Category: Presidents Report

TAIERI RECREACTIONAL TRAMPNG CLUB
PRESIDENT’S REPORT 2025-2026

Introduction
It is my pleasure to present The President’s Report for the term September 2025 to August 2026 inclusive. The year has been another eventful one for our very active Club.

Membership
– Our current membership stands at 130 with 13 new members joining us this year. Welcome to all new members.
– Sadly, two of our Life Members passed away this year – Margaret Smith and Molly Vaughan – our sympathies are extended to their families and loved ones.

Major Events
– Christmas Function: This was held on 10 December at the Lee Stream Community Hall, and attended by 80 members, catering being provided by the Lee Stream School PTA. All agreed the standard of the meal provided was exceptional, especially for $25 per head. Special thanks to Wendy Langley for investigating this venue and event format.
– Bannockburn Camp: Held on 9 to 13 March at the Bannockburn Camp. Feedback from those attending being extremely positive. Testimony to the organisation and hosting abilities of Anne and Rod Ward and their helpers.
– Mid-winter Lunch: Held on 17 June at the Concord Tavern and attended by 60 members. Unfortunately, due to the weather, the prior planned walk to Tunnel Beach was cancelled. Again feedback from the event has been extremely positive. A big thank you to Barbara Shackell and Jenni Wright for organising this event.
– Social Get Together: Held on 30 July at the Village Green and attended by 27 members. This afternoon tea catch up was thanks to the initiative and organising abilities of Jenni and Bruce Wright – thank you to you both.
Initiatives and Activities
– Hand Held Radios: A set of Uniden UH755, two-way hand held radios were purchased on 23 January from Dunedin’s Hunting and Fishing for use on tramps and combined walks. The instant communication between Leader and Tail End Charlie these provide already proving valuable on several occasions.
– Petrol Prices: The volatility of petrol prices this year has been closely monitored and discussed at Committee meetings. By motion, approval was reached by the Committee to use the IRD Tier 1 petrol reimbursement rate. As in the past, vehicle rates for trips rounded up to the nearest dollar. Additionally, our trip programme has focussed on trips closer to home recently. This, in consideration, not only of costs, but also at times some supply uncertainties questioning the ethics of recreational fuel use. A thank you to Graeme Souter for his work on this.
– Trip Guidelines: “How to run a trip”. A new post on our website under Trip Guidelines has been worked on by Phil Keene. Under separate headings of “Pre-Trip”, “Trip Day”, “Medical”,
“What to Take” and “Post Trip” these comprehensive guidelines are designed to reassure and assist leaders to run trips. A huge effort – well done Phil.

Track Clearing
– Combined Workday with Green Hut Track Group: On Wednesday, 6 May, in conjunction with the Green Hut Track Group, a combined workday was held, clearing tracks in the Swampy area involving 17 Club members and 5 Green Hut Group volunteers. With our Club’s focus on the Swampy area’s tracks, future cooperative track clearing efforts with the Green Hut Group volunteers are ongoing, “spearheaded” by Graham Thurlow and Phil Keene.
– Track Clearing Days: Graham Thurlow, along with a group of our Club volunteers, are planning additional track clearing working bees. These are to be held on weekdays other than Wednesdays in the Swampy area. Thank you Graham.

Trap Clearing
– A new, Club-related, personal initiative involving checking, clearing and re-setting pest traps in the same Swampy area is under way. Assisting the Halo Project, trap clearing programme, with 8 Club members volunteering to help. Thank you to Phil Keene for coordinating this.

Website
– Communications Officer, Ross Davies, resigned as our Communications Officer at the 18 June Committee meeting due to other commitments. A special thank you to Ross for all his efforts in ensuring our website is such a valuable tool, and he will remain an important source of knowledge as he continues as a member of the web team. Special thanks to Graeme Souter for taking over the Communications Officer role.
– Future-proofing of Website: Our website future proofing, including backups, offered by our current Website host, is being investigated with the possibility of migration to a new host. This seemingly complex issue being investigated jointly by Graeme, with assistance from Ross.
– Capacity of Website: The capacity of our Website has been increased – doubled – so that we now sit at only 48% full.
– Use of Website. The use of the club’s website for non club specific notices has been discussed at length by the Committee. It has been agreed that this should be restricted to club related matters and activities.
– Web team: Our Website is ever expanding and becoming a more and more valuable tool for our club. Special thanks to the Web team: Chris Wither, Diane Paterson, Marijke Schofield, Ross Davies and Graeme Souter.

