will cost, and ask them to email you back if they want to come. Ask them to tell you about any medical conditions, their tramping experience and to give you an emergency contact.  A template of what you need to include in this email/ on the website can be found at http://www.autc.org.nz/wiki/trips_information/trip_email_template

d) Fill out the intentions form, found here: http://www.autc.org.nz/intentions_form and email to the safety officer (safety [at] autc [dot] org [dot] nz). Give them a ‘panic time’ if you don’t turn up the following day, so they can ring search and rescue (Dial 111 and ask for the Police). Also give them your intended route and a list of the people you are taking. The safety officer can help with this and it is very important, even just for day walks.

e) Meet up at appointed time, and go on trip.

For ideas on trips that you can lead check out these websites;

Look up `tracks and walks’ on the D.O.C website: http://www.doc.govt.nz/index.html

http://www.tramper.co.nz/

The Auckland University Library also has many books with ideas for trip locations.

Always make sure that you let people know where you are going, that you take appropriate gear for the conditions, and that you and your party members are fit enough and equipped for the conditions. Good things to bring are; a map! a compass in rugged conditions, a cell phone (hopefully you will be in range if you need to use it!) a first aid kit, appropriate clothing, food and shelter (in some cases, this usually isn’t expected on an easy day walk!)

For more good safety advice check out;

http://www.mountainsafety.org.nz/online_store/support/legal.asp

http://www.doc.govt.nz/Explore/Safety.asp

It’s a good idea to check the weather before you head off too, info here:
http://www.autc.org.nz/wiki/tramping_knowledge/meteorology_weather

Standard Gear Lists

On the following pages you'll find standard personal gear lists for different conditions:

Grades of Difficulty

Difficulty rests on many different issues. A trip can be short but difficult, i.e. it involves bush bashing and lots of hill climbing, or longer and easier, if it has flat terrain and wide, well maintained tracks. The aspects that can make a trip easier or harder aren’t hard and fast definitions, they are general indicators.

Here are some general indicators of elements that can affect the difficulty of a trip:

Womble: Under two hours.

Easy: Short walk, 2-4 hours. Flat terrain. Wide tracks. Day walks(some).

Medium: Medium length tramps, 4-7 hours, tramping tracks, hill climbing, stream crossing, multi day trips, wind fall on tracks, crossing swamps.

Hard: Long tramps, tramping routes with just markers, multi-day trips, 7+ hours, bush bashing, stream bashing, alpine conditions, routes requiring navigation skills and a compass, tops travel, river crossing, a lot of hill climbing (areas like the Ruahines and Tararuas are good examples of this) sleeping in Bivvys.

Extreme: Technical mountaineering, sleeping in snow caves, 11+ hour days, bush bashing in ‘remote experience zones’.

Note: Trips don’t have to be ‘hard’ to be good though. ‘Easy’ trips can be great as well!!

Enviromental Care

* Tramping Biosecurity *

Heading into the Wilderness?

If you are, its important to remember not to do any damage to the areas that you visit.

Here are some important things to remember when you head into the Wilderness;

• Don’t leave any rubbish, pack everything up and take it with you out again to dispose of when you get out of the bush.
• Scrub your boots and check for weed seeds before you go into Wilderness areas. Otherwise you can unwittingly spread weeds around in pristine areas.
• If you see noxious weeds in a wilderness area, its great to pull them out if you can. Make sure you have the identification right though! Don’t pull anything out unless you are sure of what it is.
• Don’t do any damage to native plants or wildlife.
• Don’t use detergent and soap in streams and rivers.
• Keep to tracks. In some areas, such as alpine herbfields, these plants take decades to recover if damaged.
• Give something back; make wilderness areas even better by
  volunteering for a tree planting scheme, or pest control, such as in the Ark in the Park bird reserve in the Waitakeres. It also looks great on your resume.

Highest Points Club

The highest points club is where you count up the kms you have climbed/tramped up over the year, and the person that has climbed the highest wins.

This can cover hills in the bush to mountains. What doesn’t count is if you drive part way up the hill or mountain. So if you tramp from sea level and climb Mt. Cook you get all 3754 metres.

The time you can count your tramping/climbing vertical mileage in goes from 12:00am on New Years day from one year to the next.

How to write an email advertising a trip/event

Here is a template for you to use when writing your trip/event notice to send out on the mailing list.
The address to send the email to is: autc_notice_YYYY [at] lists [dot] autc [dot] org [dot] nz (where YYYY is the current 4 digit year, e.g. 2010).

Subject line

"Trip name and Date"

Body

First line should be:
I'm organising/running a trip/event to....

Include:
• where the trip/event is
• when the trip/event is (and how long for)
• what sort of trip/event is.. eg, alpine, walk in the park, bush bash, multiday, easy overnight, social event, other…
• an indication of the cost
• what is expected of participants in terms of:
- what they need to bring/supply (food, gear etc)
- experience
- fitness
- skills

The standard sign up list:

1: Name
2: Cellphone number
3: Next of kin contact details (name+number)
4: Recent trips you have been on
5: Any medical conditions we need to know about
6: Dietary requirements
7: Do you have a car, if so, how many people can it take
8: Do you have all the gear on the gear list.

Gear list:

Appropriate gear lists can be found as follows, either include the link or the list itself at the end of the email. You can add/subtract from it if you think it’s necessary but in most cases you'll find they are quite complete lists.

Day Trip: http://www.autc.org.nz/wiki/trips/gear_lists/day_trip
Tramping: http://www.autc.org.nz/wiki/trips/gear_lists/tramping
Semi-alpine: http://www.autc.org.nz/wiki/trips/gear_lists/semi_alpine
Alpine: http://www.autc.org.nz/wiki/trips/gear_lists/alpine

Notes for Trip Leaders

The attached document contains the current trip guidelines, please read this before organising trips. Any questions regarding this document should be directed to safety [at] autc [dot] org [dot] nz.

Attachment	Size
Trip organisation.pdf	98.32 KB

Track Transport

Here is a place to put info and advice on track transport, sorted by area.
Include things like transport operators who can shuttle people, cars etc.

*** Ruahines ***
Makoura Lodge - Hugh McIntyre
(06) 328 4746
Apiti RD1, Fielding
http://www.makouralodge.co.nz/
enquiry [at] makouralodge [dot] com

- Hugh runs a 4WD testing ground and lodge type business from Apiti, will shuttle people between track ends based on a per person charge, has ability to transport large numbers of people using 4WDs. $25 per person last time. Note: there is little/no cellphone coverage in the Ruahines or at track ends although may be possible on some ridge tops. Mountain Radio is very useful.

