Mt Ruapehu weekend (meals, accom, transport included)

Come up to Whakapapa with us! Go skiing or boarding, or explore Tongariro National park and take on some alpine, tramping or biking adventures. Or just enjoy coffee and the hot pools. It's entirely up to you.

Where Will We Stay?

We'll stay at the Wellington Tramping & Mountaineering Club Lodge - see here http://www.wtmc.org.nz/lodge-facilities . This is hostel-style accommodation, on the mountain and just 100m from the Whakapapa base area, with 6 spacious bunkrooms and all meals (3 meals Saturday, breakfast and lunch Sunday) provided.

There are no lodge staff, so we'll be on a duty roster to cook meals and clean up before we go. This should only take about 30-45min of your time in the weekend - many hands make light work!

HOW WILL WE GET THERE?

You have two options:

Self drive - $121 - get yourself to the 'Top of the Bruce' about 4.5 hours' drive from Wellington on Friday afternoon/evening. We can give you further directions if you need them.

Van Transport - $192 - We'll leave from the Wellington Railway Station, platform 9, around 4:30pm and take a van up to Whakapapa skifield. Our van is spacious and powerful so it won't be a grim 6 hour trip. Plenty of room for skis, boards, ice axes & ropes, and even MTB's on the back.

Then after two fantastic days carving up the fresh new first-thing-in-the-season snow, we'll head back to Wellington for a Sunday evening dropoff back at the railway station.

WHAT DO I BRING?

Sleeping - you need a sleeping bag and a pillowcase. (You get a mattress and a pillow.)

Eating/drinking - you'll get breakfast/lunch/dinner on Saturday, and breakfast/lunch Sunday. (Lunch is filled sandwiches and fruit etc that you make yourself before you go on your adventures). Bring snacks and your favourite beverages.

Adventures - well, that's up to you! If you're in the van, there's a lot of room but it's not unlimited so skis/board and a sports bag/big backpack is probably about it. (Pretend you're flying JetStar.) Let me know if you've got a MTB and we'll sort that out.

Getting to and fro - it's a 100m walk from the van or your car to the lodge, via a path that will be snowy, rocky or wet depending on the weather. Plan on it being a blizzard when you get there - keep warm clothes and good boots near the top of your gear, and have your gear in something you can carry for 10min or so - backpack good, samsonite rolling luggage not so much.

And if you're driving, be ready for a snowy ascent so bring snow chains and if you can, try to borrow your mate's Legacy 4WD with the fluffy dice. As long as he hasn't lowered it.

WHAT WILL WE DO?

Mainly skiing and boarding but that's just the start. There are plenty of walks and tramps below the snowline and in the bush, as well as some more adventurous alpine trips up Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and the freshly reopened Tongariro Crossing. There's also plenty of mountain biking - take on as much or as little of the Mountains To Sea track as you feel up to! We'll have a van and I don't mind doing dropoffs and pickups at road ends and the like.

Or there's nothing stopping you just chilling out with a few coffees followed by a few beers in the Lodge's comfy lounge. Let's face it, Ruapehu weather is often rubbish and the Lodge is designed with a lot of chilling out in mind.

WHEN DO I PAY? WHAT IF I WANT MY MONEY BACK?

Please pay us $192 for van-food-accommodation, or $121 for food-accommodation and self drive, as soon as you book. You need to pay to secure your booking - because we have to buy the food and book the van (I have to fight other trampers for it!). So it's first paid, first in. I'll juggle names around on the 'going' and 'waitlisted' lists as I see money hit the bank account.

If you're a WTMC member, the rate is $136 for van-food-accommodation, or $75 for food-accommodation and self drive. We also have a concession pass for $120 - pay $120 up front and then get member rates all season. We'll be running a few of these trips so if you plan on coming more than a couple of times then this makes a lot of sense.

Please deposit your money to the WTMC Lodge account:

06 0582 0013409 03

Use your name and '20jul' as the reference, eg 'mike 20jul'

I can't wait! This'll be the first trip of many, I hope, so keep an eye out for later weekends too. Anyone interested in a week-long trip, too?