Easter plans

Western uruweras. Trying to condense a 5-6 day trip into 4 as usual. All those unvisited and / or unmapped huts!

Depending where you are headed MP slim chance of crossing paths.

Given that I feel like parking at a hut with a view for a couple of days and reading a book its probably going to be French Ridge hut. It's always a worry with long weekends that every man and his tourist doppelganger will have the same idea. Off till Tuesday but will depend what the low does by Monday

Considering doing the Thousand Acre Plateau tramp... Metservice is forecasting a lot of rain, but the rain charts say otherwise.... So might be wiser to do something further east.

Yeah I noticed that as well :) Looks like a bit of spill early Saturday but doesn't really hit till Tuesday. I don't know about you but I've always found metvuw.com pretty reliable and if I am venturing south then David Crow is always informative http://www.southernlights.co.nz/weather/ Weather is always a moving target when your 4 or 5 days out from boots on.

Very modest plans for me, day walk up to the summit of Mt Oxford, then down the Wharfedale track to Coopers Creek. I'm ticking the Canterbury foothills off my to do list, just have Mt Oxford, Mt Thomas and Mt Somers left to do. Walking up Mt Fyffe near Kaikoura will be in the second week of the upcoming school holidays as I am already there with the wife and kids. I always find the tracks and huts crowded over Easter as it is Roar time and the last overnight tramp of the season for a lot of people. 20 people in a 12 person hut does not appeal! I think next year I will plan a camping style tramp over Easter to avoid the worst of the overcrowding. Possibly Maling Pass to the upper Waiau Valley as this is a trip I would like to do.

Sounds like you're peak-bagging the local foothills peaks Jon, we did the four you mentioned in one month, my favourite was Mt Richardson and Mt Oxford. No Mt Grey on the list? Keen to see the views from the top of Mt Somers - is there a route of sorts to Pinnacles Hut from there?

Going by MetVUW, Saturday is looking pretty wet in the South Island ranges. I'm considering the Fowlers Pass / Lake Guyon / Maling Pass circuit, as a drier option. That, or Pfiefer Biv if I can get Sunday/Monday off.

Going out to Te Hapu, which is on the wild west coast right at the top of the South Island. I'm not usually into walking on farm land but this place is exceptional with a day walk around the farm perimeter being amongst the top day walks I've ever done! Cliffs, caves, wild beaches, fabulous views, and this time a bonus - we will have our 4 grandchildren with us! If you want a break away from it all check them out by Googling Te Hapu. The Shearing Shed Retreat being our preferred option.