Trip Ideas

Try
New Zealand Tramper website or
Department Of Conservation (National Parks) website or
Auckland Regional Council (Regional Parks around Auckland) website for general trip ideas. 

Tramping books (such as 101 Great tramps in New Zealand) are also great for ideas, see http://www.autc.org.nz/wiki/tramping_knowledge/some_recommended_tramping... for more info on these.

Remember to take a Topographical Map and a Compass with you for all trips covering the area you will be in (1:50,000 scale is recommended).  The club has these available - see the Hire Gear page for details.

Feel free to add more ideas for trips to a wiki page or in the forums - the more we have the better!

Also see pages listed below for more specific ideas for trips.

Annual Social Events

Orientation - This is where everyone heads out to the Hut in the Waitaks, a bus is usually booked for the hordes, tramp through the cascades in general direction of hut, set up tents around the hut, big party, tramp out to Piha the next day, go swimming at Piha, jump on the bus back to Auckland.

Cave Party - Tramp in the Waitakeres, followed by a party in the cave and camping out overnight.

Wine and Cheese - Social event where everyone heads up Mt. Eden(in summer) or someone’s house(in winter). Everyone pays $5 for the wine and cheese.

Banff Film festival - The Banff Mountain Film Festival is an annual international competition, a selection of outstanding entries are screened by NZAC with tickets available at some outdoor stores, it is usually well attended by tramping club members.

Progressive dinner - Dress up party, 3 course extravaganza, and ride from house to house, with a big party at the end.

May Camp - One of our bigger events over 2 days,
including: raucous costume party madness, burma trail, choose your own tramp; easy, medium or hard.

Hut Birthday Party - Hut party is celebrate the birthday of the Hut.

Posh Dins - A chance for club members to dress up to the nines whilst eating at a somewhat less exclusive establishment, to prove that while we prefer to underdress, we're also able to overdress for a not-so-formal occasion.

Outdoor Clubs Ball - Ball with the other outdoor sports clubs on university campus.

Christmas Party - Hut party where the captain dresses up as Santa and everyone gets presents. The event is also traditionally the time that the "Rambo run" is held.  This is an opportunity for the toughest, fittest members of the club to prove themselves, and massage their egos.  The course (although forgotten in recent years) runs from the hut, down Pig Wallow stream, to the junction of Pig Wallow, Brownes Stream and RGB track, up RGB on the other side to reach Chateau Mosquito track., back down Chateau Mosquito to Anawhata stream, up Simla track and back along Ridge Road to Ongaruanuku.

Hut Games

The cup game: This is where you stand behind a line with two plastic cups, upside-down in hand, you slide along the floor using only the cups, you can’t touch any part of your body on the floor, and you push one cup out as far as you can, you then have to get back to the line and stand up using only the cup for balance. The winner pushes the cup the furthest. -full tin cans make a painful, but robust alternative to cups .

Rafter climbing: Generally practised at May Camp, Hut parties and other social gatherings where rafters are present. A large wooden patch on the floor at Waharau camp is testament to a rafter climber who fell several metres, and also fell through the floor. He was lucky and didn’t break any bones.. The club is also very luck that the camp management weren't too upset

Table traverse: You have to move over the top and underneath of a table without touching the floor, ends of the table, table legs, or any framework under the tabletop... special exceptions are often made for wide tables such as that at Ongaruanuku where use of the longitudinal supports is permitted. strong athletic types (or tall climbers) generally do well at this. It is often desirable to have people sitting atop the table to prevent it from overturning during traverse.

Bench traverse: Similar to table traverse except a bench seat is used, whilst the actual actions undertaken are similar, it uses a different skill set. The bench is a lot narrower so arm length is no longer a factor, but any outside interference is not allowed so balance becomes a major issue.  (spotting of the bench such that it does not land on top of the traverser should it topple is advisable)

Body Traverse: The game starts with two players standing facing one another, one must pass over the other, down their back, between their legs, and finish back in front of the person, facing them and supported on their legs.

The phone book game: Pairs of trampers/climbers stand on a pile of phone books and each has to touch the floor in turn while their partner supports them. The pile of phone books gets progressively larger. The current record is 17 phone books.

Box game: A simple game where you have to pick up a box (beer, pizza, etc. any kind will do) from the floor using only your teeth. Only your feet may touch the ground.  as the game progresses, a knife is used to shorten the box, if all goes well, you will eventually be sucking a flat sheet of paper off the ground.

Sardines Best played outside on a dry and moonlit night. One person runs off and hides, and the other people have to look for them, when they find them they have to lie down quietly beside them in their hiding place. The last person to find the group of sardines is ‘it.’

Grundy runs: Self explanatory really.

How to Meet Girls

Go Tramping. Serious! Not just tramping, but also show up to social events.

Reading through the archives shows that there have been many successful marriages made through associations that began with the Auckland University Tramping Club. Its also the best way to find out how she will deal with interesting situations!

So if you want to show off your amazing talents to the girl of your dreams or show how strong your legs/arms are or aren't when tramping or traversing ...... join the tramping club today!

The Auckland University Tramping Club - hooking up since 1932.

How to Meet Boys

Go tramping! :)

Drinking Games

* Don't forget in the midst of having fun to drink responsibly and safely *

Circle of Death

Players: 2 - No limit

All you need is a deck of cards, a cup and a ton of beer (or drink of choice). Lay all the cards out, face down in a circle, with the cup in the middle. Start with one person drawing a card out of the deck and continue pulling until the fourth king has been pulled or all the cards are gone, your choice. The person must do something corresponding to the card they pulled as follows:

1-6 - If it’s red, you must drink. If it’s black, give out that many drinks times two (ie. a black 4, pass out 8 to whoever you want.) 7 - Ladies drink 8 - Gentlemen drink 9 - Rhyme: pick a word and start going around the circle rhyming with it. The first to pause, repeat a word or say something that doesn’t rhyme must drink. 10 - Ahead: the person to your left must drink. Jack - Back: the person to your right must drink. Queen - Category: pick something general like beer types or condom types, and start going around the circle, same rules as rhyming. The first to pause, repeat or screw up must drink. King - The first three people to pull kings may pour as much beer into the cup in the middle as he or she wants. The person to pull the forth king must drink everything in the cup. Ace - Waterfall: whoever pulls the card designates which way the waterfall is going (to the right or left). Everyone starts drinking at the same time, when the person who pulls the card stops, whichever way the waterfall is going you must stop drinking in that order (i.e. if the waterfall is going to the left, when the person who pulled the card stops, the person on their left may stop and then the person on their left may stop, etc.)

