Photo: Sam Harrison
The Dusky Track is a well-known stomping ground for trampers keen to test their resolve against Fiordland conditions. The side trip to ascend Tamatea Peak (1640m) from Lake Roe Hut delivers an extra 500m of elevation with spectacular rewards.
From the summit, views stretch out over Lake Horizon, Pleasant Range and Tamatea Dusky Sound. Signs of human activity are non-existent: the true wilderness of Fiordland.
Tamatea is one of our 75 Top Trampers’ Peaks. View all peaks in the list.
Missed yesterday’s feature? Use our new guide to help choose which Great Walk is for you.
Quiz
This cloud formation:
A - Is formed from ice crystals.
B - Is a cumulus cloud.
C - Is known a lenticular cloud.
D - Is generally seen away from the sea.
E - Indicate unstable weather is likely within a day or two.
Scroll to the bottom of this email for the answer…
Featured Book
Seeking the Light
This book came from Gavin Lang’s quest to climb all 24 of New Zealand’s highest mountains. It can be regarded as the most significant collection of modern NZ mountaineering photography ever published.
Subscribers get a 10% discount.
SKILLS CHECK: Blisters: to pop or not to pop?
Blisters can turn a walk into a nightmare. So, is it ok to pop them?
Bruce Baxter, director of PodiatryMed Physiotherapy in Christchurch, gives us the answers.
Current Issue - September 2026 Great Walks special issue
Get a free gear Checklist printed on 250gsm card with the September Great Walks special issue. Also inside, Which Great Walk is right for you, tips and advice from those who have done them, plus the birds and plants to spot on your Great Walk adventure.
Tramping calendar
See our list of upcoming tramping events and activities across the motu. If you have an event you want to feature, email the details!
1 Aug: Sanctuary Planting
Location: Coutts Island Road, Belfast
Help restore Native Biodiversity to “The Sanctuary”, a 30 Hectare ECan Reserve on the banks of the Waimakariri River off Coutts Island Road. More info.
1-2 Aug: Boardgames in the Bush
Location: Waitakere Hut
Targeted at our younger members Small People on Big Hills and Rangitahi Ramblers. Come experience the Waitākere Hut for a social evening playing your favourite board games in front of the cosy fireplace. Bring your own food that you can prepare in the well-equipped kitchen; marshmallows welcome! Only ASC members will be able to join this event.
Please email [email protected] with any questions or to book your beds.
1 & 30 Aug: Recloaking the Half Mile
Location: Half Mile Reserve Alexandra
This is the project's third year, and they have 1,000 plants to get into the ground this season.
The group is planting our eco-sourced, volunteer-grown native plants following the removal of pine trees. Go and join, meet some Central Otago locals (both plants and people), restore our environment, enjoy some fresh air and some afternoon tea afterwards. More info.
3 Aug: Canterbury Westland NZAC Section committee meeting
Location: NZAC headquarters. 6/6 Raycroft Street, Waltham, Christchurch, 7pm
We currently have several vacant positions on the committee. If you think you might be keen to give back to the club, come along to our next committee meeting to see what you think. More info.
4 Aug: SCUBA: Subterranean Critters - Understanding Biodiversity Aotearoa
Location: Ōtari Visitors Centre, Wellington, 7:30pm
Join Julia Kasper, Lead Curator Invertebrates at Te Papa, as she talks about Subterranean ecosystems - some of the least explored habitats on Earth. Globally, scientific knowledge of cave and groundwater invertebrates remains fragmentary, with most regions having only sporadic surveys or taxonomic treatments. More info.
4 Aug: Himalayan Trust Speakers Evening: Kiwi Mountaineering in the Himalayas
Location: Aldersgate Centre, Christchurch, 7pm
From the very beginning, the Himalayan Trust climbed and built on the same trips. A group would walk into the Khumbu, spend a month raising a schoolhouse or a hospital ward, then spend the next month on the high peaks putting up first ascents. Build a school, climb a mountain, and call it one expedition. Adventure and giving were never two things.
Seventy years on, that thread is unbroken, and it is still carried by real people. Join us in Christchurch for a relaxed evening of short talks, a panel and an audience Q&A with five New Zealand mountaineers whose stories run from Sir Ed’s era to the next generation heading for Everest.
A night of big mountains and the bond between New Zealand and Nepal, and a chance to support the Trust's education, health and clean-water work in the Everest region. More info.
6 Aug: John Roper-Lindsay speaker event
Location: The Cashmere Club, Christchurch, 7pm
13 Aug: Paddling Film Night
Location: Christchurch, 6pm
Whitewater NZ is partnering with UCCC to host our third annual film night series to fundraise for our Access Fund and bring the community together.
Join for an evening of adventurous paddling films which will hopefully inspire some new missions. The Access Fund is dedicated to improving recreational access to Aotearoa's rivers through support of initiatives such as road/track maintenance and challenging legal issues. More info.
26 Aug: State of the Snowpack #2 with Penny Goddard & Anna Scheirlinck
Location: Further Faster, Christchurch, 6:15pm
State of the Snowpack Aotearoa is several evenings over winter, of honest, practical avalanche intelligence from people who spend their winters digging pits, reading terrain and keeping others safe.
Local professionals will break down what's happening in the Craigieburns, Arthur's Pass and the surrounding Canterbury ranges — not in textbook terms, but in the kind of plain language that helps you make better decisions when you're standing at the top of a slope.
This isn't a course. It's a community conversation because better information shared across a community means more people making it home. More info.
The Great Outdoors Pub Quiz
Location: MD Outdoors
Back by popular demand for its second year with our amazing quiz master Emma. Grab your mates and test your wilderness wisdom at The Great Outdoors Pub Quiz! Theme attire encouraged - flannel, fleece or full tramping kit! More info.
29 Aug: Gutsy Girls Adventure Film Tour NZ
Location: Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, 2pm
Celebrate 10 years of New Zealand's premier adventure film tour spotlighting women who absolutely send it! Since day one, Gutsy Girls has been championing fearless female adventurers who push boundaries, shatter expectations, and prove that gutsy is a way of life—not just a moment. More info.
3 Sept: Outdoor Training New Zealand Auckland Branch meeting
Location: Point Chevalier Tennis Club, Auckland
The Auckland branch of OTNZ has an active committee, a manageable course schedule, and holds two monthly evening meetings to introduce new topics of interest and engage with the wider membership. More info.
10-12 Sep: OTNZ Basic Navigation and Compass Skills
Location: Wenderholm Regional Park
This course is designed to provide participants with the knowledge and skills to be able to navigate using a Topo-50 map and ground features on well-marked tracks in areas typically open to the general public. More info.
Quiz
Answer B - Is a cumulus cloud.
Cumulus clouds form as air heated at the surface lifts then cools and water vapour condenses. They form in fair weather conditions, often on bright sunny days. Through the day, in the right conditions, they can get bigger and taller and grow into towering cumulus congestus or cumulonimbus clouds, which can produce showers.
Quiz provided by Heather Grady from Outdoor Training New Zealand.
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