Committee Thank You
Our Committee has functioned well throughout the year. A special thank you to:
Vice President, Lyn Keene
Immediate Past President, Phil Keene
Secretary, Wendy Langley
Treasurer, Sarah McCormack
Communications Officer, Ross Davies, latterly Graeme Souter.
As well, Committee members assumed extra responsibilities as follows:
Katrina McKenzie as Hiking Coordinator
Pam Cocks and Esther Willis as Tramping Coordinators
Barbara Shackell and Jenni Wright as Social Convenors
Barbara, Jenni and Pam have signalled their intention not to stand for committee again. Thank you for the ability, enthusiasm and dedication you each brought. All these ladies may no longer be on the committee, but I know they will remain true powerhouses of our Club.
Special thanks to Esther and Wendy for their hospitality in offering their homes as committee meeting venues.
Thank you also to Annette MacRae and Dave Melish for being our PLB emergency services contact people.

Quote
This quote comes from Indian Industrialist and Philanthropist, Ratan Tata:
If you want to walk fast, walk alone
But if you want to walk far, walk together.
Lastly, thank you for the privilege of serving as your President this past year. I move that my report be adopted.

John Gardiner

Taieri Recreational Tramping Club
President’s Report 2024-2025 

It is with great pleasure that I present this report. 

The Club continues to go from strength to strength based on the quality of it’s members as well  as having a sound framework, at the same time keeping things reasonably informal. 

Membership numbers are 131 with seven life members. 

Major events have included 

– the Xmas walk at Takitakitoa Wetlands with hosts Otago Fish and Game followed by  the shared lunch and great entertainment at the Waihola Hall 

– A week based at Kelvin Heights where a myriad of walks were undertaken including a  touch of wilderness and walks based closer to lakes; a return to Bannockburn could  be on the cards for 2026…. 

– a very successful ‘cuppa’ afternoon tea at Wals for those who we do not see so much  at the regular walks 

– 45 members attended the travel night that covered the Dolomites in N Italy,  Melbourne and some of the USA National Parks as well as tips on how to get the best  photos from your phone 

– 65 members attended the mid winter lunch that followed a walk around Waihola Lake  and looked at recent developments there. 

My sincere thanks to everyone who contributed in making these all ‘a great day/ night out”. We have continued to fine tune communications with our web notices and information and the  presidents’ updates have covered a range of matters. Unfortunately, we did not have the power  to make every Wednesday fine! 

We also made submissions to Councils on Puketapu/Palmerston Hill and the Tunnels Trust closer  to home, it appears with some positive impact along with that of other submitters. 

For a range of reasons our track clearing working bees were a little limited. I have met with the  Green Hut Group and our machines will be kept warm over the winter by the main group and  we’ll evaluate our efforts in the Spring. Again thanks to everyone who contributed. 

The Committee has functioned very effectively and it has been enjoyable working with  everyone. As this is my last report I would especially like to thank Jenni Wright, John Gardiner  and Ross Davies for their advice, support and contribution and for making my role so much  easier over the last few years. 

Some of the reading I do, in fact a fair bit of it, is the work of Brian Turner who sadly passed away  this year. In ‘Place’ he captures perfectly the essence of walking in the hills not too far from our  homes

“….yet nothing is categorically
this, or that, and before the dusk
mellows and fails
the light is like honey
on the stems of tussock grass,
and the shadows are mauve birthmarks
on the hills.” 

So vivid, spot on! I’ll see you in the hills soon. Keep walking keep talking. I move that this report be adopted. 

Seconder 

Phil Keene, August 2025

Taieri Recreational Tramping Club 

President’s report 2022-2023 

It is my pleasure to present this report. 

We have had a full on year, of major and minor events, contained within a varied trip programme  which in turn has been affected by a few wet Wednesdays! The latter being most unusual but hopefully  not setting a long term precedent; one benefit being to remind us that there is no substitute for wearing  and carrying the right gear for the weather on the day. 