You must only address other players as ‘brother’ and ‘sister’, ie. ‘Sister Kate’. If you call someone by just their name, you have to drink.

This game is traditionally played at May Camp.

Old school AUTC versions of this game, typically played at orientation, at the hut, or at any opportune moment, more commonly known as "kings" replace the face-down in a circle arrangement of cards and a central vessel with drawing the top card from a deck, kings denoting beverage, vessel, location, and consumer... (allowing such wonderful possibilities as someone drinking a mix of beer, wine, whiskey and a raw egg from a gumboot whilst suspended by their feet from the rafters)  These older games typically had no black/red distinction, and often included a rule card - drawer makes a rule, for example the name someone must be adressed by, stipulating international drinking rules, or assigning a drinking buddy to someone. Toilet cards were often also stipulated (becoming valuable trading items during long games when leaving the circle is dissallowed.)

I have never

Players sit in a circle, with full drinking vessels. Each person goes around in a circle and asks the group if they have ever done...something. If they have, they have to drink.

International drinking rules

At the commencement of a drinking session standard drinking rules may be put into place.  The first of these rules is that you may not inform anyone of the rules, but rather inform them of their duty to consume following breaking such rules.
The rest of the rules are as follows:

Left hand only for enforced drinks, Right hand for casual drinking.  pinky fingers must not contact the vessel.
First names must not be used, any other form of address is acceptable., degrading or affectionate nicknames are encouraged, although typically people are adressed as brother/sister-surname.
No pointing - often elbows are used in the place of fingers
"Drink", "skull", "chug", and other terms are considered vulgar, the correct term is "consume"
The item holding your begerage is not a cup, glass, bottle, or a can, it is a vessel.

Some drinking games allow the addition of more rules to the standard list.  under no circumstances shall new-comers, or players who have left the room during the declearing of these rules be informed of the additional rules.

Ideal Tramping Alcohol

The four essential features of tramping alcohol are

Bang For Your Buck (BFYB - Price)
Drunkenness Per Kilo (DPK - Weight)
Taste Factor (TF - subjective)
and
Invincibility Rating (IR - how awesome it makes you feel)

Of course, these features are not always present in every beverage type, so I have prepared this scoring sheet to give you some guidelines. This is knowledge I am sharing with you that is gained from bitter experience, take it and go forth into the world of drunken tramping! (Just don't get killed/hurt doing it)


RTDs
Pretty much the worst possible tramping alcohol - don't even bother
BFYB - 3
DPK - 1
TF - 2
IR - 0
Total - 6


Beer - bottles
An improvement on taste but still pretty crap
BFYB - 3
DPK - 1
TF - 7
IR - 6
Total - 17


Beer - cans
Lighter and cheaper - therefore better
BFYB - 4
DPK - 3
TF - 6
IR - 6
Total - 19


Red Cask Wine
Hardly any packaging weight, more alcoholic than beer, gets more delicious as you drink more.

Can be mulled in alpine situations for an increase in TF, but this may reduce BFYB, and DPK.  However, this reduction is ballanced by the ability to get people tipsy by simply inhaling the air above the pot.

Advantages - You can be funny by calling it 'Chateau Cardboard' and using the bladder as a pillow once you're done.

BFYB - 5
DPK - 7
TF - 5
IR - 3
Total - 20


Beer - Mini-Keg
Hardly any packaging weight, wonderful showpiece, especially in photography.

Look out for Heineken - they have the best pouring set-up
BFYB - 2
DPK - 6
TF - 7
IR - 6
Total - 21


Random Spirits
Gets you drunk as anything for very little weight and price (mix with coke for some giardia killing action)
BFYB - 6
DPK - 9
TF - 0
IR - 6
Total - 21


Stone's Green Ginger Wine
Deliciousness is the number one attraction here, as well as a decrease in packaging and an increase in % alc.vol.
BFYB - 4
DPK - 5
TF - 9
IR - 4
Total - 22


Whisky
Like 'Random Spirits' but tastes better and makes you feel like a real man
Advantages: You can say in a southern accent 'That's fiiiiire water!'
BFYB - 5
DPK - 9
TF - 8
IR - 7
Total - 29


Andrew's Moonshine
Tastes awful, costs nothing, gets you so drunk you'll think you're walking on the ceiling
BFYB - 10
DPK - 10
TF - 0
IR - 10 (you have to be invincible to drink it)
Total - 30

Bush School

Hi everyone.
It was once said that "the cow jumped over the moon and thus bush school was born".

The school is an entry level bush craft course aimed at teaching the basic skills required for tramping.
At the course you can expect to learn skills in
· Navigation
· River safety
· Environmental care
· Tent pitching
· Bivouac building
· Fire lighting
· cooker use
· Weather
· Basic first aid
· What to do if you get lost and much, much more

Skills that will not be tought
gramma
speling
how to write a serious email

You will also get to learn some exciting hut games and have the chance to dress up in your fanciest tramping gear and perform skits.

Bush school is always super fun and quite informal, so come along whether you are completely new to tramping or if you have some experience and just want to hone your skills a bit more.

If you are interested check your email for sign up details.

Please note that this course is a case of friends
teaching friends rather than a professional bush Craft course (it is
suitable for duke of Edinburgh)

Anton Gulley
AUTC Safety Officer 2009

Leader School

Leader School - This teaches risk management and safety skills, how to minimise risks and effective organisation.

Beginners Snow School

Beginners Snow School - This teaches basic alpine skills, such as self-arrest, crampon use, step cutting and basic avalanche knowledge. Attendance on this course is compulsory for any trips above the bush line.

This is the most popular course of the year and is run during the inter-semester break.

All of the courses offered through AUTC are organized by volunteers who give their time freely. Course fees cover the costs incurred and do not make a profit. For this reason the courses at AUTC are some of the cheapest around. Although every effort is made to make the courses as safe as possible, participants undertake courses at their own risk and AUTC takes no responsibility for any accidents that may occur, although this is unlikely.

Advanced Snow School

Advanced Snow School

This teaches advanced alpine skills such as dynamic belays, alpine knots, crevass extraction, placement of anchors etc.

There are a few requirements that you need to meet before attending Advanced Snow School.

1. All hopeful participants must have completed a Beginner's Snow School or equivalent, such as a NZAC or MSC alpine course. This is to ensure that basic knowledge has already been obtained.

2. It is neccesary that all participants have been on at least two alpine trips since their Beginner's Snow School. There are two reasons for this: To re-enforce skills learnt on Beginner's Snow School and to demonstrate a commitment and interest in the Alpine as Advanced Snow School requires a lot of valuable instructor-time.

