In the new year, a group of us did the newly re-opened Cascade Kauri Track. If you're planning to do the track, get there early if a weekend, as it's a busy car park, even when the extra side bit is open. Gravel car park and last km in.

The Kauri here are as spectacularly large as they've always been, bar some very sadly dead ones and the general scale of the trees in this area of the Waitakere Ranges is impressively large.

The track is all graveled, boardwalked, and bridged. If doing the loop track, head towards the dam. You can also park at Long Rd, and walk up the steep hill and into an open paddock loop (you can see both east & west coast waters) and then return to Long Rd Track and head up the hill and towards the junction for dam loop. We actually did 19.6km approximately yesterday, as did all the extra bits. If parking at the Falls Rd carpark, then the loop is about 12km apparently.

Organised by London's Natural History Museum, this year sees the 59th Annual Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. If you would like to see the world's top nature photographs up close, they will be on display at Auckland Museum from Saturday 9th December 2023 - Sunday 28th April 2024. Check here for more details!

There is an online information session coming regarding the 2024 ShelterBox Kokoda Trek. This epic trek takes in the Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea to raise funds for families in need after a disaster or conflict.

For more information you can check out the ShelterBox website or the following PDF has the information about the 15th November.

TREK4SHELTER KOKODA INFO SESSION.pdf

You can still see the odd dinosaur tramper struggling along under a monstrous pack stuffed to overflowing with heavy, bulky, decades-old gear. Slow, aren’t they.

Fortunately, most of us are smart enough to appreciate the benefits of lighter pack weights:

*       The tramping is easier
*       There’s less strain on the body
*       Tramps are more enjoyable
*       We can travel at a faster clip if we need to
*       We’re less tired at day’s end
*       We can take on more challenging tramps

But how light is light? What’s a good pack weight for multiday tramps?
Ideally your base weight should be comfortably under 9 kg. Your base weight is everything you’re carrying (not wearing), excluding
food and water. Add in 500-700 grams a day for food and you’ve got a pack weight of under 10kg for an overnighter, around 12 kg for a 5-dayer.
This assumes you’re not carrying winter kit or an ice axe or spikes/crampons etc.
Now you can lug that sort of weight around the hills, can’t you?

 Here’s how to get your base weight down to where it should be.

• Pack, shelter, sleeping (your big 3) – 3 kg max. Ultra lightweight trampers will be closer to 2 kg; up to 3.5kg is still reasonably good.
• Pack liner – 100g
• Rain gear – over trousers and rain jacket, 600 - 700g
• Clothes (additional to what you’ll be tramping in) – fleece(s), camp/hut clothes, spare underwear & socks, beanie, gloves. 1.5 - 2kg
• Footwear – most people take some sort of hut or spare shoes. Crocks are popular but are bulky and a monstrous 300 - 400g. Runners are even heavier, jandals and reef shoes a bit lighter. But do you really need anything at all? A good way to save weight is to take nothing.
  
• Cooking, fuel, eating – 800g (very generous). True lightweighters ditch plates, use their pot lid as a cup, and have a titanium spoon or spork, Chux cloth to clean up, and small lighter.
• Toiletries, hygiene, first aid, meds – 500g. Ditch your towel, it’s way too heavy, and use Chux cloths instead.
• Water containers – 150g
• Compass and maps – 100g if you print your own topos.
• Electronics – a smartphone plus plb will be 300 grams, add a gps and power pack and you’ll be close to 700g.
• Sundries – torch and batteries, knife or multitool, repair kit, maybe one or two other things, but make sure they’re light. 250g.

So there you have it, a base weight comfortably under 9kg. Which actually
isn’t that light at all – it’s a base weight everyone can achieve, without
spending a fortune. Tons of trampers are way less – ask yourself if anything else is really essential. If not, it’s a luxury. If your base weight isn’t under 9kg, your kit’s too heavy and/or you’ve got a bunch of non-essentials. Ditch ‘em!

Club Equipment for Loan
The club has equipment available for members to use for free on Club trips. If you are new to tramping, it's a great way to have gear to go on an away trip without having to buy everything upfront. The gear includes:

*       NEW ITEM: 1 x Food Dehydrator: Sunbeam Electronic Dehydrator
                 Food
<https://www.nstc.org.nz/resources/Documents/Food%20Dehyrator%20Manual-Sunbe
am%20Model%20DT6000.pdf> Dehydrator Manual-Sunbeam Model DT6000.pdf


*       2 x burners for cooking
*       2 x single person tents: Macpac Microlite 4 season tent
*       1 x two person tent
*       3 x inflatable sleeping mats
*       Assorted backpacks for day and away trips

Contact Stefan, our Gear Officer, Ph 02040948547 for information about what is currently available and to arrange collection.

A phased re-opening is planned for the tracks in the Kaimais, after extensive testing by DoC found no further kauri dieback on the central Kaimai tracks. Read more here.

Unfortunately due to a clash between council and property owners, part of the Milford-Takapuna walkway is now closed. Read more here.

We had another awesome day out with North Shore Tramping Club, one group starting at the viaduct and the other at Onehunga. Bonus of having our club bus and two drivers to do a cross over tramp.

Check out this epic, burnt out old tree stump. It's deceptively large, big enough for a four people to stand inside at a time.

Seen during our Coast to Coast tramp today, visiting all the parks along the way. We were grateful that the steep track down there had dried out today, after Friday's rain. Pretty flowers along the way in one of the parks we walked through:

There is a huge amount of history in the Symonds Street Cemetery. Very interesting for a quick look around during your Coast to Coast traverse:

Unfortunately the pathogen responsible for kauri disease has been discovered in the Kaimais, leading to track closures. Check out this link for more information.

There is an interesting and very relevant article here on the Department of Conservation and their struggle to maintain and keep open huts, tracks and other structures.

The FMC has a list of tracks affected by the recent bad weather, please check it out if you are heading out on a track.

https://fmc.org.nz/2023/03/08/cyclone-gabrielle-aftermath-reporting-track-damage-to-doc/

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