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 organize 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. NZTopoOnline run by Land Information NZ is also good to look at an area before you get hold of a proper map. http://www.nztopoonline.linz.govt.nz/nztm-simple/default.aspx
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. Tell them about how long it is, when and what time to meet(meeting place is usually the Tramping club notice board) what gear to bring, how much it will cost, and ask them to email you back if they want to come. A template of what you need to include in this email can be found at http://www.autc.org.nz/wiki/trips_information/trip_email_template
d) Give a friend or relative 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 - not usually necessary, but its always better to be safe!). The safety officer can help with this (safety [at] autc [dot] org [dot] nz)
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
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