There will be at least one trip run before Advanced Snow School for the purpose of helping those who haven't got two trips get a jump-start. It will be however necessary to organise/participate in another trip that you organise/join.

3. Preferably, all Advanced Snow School participants will have some prior knowledge of ropework, particularily relating to climbing. Some brush-up/information nights will be held before the course so that those who need some extra help will be supplied it.

All of the courses offered through AUTC are organized by volunteers who give their time freely. Course fees cover the costs incurred and do not make a profit. For this reason the courses at AUTC are some of the cheapest around. Although every effort is made to make the courses as safe as possible, participants undertake courses at their own risk and AUTC takes no responsibility for any accidents that may occur, although this is unlikely.

Outdoor First Aid

The club organises an Outdoor First Aid course later in the year.  This is highly recommended and teaches first aid at a level beyond that of ordinary Workplace First Aid for instances when help is not just a phone call and 10-15 minutes away.

The Outdoor First Aid course is designed to equip outdoor users with the skills and knowledge necessary to manage accidents and sudden illnesses in the outdoor environment for a minimum of 24 hours.

http://www.mountainsafety.org.nz/courses/courses.asp#Outdoor%20First%20Aid

River School

Rivers are a living feature of the New Zealand outdoors. Their banks and gorges provide some natural access-ways to our mountainous areas. Rivers also offer great venues for leisure activities and sports such as swimming, kayaking and rafting.

To safely enjoy rivers, it is important to understand and respect their hazardous nature – rivers account for one-third of all New Zealand drownings.

Three critical decisions must be made whenever a group considers a river crossing - Should we cross? Where do we cross? How do we cross?

http://www.mountainsafety.org.nz/courses/courses.asp#River%20Safety

Quantities of Staple Tramping Food

Here are some quantities you can use when meal planning for tramping.  These principally concern the tramping staple foods such as rice, pasta etc.  The quantities listed here are average quantities for tramping groups consisting of both girls and guys, they can adjusted depending the make up of the group.

Rice

* allow 1/2 cup uncooked rice per person per meal
* big eaters may prefer 3/4 cup but this averages out to 1/2 cup each in mixed group
* 1kg bag of rice (Jasmine) contains 6 cups uncooked rice (feeds ~12 people or ~6 people for two nights).

Pasta

* 500g packet of pasta feeds ~5 people

Couscous

* Comes in individual packets, just boil
* Quick to cook, filling.

Dried mixed veges

* add to all rice and pasta based meals
* 1 packet Surprise dried mixed veges serves 3-4 people
* add additional 1 cup water when cooking to rehydrate the veges.

Mince

* allow 200g mince per average person, this can be adjusted quite a bit depending on the meal between 150g and 250g per person
* normally only have mince on the first night (frozen from night before) unless dehydrated.
* mince is an important source of iron (red meat) especially as often no more iron sources for rest of tramp.

Tuna

* Tuna is a convenient source of protein and Omega-3, and works well on the side of most tramping meals based on rice, pasta or cous cous.
* Available in drained form in foil lined packets which are perfect for tramping.  Brand is Greenseas, not available at all supermarkets so shop around.  Foodtown Sylvia Park has them.  Comes in Chunky, Sweet Thai Chilli and Tomato and Basil Flavours.
* 1 packet between 2 people works well on the side of a main dish although you could have 1 packet each if desired.


- Craig Smith

Meal Ideas

Insert your meal ideas here or for longer recipes make another wiki page!


Some ready made meals (slightly more expensive but easy!)

* Rice Risotto Packets (add dried mixed veges).
* Family Pasta Meals (add dried mixed veges).

* Tuna (Greenseas brand comes in foil packets)

-Craig

Warrior Burgers

Warrior Burgers

Pattie Ingredients (serves 6 people):

• 500g lean minced beef
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 1½ tsp prepared mustard
• 2 Tbsp sweet chilli sauce
• 2 tsp prepared horseradish (optional)
• 1½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 egg
• 2 cups breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp salt and pepper to taste

Hamburger Fillings etc:

• 6 hamburger buns, halved and toasted
• Lettuce
• Cheese
• Sliced tomatoes
• Tomato relish
• Tomato sauce

Method:

Mix all together and form into 6 thin patties. For best and quickest results make before the trip and cook. The prepared patties can than be frozen, and heated up in a frying pan before serving.

- Rob

Burritos

Burritos are an excellent first night recipe, they scale very well for large groups and are suitable for vegetarians when mince and beans are cooked separately (which usually happens as you usually don't have big enough pots!)

Ingredients

* Tortillas (come in packets of 8 from supermarket - get fresh from bread section).  Taco shells are different and not what you're after. Allow 2-3 per person.
* 150~200g mince per person (frozen the night before)
* onions - 1 per ~3 people
* a little oil
* tomato soup packets - 1 per ~1kg mince
* cans of chilli beans, baked beans.  1 can per 3-4 people.
* tomatoes - 1 per 2-3 people
* lettuce - 1 feeds 8+ people!
* cheese - ~250g per 4 people

Optional Extras:
*avocado - 1 per ~4 people
* peppers

Method

1. Fry mince and onions in a little oil until mince is brown and no red remains, add tomato soup in concentrated form (1 packet-> 1 cup water) to thicken and add more flavour to mince.  Drain fat from mince if desired. 
- If you have a dehydrator you can do this step at home and dehydrate, then when you come to eat just add a little water at a time and heat gently until desired consistency is reached (don't add water all at once tho or a mince 'soup' will be created instead!)

2. Heat beans, add some cooked onion to them also.

3. Chop tomatoes, peppers, avocado, cheese.  Wash lettuce.

4. Serve as production line with people starting with picking up a tortilla, then adding mince/beans, and then veges in turn.  Eat and then come back for seconds etc.  Cutlery and plates are optional although eating outside may be a good plan if following this route!

- enjoy!  :-)

- Craig Smith

Perfect Instant Pudding

As you may have noticed, in the absence of a fridge and a full kitchen Instant Pudding never seems to come out properly... often it ends up being a cold 'drink' rather than a 'set' pudding!

Here is how to do it so it comes out perfect every time!

Ingredients

* Gregg's Instant Pudding - 1 packet per 2-3 people
     (avoid Pams, it doesn't mix so well, don't be afraid to splash out that extra 5c per packet! ;)
* Milk Powder
* Water
* Optional: crushed chocolate, marshmallows, dried fruit etc

Method

1. For each packet of instant pudding add 1 cup of water and 6 heaped tablespoons of milk powder into billy. 
2. Stir until milk powder is dissolved. 
3. Add each packet of instant pudding, stirring as you go
4. Add optional ingredients if you wish
5. Place billy into the nearest natural fridge© (creek, lake, tarn, snow, glacier, hut sink, outside in gale force winds). 
6. Add substantial rock to ensure billy remains in place.
7. Wait about 20mins+
8. Try and remember where you left billy.  Bring torch.  Query nearby trampers, deer, possums and especially Kea!
9. After finding billy...... eat and enjoy!  :D


- Craig Smith

Tramping Jelly

Due to lack of a proper fridge and ample time for it to set on tramping trips 'Jelly' is one of those often dreamed about but never made desserts (with the notable exception when you are at the NZAC hut on a snowcraft course!)