Majors being a very enjoyable Xmas function at Taieri Mouth with standout entertainment, as well as  discovering the efficient taxi service that exists down there….This was followed by a successful week  at Bannockburn that comprised a varied walking programme, some walks being a first for many of us,  as well as undertaking a Tour de Dunstan and environs on Les bicyclettes. . The travel agents we used  

for this event were most efficient and we look forward to their offering planned for Kelvin Heights and  the Queenstown area in the coming Autumn, but of course we do need to get through spring and  summer first! 

Our recent 35th birthday and mid winter celebrations were outstanding and subsequent discussions  thought provoking. The photo show displaying a trip down memory lane is currently to hand and we  are hopeful it can be made available shortly. 

We have had a range of new walks and variations on previous walks and have tried to pick up on those  not done for some time. The big turnout to support the Halo Project at Long Beach was wonderful and  a more than useful adjunct to the flax clearing undertakings we do. As discussed with a range of folk  we are assessing with the Green Hut Group how we can take a ‘working bee’ approach to the track  clearing work and continue the club’s contribution to track maintenance on our side of Flagstaff/  Swampy. More on this shortly. 

The Committee and sub committees/ web team continue to fine tune processes and communications  such as the ability to print the trip programme from the website, as well as the ongoing reassessment  of fuel costs The latter has been recently looked at again for when we do the summer trip programme.  We have looked at why disclaimers of liability are not required as well as settled a process for walks to  accommodate folk who may wish not to complete the full walk on the day. 

Our membership has blossomed through the last few months and stands at 109, with some pending!  Our life members are Bev Harvey, George Haggie, Margaret Smith and Molly Vaughan.  

For your information the current office holders and Committee members offer themselves for re election and Graeme Souter has been nominated for the sole vacant standard position on the  committee. 

Thanks to everyone who has contributed in so many ways outlined above to make a successful year,  supporting each other is a hallmark of the club. 

This year will be the last for Jill Dodd on the committee as she has decided ‘to retire’. Jill has had a  lengthy stint since 2015 as vice president/president/past president and of course acting president  during Covid. In addition, Jill has initiated a range of trips, first aid training as well and events such as  the recent Halo project contribution and more. We look forward to walking and talking with you Jill  for many years to come! 

I move that this report be adopted. 

Seconder 

Phil Keene, August 2023

Taieri Recreational Tramping Club
Presidents report 2023-2024 

It is my pleasure to present this report. 

The year has been another outstanding one with 80 or so walks enthusiastically completed by  members across the walking spectrum! Our membership stands at 131.  

Particular Highlights have been – 

– a very successful ‘combination’ Xmas function at North Taieri that included the garden tour at Joy  and Peter Horrell’s, an uphill walk that took the breath away and then a successful Xmas lunch.  The bring and buy also worked well! 

– A week of walking, with some challenges, and talking based at Kelvin Heights in the Queenstown  Lakes District that catered for all capabilities and there are so many more options in that area…  Over recent years we have also visited the Upper Hollyford, Borland Lodge, and Bannockburn.  What could be next? 

– a successful mid-winter function enjoying the spectacular Tunnel Beach walkway followed by a  great meal and camaraderie at the Concord Tavern, so successful that I see the Tavern is now going  to double in size! Goes to show hospitality is still a goer if you get the mix right. 

The Committee has worked very well together to produce another varied walking and social  programme as well as address matters of the moment; we have monitored the membership numbers  and impact on walks, and options for formalising the Ramblers, fuel costs for trips, and tweaked the  track gradings and track guidelines documents. In addition, working with the Web team, the club’s  website is undergoing a makeover and is receiving great feedback for its clarity and simplicity. 

The working bee approach to the track maintenance on the Lake Whare track network we undertake  on behalf of the Green Hut Group was a significant achievement with 220 hours of volunteer time – so successful that the Green Hut Group would like to add a couple more tracks to our  responsibilities! We’ll hold fire on that until we get underway again over the summer. Our efforts  are reported through the GHG to DCC and DOC. 

I would particularly like to thank John Gardiner, Jenni Wright and Ross Davies for their support and  great work through the year. Also, Karen McInnes, Jan Butcher and Jay Devlin for their committee  work as they have stepped down this year. Jan and Jay have been on the committee since  2018/2019 respectively, and always provided good practical advice and solutions. They have been  the drivers for the Hiker’s Walk programme. Thanks so much. 

I move that this report be adopted 

Seconder 

Phil Keene August 2024