South Wairarapa Tramping Club – The Remutaka Rail Trail

We were amazed at the response for this tramp  from Cross Creek, south of Featherston, along the rail trail to the old Summit Station, our first tramp since the lockdown process started in March  – 18 walkers east to west, plus 2 west to east, 4 cyclists, and 3 dogs!

The weather looked good as we left Greytown, but when we reached Cross Creek we were hit by a chilly wind in our faces as we headed up the valley.

Several people hadn’t walked the Rail Trail before, so were interested to learn about the area’s history, from other walkers and the photo and information boards. … Continue Reading

Regional Council notes

Wairarapa Trains have been in the news recently with the announcement of five million dollars of government funding to progress a detailed business case and commence procurement for regional trains for Wairarapa and Manawatu.

Greater Wellington Regional Council has been working with Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency for some time to secure this funding with GW Chair, Daran Ponter, presenting government ministers with cans of sardines to demonstrate what commuters will experience in peak times if additional trains aren’t purchased.

Population growth in the Wellington region has accelerated much faster than forecast over the last five years according to census data.   Wairarapa has had a fair share of that increase so any capacity for growth built into the Wairarapa line, when the trains were upgraded in 2007, has been used and our trains are full.  Couple this with few off peak options and increasing unreliability makes locals feel that Wairarapa deserves a better deal. … Continue Reading

The money party

The money scramble – the allocation of funds for advertising in the coming election has been held. The big winners, Labour and National, will each get one and a quarter million dollars.

The Green Party and NZ First will each get $310,000. Next up, Act, The Maori Party and The Opportunities Party each get $145.

Then come ‘the others’  most of which many people will  have never heard of: Advance NZ,  The Aotiaroa Cannabis Party,  Democratic Social Credit,  NZ Outdoors,  Sustainable NZ,  Vision NZ,  Direct Democracy,  Furure Party,  Interest Party,  One Party  and finally Oytcho-visha who 

describe themselves as “a cult for those who understand, appreciate and observe the avant-garde, gothic triumphs of European culture”. … Continue Reading

Under The Martinborough Stars

Much of my time is spent learning new information to share about the sky, myths and legends. This year I’ve been researching more Mori star lore and in particular the stars of our beautiful winter marker, Matariki.

When it rises in the east before the Sun in late June, early July, Matariki symbolises mid- winter. Once it is spotted, Māori will then restart their calendar when they see the following full moon or new moon depending on their iwi. The following 12 cycles of the moon make up the rest of year. 

But what is Matariki? Firstly, it is a star cluster, not a constellation. A star cluster is a group of stars that were all born from the same cloud of gas and are gravitationally bound to each other. A constellation is different; it is a group of stars in the sky that aren’t actually near each other but form a pattern as we see it from Earth. … Continue Reading