Fortunately due to overprotective parents a product exists on supermarket shelves that is the answer to all our prayers!

Jelly Time!

Jelly Time is the new jelly that is made using COLD water and sets in less than 60 minutes. Available in four favourite flavours that kids can safely make themselves. Now anytime is Jelly Time!

A bit cheesy, but just follow the instructions on the packet, they work fine.  Leave to set in a natural fridge© (creek, lake, tarn, snow, glacier, hut sink, outside in gale force winds).  And voilà...in an hour you will have jelly! 

If by chance you are tramping in snow don't be afraid to take real jelly and use the snow to cool it, it just takes a bit longer to set but tastes a bit nicer!

- Craig Smith

Possum and Rock Stew

Possum and Rock Stew

Ingredients:

• 1 possum (skin optional)
• 1 rock (several stones if no rocks available)
• Several litres of water. (this is where the flavour comes from so choose your vintage carefully)

Directions:

• Boil the water, not so long as to reduce it’s natural flavour.
• Add the possum, boil for several hours.
• Add the rock, simmer for a couple more minutes.
• Discard possum and eat rocks (the rocks are probably softer)

-Rob

Bush Tucker

Karamu (Coprosma) berries. All of the 5 species of N.Z coprosmas are edible. Quite tasty. Make good juice. Coprosma is part of the coffee family, and you can make coffee out of the seeds.

Rimu berries (except the blue bit).

Kahikatea berries (except the blue bit).

Ponga you can eat the white pith inside the branches. You have to be fairly desperate (i.e. in a survival situation to do this) its really stringy.

Spaniard you can eat the roots of spaniard plants. You would need to be really desperate though! You get to the roots by pulling the plant over by a rope. The goldminers in Otago did this sometimes.

Bull kelp is edible. One Maori recipe is to cook Kawhai in a slip open peice of bull kelp.

Mermaids necklace is edible as well.

Raupo The roots are edible. The pollen is as well. Maori used to make soup out of it, and small cakes.

Braken fern foots are edible. They are carcinogenic in the long run though, so its not recommended that you eat these, they are also really tough, and require a lot of beating and soaking apparently.

Supplejack The tips of the vine are edible. They look like asparagus.

Bush lawyer The berries are edible.

Reinga lily The roots are edible.

Hen and Chickens Fern The new shoots are edible. They taste spicy.

Kawakawa The berries are edible, when orange. You can also make tea out of the leaves, which act as a stimulant.

Manuka you can make tea out of the leaves. Honey from its flowers acts as an antiseptic and fungicide.

Pepperwood dried and crushed, the leaves make a spicy seasoning for food. The leaves are really peppery, Maori mothers from some Iwi used to rub the leaves on their breasts to wean their babies. If you taste the leaves you can see why even the deer won’t eat them!

Bush mans toilet paper The leaves are slightly antiseptic so they make good bandages. They can be used as toilet paper as well! Don’t eat it though, its highly poisonous.

Kauri the gum was chewed as chewing gum. Careful about standing on the roots of Kauri though, it can really damage them. the best place to get the sap is where a boardwalk goes over the roots.

Lemonwood The gum can be chewed to give you nice breath. Maori used to make oil out of the leaves as a perfume.

Mairehau Maori used to make the leaves into perfume. Don’t rub it straight onto your skin though, it burns your skin!

Mokimoki or Fragant fern only smells when dried. It smells like marzipan. Maori used it to perfume their houses.

Don’t eat them unless you are sure you’ve got the plant correctly identified.

Breakfast, lunch and snack ideas!

Snacks

For snacks you can't go past the traditional Scroggin!  Available premade in supermarket bulk bins (Pak'n'Sav's mix is highly recommended) it is like a multi-stage rocket, with chocolate for a quick boost, dried fruit for slightly slower release and nuts for longer, sustained release!

Muesli bars also work quite well for food on the go!

Breakfast

The most important meal of the day, and definitely not optional when tramping!

Porridge

The tramping staple is porridge, to make it tastier add some dried fruit, sultanas etc.  For quicker cooking time prepare it the night before and leave to soak, in the morning it will just need a quick heat.

Cereal

Bringing some of your favourite cereal from home works well, although avoid the high sugar ones that have little substance.  Muesli is a good choice.  Use milk powder instead of liquid milk, it won't go off and is much lighter!

Lunch

There are many options here, for day and overnight trips a packed lunch of sandwiches/filled rolls (like what your mum used to make you for school!) is great.  For longer trips bread tends to get squashed and fillings go off so other ideas are needed.

Base

* Cabin Bread (crackers)
* Pita Pockets

Spreads

* Peanut Butter
* Nutella
* Cheese
* Salami

Attachment	Size
cabin bread, peanut butter, nutella, cheese, salami.jpg	47.59 KB

Instant Potato Scones

This recipe makes scones you can cook on a frying pan (and was tested at a recent 'club lunch')

1 cup instant potato flakes
1 1/2 cups boiling water
2 tablespoons margarine or butter or oil

1 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Make up instant potato using boiling water and melted butter/margarine. Mix with flour, baking powder and salt to make the scone dough. Fry flattened scone in pan until done, make thin otherwise takes ages to cook.

Serve with jam, golden syrup, honey, nutella or just by itself.

Adding cheese is also good :-)

Pancakes

Pancakes

Ingredients:

1/4 cup of plain flour. 1/4 cup of self raising flour. 1 tbls sugar. 1/4 cup of milk powder. 1 tbls powdered egg.

Method:

Mix ingredients and place in a sealed bag prior to your trip.

To cook:

Mix contents of bag with half a cup of water. Melt some butter or
margarine in a frying pan over low heat. Our half the mix into frying
pan and cook until set. Turn pancake over and lightly brown over side.
Repeat for second half of mix.

-Rob

Tomato Soup

Tomato soup

2 tbls of tomato flakes 1/4 cup of milk powder 1 tbls of flour 1 tsp of basil 1 tsp of dried parsley 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Method:

Mix ingredients and place in a sealed bag prior to your trip.

To cook:

Place contents of bag into saucepan and gradually blend in two cups
of cold water. - Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5
minutes, stirring occasionally.

- Rob

Tramping Cheesecake

This is a special recipe only to be used on multi day trips (longer than 3 days) in order to fully appreciate the gloriousness of having a cheesecake while tramping.

Guaranteed to make all other hut users very jealous (especially if talked about for several nights beforehand to build up anticipation!).  This recipe is usually shared with others in the hut in return for their eternal gratitude!  ;-)

In order to find out the recipe you have to talk to certain people in the club.... or come on one of the epic multi day trips and taste it for yourself!

Legends

The Tramping club has many legendary tales.

These are some of them:-

Rob Frost (Frosty Boy) woke up after the Ball wrapped only in a sarong in a retirement village on the north shore, with no recollection of how he got there.

Rob (call me a helicopter)Frost also had three helicopter call outs in a year.

Andy O’Loan killed a possum with a piece of supplejack and Jacque skinned it in front of a group of horrified newbies and international students in the Kaimais.

Ryan Foggarty streaked at most major social events in 2005.

Andy O’Loan busked for his fare back from Picton using only a medical glove.

*Someone* passed out on the toilet spewing at May Camp.

*Someone* hotboxed a snow cave.

*Someone* got lost on the easy walk at May Camp.

*Someone* danced with an inflatable Whale at the Ball.

*Someone* accidentally broke both of an international students ankles at Beginners snow school.

*Someone* went skinny dipping for a deer skull in a freezing stream in Pureora forest.

*Some people* got lost on the way to the Club Hut, going out to the Christmas party, they wandered along cutty grass track for 2 hours and then ended up at the Piha road at 1am in the morning.

*Someone* brought an electric blanket on the International Students Camp.

*A couple* took 6 hours to come back from the Rambo run at the Christmas party.

*An individual* took 7 hours to come back from the Rambo run at the Christmas party.

*Someone* got lost on the grundy run at Piha beach

*A group of individuals* smoked hookah on the Taupo pavement instead of going tramping on a recent ‘tramping trip’.

*Someone* staggered around the kitchen at the Hut Christmas party with a pair of fake breasts attached to his head.

*A certain young couple* who went to fetch from the car park the new plastic container for the hut locker hadn’t shown up again after an hour and a half. On investigating their disappearance, the container was found left at the start of a largely abandoned track and the decision was made that is was better not to continue down the track looking for them any further. Needless to say the couple miraculously found their way again and turned up at the hut some time later.

*A young man from the committee* shared his tent with two young ladies at Orientation, claiming ‘I just wanted to see how many people I could fit in my tent’.

*To one beautiful firey red headed girl* The best darn drinker anyone could hope to meet at a party.

*There is a man known as Tramping Jesus* who is well known for regular streaking and favours to corrupt new generations of trampers in the same manner.

From the fuzzy hut party memory files - everyone at the Hut party spent the night climbing in and out of the window because we couldn’t get the door to open, so we all woke up with bruises on our legs, and we all partook in a ‘mass snuggle’ where we jumped on top of Lloyd and then ran away again, leaving him bewildered and confused.

Trampers Anonymous

Signs of addiction:

* You make your breakfast with powdered milk, even when you aren’t in the mountains.

* You take detours through parks in the city on a walk to Uni, pretending that they are wilderness areas and you secretly pretend that the band rotunda in the domain and the small museum in Albert park are ‘huts.’

* You develop the capacity to sleep anywhere, in caves, on sofas, floors.

* You wear your tramping socks to Uni.

* You compulsively decorate your bedroom and flat with maps and pictures of mountains.

* The folks at Bivouac know you by name and have a personal account for you.

* When quizzed you can recite the name of every of the 999 huts in NZ, by name and in alphabetical order.

* When quizzed you have stayed in all of the 999 huts in NZ, you have also stayed in all of the bivouacs and rock shelters.

* When someone asks you how long your latest trip was, you reply with the amount of weeks or months.

* You bring scroggin with you to Uni.

* When you go on a date with a potential love interest, you take him/her on a rugged epic in the Ruahines, if they prove unable to sustain the pace, the romance is off.

* When you gaze over a map, instead of seeing the words ‘impassable gorge’ you see ‘exciting trip’.

* You frenziedly save up before the holidays, so you can afford several helicopter food drops during your month long epic in Fiordland.

* You start using a machete that you found in the Ureweras to create your own tracks.

* You look forward excitedly to the event of the bird flu getting to NZ, so you have a legitimate reason to live in the Ureweras.

"Ark in the Park" Volunteer Days

Volunteer work - helping out the Bird Sanctuary of the Waitakeres

Regularly check our website for when this event occurs and check out http://www.arkinthepark.org.nz/ for more details.

Typically you meet at the ARC Rangers’ workshop behind the Rangers’ house, Cascades Kauri Park. Parking is available at the golf course workshop 50m before reaching the Ranger’s house.

Volunteers can help with various activities, eg. bait laying, stoat trap checking, weed removal and monitoring tunnel checking.

In the process you gain the opportunity to see the biggest stand of Kauri in the Waitakere ranges and rare native birds.

Motuide Island Tree Planting

Motuihe Project
has commenced the ecological and historical restoration of Motuihe
Island to transform Motuihe Island into an authentic natural
environment of beaches, native forests, wetlands and open spaces,
together with rare and endangered native birds and insects.

You can help out by volunteering on one of the tree planting days, see website
http://www.motuihe.org.nz for more details.

AUTC Club Hut and Track Maintenance

AUTC Hut Information

Meteorology (Weather)

NZ Weather Forecasts:

It doesn't matter whether you are just going along on someones day trip or you are organiser of a multiday epic, checking the weather before you leave is a requirement. At the very least it will let you know how much sunscreen you will need to put on. :)

Metservice Mountain Forecast:
http://www.metservice.co.nz/mountain/index


MetVUW 7 day Weather Maps:
http://www.metvuw.com/forecast/forecast.php?type=rain&region=nz&noofdays=7


How to read weather maps:
http://www.metservice.com/public/maps/howto-general-map.html

Navigation

How to use a map and compass...

How to read a topographical map.

How to use a compass
* find north!
* align your topographical map using compass (very important)
* take a bearing
* take a bearing off the map
* follow a compass bearing accurately
* triangulation (advanced)

Recommended Tramping Books

Your favourite club has copies of most of these books (contact the gear officer) as does the Uni library

* A field guide to the native edible plants of New Zealand. By Andrew Crowe Location: EPSOM LIBRARY Call Number: 581.6320993 CRO NZ

* ‘Waitakere Ranges’ put together by the Waitakere Ranges Protection Society. 2006. - Contains information on the Club Hut. Location: ARCHITECTURE LIBRARY New Zealand Collection Call Number: 712.21(95.1) A898w

* 101 Great tramps in New Zealand By Mark Pickering and Rodney Smith. Great tramping guide.(Available from the General Library). Location: GENERAL LIBRARY New Zealand & Pacific Level G Call Number: 796.51 P59 2004

* Hot Springs of New Zealand By Sally Jackson. A great guide to all the hot pools in New Zealand, including some that are only accessible to Trampers. Location: GENERAL LIBRARY New Zealand & Pacific Level G Call Number: 551.23 J12 2006

* Day walks of Greater Auckland Marios Gavalas and Peter Janneson.(Available from the General Library). Location: GENERAL LIBRARY New Zealand & Pacific Level G Call Number: 796.51099511 G27

* Day Walks of Northland Marios Gavalas.(Available from the General Library). Location: GENERAL LIBRARY New Zealand & Pacific Level G Call Number: 796.51099512 G27

* Day Walks of the Coromandel Marios Gavalas. .(Available from the General Library). Location: GENERAL LIBRARY New Zealand & Pacific Level G Call Number: 796.51099514 G27 2003

* Tongariro : a climbing guide to Tongariro National Park: summer and winter alpine routes, ski-mountaineering and rock climbing Richard Thomson. 2006. Location: GENERAL LIBRARY New Zealand & Pacific Level G Call Number: 796.522099518 T48

*  Taranaki Mount Egmont: a guide for climbers: summer and winter alpine routes, ski-mountaineering, rock climbing Ross Eden. 2003. 2nd Edition. Location: GENERAL LIBRARY New Zealand & Pacific Level G Call Number: 796.52209952 E21

* Moir’s guide north: the Otago Southern Alps: a tramping and transalpine guide from the Hollyford to Lake Ohau. Edited by Geoff Spearpoint. 2005. 7th Edition. Location: GENERAL LIBRARY New Zealand & Pacific Level G Call number: 919.58 M71 2005

Plant Identification

Highest Mountains in New Zealand

The 30 highest mountains - NZ’s 30 highest mountains are all contained within the Southern Alps, a chain which forms the backbone of the South Island.

Aoraki/Mount Cook - 3754 m (12,316 ft)

Mount Tasman - 3498 m (11,476 ft)

Mount Dampier - 3440 m (11,286 ft)

Mount Silberhorn - 3279 m (10,758 ft)

Mount Lendenfeld - 3201 m (10,502 ft)

Mount Hicks - 3183 m (10,443 ft)

Mount Malte-Brun - 3176 m (10,420 ft)

Mount Torres - 3163 m (10,377 ft)

Mount Teichelmann - 3160 m (10,367 ft)

Mount Sefton - 3157 m (10,358 ft)

Mount Haast - 3138 m (10,295 ft)

Mount Elie de Beaumont - 3109 m (10,200 ft)

Mount Douglas Peak - 3081 m (10,108 ft)

Mount La Perouse - 3079 m (10,102 ft)

Mount Haidinger - 3066 m (10, 059 ft)

The Minarets - 3065 m (10,056 ft)

Mount Aspiring - 3033 m (9951 ft)

Mount Hamilton - 3022 m (9915 ft)

Glacier Peak - 3007 m (9865 ft)

Mount De La Beche - 2992 m (9816 ft)

Aiguilles Rouges - 2966 m (9731 ft)

Mount Nazomi - 2962 m (9718 ft)

Mount Darwin - 2961 m (9715 ft)

Mount Chudliegh - 2952 m (9685 ft)

Mount Annan, New Zealand - 2947 m (9669 ft)

Mount Low - 2942 m (9652 ft)

Mount Haeckel - 2941 m (9649 ft)

Mount Goldsmith - 2905 m (9531 ft)

Conway Peak - 2901 m (9518 ft)

Bristol Top - 2898 m (9508 ft)

Other prominent mountains and hills

Over 2000 metres

Tapuae-o-Uenuku - 2880 m (9449 ft) (highest peak outside the Southern Alps)

Hochstetter Dome - 2822 m (9259 ft)

Tahurangi, Ruapehu - 2797 m (9177 ft) (highest peak in the North Island)

Mount Tutoko - 2756 m (9042 ft)

Te Heuheu, Ruapehu - 2755 m (9039 ft)

Paretetaitonga, Ruapehu - 2751 m (9026 ft)

Mount Hopkins - 2682 m (8799 ft)

Mount Taranaki or Mount Egmont - 2518 m (8261 ft)

Double Cone - 2340 m (7677 ft)

Ben Nevis - 2330 m (7644 ft)

Mount Ngauruhoe - 2291 m (7516 ft)

Mount Rolleston - 2275 m (7464 ft)

Mount Adams - 2208m (7244 ft)

Mount Hutt - 2190 m (7185 ft)

1000 to 2000 metres

Mount Tongariro - 1978 m (6490 ft)

Mount Cardrona - 1900 m (6234 ft)

Mount Owen - 1875 m (6152 ft)

Mount Hikurangi, Gisborne - 1754 m (5755 ft)

Mount Mangaweka - 1730 m (5676 ft)

Mount Kaweka - 1725 m (5659 ft)

Mitre Peak - 1692 m (5551 ft)

The Mitre (Tararua Ranges) - 1570 m (5151 ft)

Mount Hector (Tararua Ranges) - 1529 m (5016 ft)

Sturge Island (subantarctic island) - 1524 m (5000 ft)

Summit Peak - 1450 m (4756 ft) (highest point of the Rock and Pillar Range)

Young Island (subantarctic island) - 1340 m (4396 ft)

Buckle Island (subantarctic island) - 1239 m (4065 ft)

Mount Pureora - 1175 m (3855 ft)

Mount Tarawera - 1111 m (3645 ft)

Mount Tauhara - 1088 m (3570 ft)

Mount John - 1031 m (3382 ft) ( Home of Mount John University Observatory )

Under 1000 metres

Mount Ross - 983 m (3225 ft) (highest peak of the Aorangi Range)

Mount Anglem - 979 m (3212 ft) (highest peak on Stewart Island)

Mount Pirongia - 962 m (3156 ft)

Mount Te Aroha - 952 m (3123 ft) (highest point of the Kaimai Ranges)

Mount Matthews - 940 m (3084 ft)

Mount Herbert (Te Ahu Patiki) - 920m (3018 ft) (highest point of Banks Peninsula)

Maungatua - 900 m (2953 ft)

Moehau - 892 m (2927 ft) (highest point of the Coromandel Peninsula)

Mount Edgecumbe - 820 m (2690 ft)

Maungatautari - 797 m (2615 ft) (site of the Maungatautari Restoration Project)

Takaka Hill - 760 m (2493 ft)

Mount Karioi - 756 m (2480 ft) (overlooks Raglan)

Hauturu/Little Barrier Island - 722 m (2370 ft)

Mount Pye - 720 m (2361 ft) (highest point in The Catlins)

Mount Cargill - 680 m (2231 ft)

Kohukokonui (highest point in the Hunua Ranges) - 650 m (2133 ft)

Mount Hikurangi, Northland - 625 m (2051 ft)

Hokonui Hills - 600 m (1969 ft)

Mount Honey (Campbell Island) - 558 m (1831 ft)

Moumoukai - 516 m (1693 ft) (highest point in the Kermadec Islands, on Raoul Island)

Te Toiokawharu (highest point in the Waitakere Ranges) -
474 m (1555 ft)

Mount Kaukau - 445 m (1460 ft)

Mount Charles - 408 m (1337 ft) (highest point of the Otago Peninsula)

Whakaari/White Island - 321 m (1053 ft)

Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu - 305 m (1001 ft)

Mangere - 286 m (938 ft) (highest point in the Chatham Islands, on Mangere Island)

Rangitoto Island - 260 m (853 ft)

Mauao (Mount Maunganui) - 230 m (755 ft)

Mount Victoria, Wellington - 196 m (643 ft)

Mount Eden - 196 m (643 ft)

One Tree Hill, New Zealand - 182 m (597 ft)

Mount Wellington - 137 m (449 ft)

Mount Albert - 135 m (443 ft)

Mount Roskill - 110 m (361 ft)

Mangere Mountain - 107 m (351 ft)

Tramping Terminology

Mogambo - official tramping club greeting.

True left and right of the stream - is when you’re standing in the stream looking down stream, true left is to your left, and true right is to your right.

Bivvy Bag - water proof outer shell that you put your sleeping bag in. Useful when you are sleeping in snow caves.

Billy - pot used for cooking in the bush.

Epic - a really long (and usually hard trip.)

Spooner - prolific flirt at social events. Often known for his/her persistance with a favoured interest, when his/her advances are rejected the spooner then moves on quickly to the next target. The tramping club holds a giant wooden spoon crafted for the purpose of awarding the yearly ‘spooner’.

First Aid Information

See Outdoor First Aid for more information
 

DoC Car Campsites

DOC manages over 250 vehicle-accessible camping areas on conservation land.

Link to DoC Campsites by region:
http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-stay/conservation-...

PDF of all the North Island DoC Campsites:
http://www.doc.govt.nz/upload/documents/parks-and-recreation/places-to-s...

PDF of all the South Island DoC Campsites:
http://www.doc.govt.nz/upload/documents/parks-and-recreation/places-to-s...

Transport Providers

The Ruahines are quite difficult to find transport providers for, and there are many trip routes that you may want a shuttle for. Or you may want to have somebody on standby incase you don't exit at your intended point. Cell phone coverage is very limited in this area and we found the Mountain Radio invaluable for arranging a pickup.

On our trip in 2009 we found Hugh at Makoura Lodge was able to provide a range of transport options:

Makoura Lodge
Makoura Road
R D 1
Apiti
Feilding 4471

Phone: 06 328 4746
Mobile: 027 406 6733

Where is the Tramping Club Notice Board in Uni's Quad?

The Tramping club notice board is the place you meet to embark on any tramping trips. This is situated in the Quad at Uni on the City campus. To get there from the general Library, cross Alfred street, walk up the stairs facing you.

You should see a sign saying ‘Quad’ to your left. Keep walking a bit further, you should be surrounded by picnic tables, directly in front of you you will see some stairs, behind that you will see the Tramping club notice board.

Any Tramping club members are welcome to stick posters about trips and social events on the Tramping club notice board. They are also welcome to rip down any bits of advertising that random people stick up, that is not related to the Tramping club.

Welcome to the Wiki

Trampers pick up a lot of unique knowledge while tramping around the wilderness.

Use this Wiki to share your knowledge with others so that everyone benefits.

What is a Wiki I hear you ask?

A Wiki is a document (or collection of documents) written collaboratively by its users.

That’s right - that means any member of the tramping club gets to make any changes they want to any of the documents on the wiki!!

Heck, if you can’t find the piece of information you’re looking for on here, you can even create it yourself!

Men In Tights

The theme song to the classic movie Robin Hood: Men in Tights
for best effect sing while wearing long johns... ;-)

We're men, we're men in tights.
We roam around the forest looking for fights.
We're men, we're men in tights.
We rob from the rich and give to the poor, that's right!
We may look like sissies, but watch what you say or else we'll put out your lights!
We're men, we're men in tights,
Always on guard defending the people's rights.

[Dance number, chorus line style]

We're men, MANLY men, we're men in tights. Yeah!
We roam around the forest looking for fights.
We're men, we're men in tights.
We rob from the rich and give to the poor, that's right!
We may look like pansies, but don't get us wrong or else we'll put out your lights.
We're men, we're men in tights (TIGHT tights),
Always on guard defending the people's rights.
When you're in a fix just call for the men in tights!
We're butch.

WALLA-WALLA

I don't know if there ever was an original, but there are a couple of good ones in the song book. Nothing specifically AUTC-related, but I rather like this - it's an old 'un, but a good 'un:

-Kat.

WALLA-WALLA

Climbers:
We're the cream of the mountain fraternity,
You trampers are only the skim,
But tramping (when far from the Hermitage)
Satisfies an occasional whim.
Walla-walla-walla....

Chorus:
Oh, here's to the track and the mountain-top!
And here's to the climber who dares!
But give me my glass and my bottle-o,
To drive away all of my cares!

Trampers:
Now tramping's position's unassailable,
We object to being called just the skim,
But when none but a climber's available,
Why, we'll even go tramping with him!
Walla-walla-walla...

All:
Now skiing's a first-rate activity,
(Provided you've got pansy clothes),
But in spite of our natural proclivity,
We'd never be one of those!
Walla-walla-walla...

Climbers:
Glissading's a glorious feeling,
As you slide down the slope on your feet,
But the rest of the day's spent concealing
A wet and uncomfortable seat!
Walla-walla-walla...

Trampers:
There are theories and ways of belaying,
You can either use pick or use shaft,
But no matter what style you're displaying,
Some 'expert' will think that you're daft!
Walla-walla-walla...

All:
We're surely the cream of humanity,
In spite of our squabbles and scraps,
We're all of the mountain fraternity,
Including canoeists - perhaps!
Walla-walla-walla...