Tararua Fever

In this Scroggin episode of Tararua Fever we dive into a few of the more… non-essential matters of the Tararua Ranges.

From “Is it a bird of the Tararua Ranges, or is it my son?”, to Andrew Thompson absolutely sending it across the Northern Crossing on the way to a party (link below), and the legendary brass band gig recently held at Powell Hut by the Crash Bandihoots.

Along the way we also unpack a recent faux pas from one of our good friends — an incident we take deeply unnecessary and wildly over-dramatised exception to.

Finally, we wrap things up with the most important business: introducing the judge for our Tararua Fever photo competition and having a quick chat about what they look for in a truly great snap.

The photo comp is open for the rest of March, so keep those submissions coming in!

Find Ash's brilliant portfolio here - https://rockettdesign.myportfolio.com/exhibition-a-journey-of-colour

Andrew Thompson running the Northern Crossing – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCl18BQIQgg

Crash Bandihoots live at Powell Hut – https://www.facebook.com/reel/897096376578978

We’re back with our first full episode of 2026 — and the fever hasn’t eased.

We kick things off with Kent and I talking about one of the classic Tararua dilemmas: how hard it is to go deep into the range, touch the tops, and still leave enough time (and legs) to get out again. On paper it always looks doable. In reality… it’s the Tararua Ranges.

We’re then joined by Andrew Thompson, organiser of the Jumbo–Holdsworth Mountain Race, to talk about what it takes to move fast across some of the most iconic terrain in the range — and why the race keeps drawing people back.

For Walk ‘n’ Talk, we speak with Paulina Zack, who holds the fastest known time on Te Araroa and set a blistering pace through the Tararuas. We chat about endurance, mindset, and what it feels like to move quickly through terrain that most of us grind through slowly.

Different speeds. Different goals. Same hills. Same fever.

We wrap things up with a quick update on the Tararua Fever photo competition.

If you’d like to get in touch, flick us a message at: [email protected], or via our instagram and facebook.
 
Find out more about the Jumbo–Holdsworth Mountain Race here:

https://jumbo-holdsworth.co.nz

We’re back! Hope you’ve all been enjoying some good time out in the hills — and maybe catching a bit of Tararua Fever along the way.

On this quick Scroggin episode of Tararua Fever, Kent and I are just checking in to provide a small update on the photo competition and a look ahead at some upcoming interviews on the podcast.

Photo competition entries are open — send your favourite Tararua (and beyond) snaps in via [email protected],  Facebook or Instagram with a small description.

If you’re enjoying the show, give Tararua Fever a like or follow on Facebook and Instagram to stay in the loop.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61576349080277 

We’re rounding out the year with a Scroggin-style episode of Tararua Fever.

Kent and I kick things off with a quick recap of the year that’s been for the podcast, reflecting on the season in a couple of minutes (give or take). We also announce a very loosely organised photo competition, so start sending through your favourite snaps from the Tararua Ranges and beyond — judges and prizes to be announced in the new year.

We’re then joined by Bevan Smith from the NZ Mountain Safety Council, who talks through some of the key do’s and don’ts for summer tramping, covering practical safety considerations for anyone heading into the hills over the break.

We wrap things up with a few thank yous to everyone who’s helped make Tararua Fever possible this year.

Thanks for listening, stay safe out there, and we’re looking forward to getting back into it in 2026.

🔗 Plan your next trip with Plan My Walk — the NZ Mountain Safety Council’s official trip planner: https://planmywalk.nz/

On this episode of Tararua Fever we’re looking at the Ladder in the Wilderness. That’s right — the peaks of the Tararua Ranges. We speak with two seasoned trampers about their experiences navigating the precarious nature of the steep ridgeline, and arguably the most remote ladder imaginable.

Kent and I then bring things back down to earth (somewhat) with Al and Knob of the Week, where another knob of the ranges is highlighted and some random facts explored. We enter Kent's Cooking Corner for the first time celebrating a signature dish, and we round things out by announcing the winner of the latest quiz question.

Jonty's blog: https://jontynz.com/

Jonty's podcast: https://www.thetrampinglife.com/

In this episode of Scroggin, we’re tearing open the trail-mix mystery bag and diving straight into the good stuff. I’m joined by Kent this week as we cover some cool tramping-related podcasts, talk through a few of the significant slips from across the Tararua ranges, and debut a brand-new segment Kent’s bringing to the show!

Trail mix in one hand, chaos in the other — that’s the Fever way.

Podcasts mentioned on the show:

The Tramping Life https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/the-tramping-life/id1839590454

Search & Rescue NZ (RNZ) https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/search-rescue-nz/id1842040029

On this 11th November episode of Tararua Fever, seeing is believing and I am joined by my co-host Kent where we are timing it within range of Halloween and discussing amongst other things, the Ghosts of the Tararua Ranges ! Join us as we go deep into some mysteries of the hills with our special guest. 

We are then joined for Walk' N Talk with David Barnes from the Herenga ā Nuku Aotearoa, the Public Access Commission, to discuss exactly that - some of the the Tararua Ranges different public and private access points and some of the basic do’s and dont’s that go with them. And at the end there also is another give away quiz question if you dare.

If you feel that chill, don’t fight it — the fever’s already got you !!! 

Welcome to the first episode of Scroggin, the quick snack between the main Tararua Fever episodes to keep you satiated. On this first ep, I have a small update on the ‘expecting’ situation from the previous episodes baby shower tramp. I also cover a little bit of what we consider might be hot on the Tararua Facebook Forum by way of a photo library of huts current and historic and how it links well to episode 9, Shelter from the Storm. Finally, as always we have a quick guest, my friend Ben, covering off some of his awesome artwork of the Tararua Ranges. 

Link for the huts photo library – https://www.flickr.com/photos/133363633@N06/albums/72157679938189206/

Link to Bens artwork – https://twentysix.co.nz/artists/benjamin-cotter-dephoff

P.s – we are very aware there is an update in the current closure again to the Otaki Forks road end due to another slip which we will look to cover off in the next episode.

In this latest episode of Tararua Fever, the format is slightly tweaked again due to small-big announcement for my partner, Lex and I, that may change things for our tramping experiences for the next wee while. So, what better way to celebrate than by literally heading into the Tararua hills with a bunch of my best mates – so join us as we venture to Waitewaewae for the weekend with a few laughs and of course, Allen with a more live than usual knob of the week as well. 

The Fever’s running high—and so are the spirits. Baby steps start in the Tararuas !

Welcome back to episode 9, ‘Shelter from the Storm’ - not the famous book, or the song, but it is all about the huts of the Tararua Ranges where we cover off some of the variables to think about when your trips involve the use of different types of huts and variables to take into account when tramping to them. We are then joined by the lovely folks from the Victoria University Tramping Club to get the run down of what they get up to and their summer hut bagging mission that occurred in one weekend !! 

Finally for ‘Walk n Talk’ I speak with Ron Pynenburg about the history of some of the huts in the Tararua Ranges as they relate to the old Hector Track, which also involved the potential tourist route that never quite came to fruition. We also talk about his experience as an architect and his contribution to the development of the hut manual post the Cave Creek disaster. 

Give us a like and a message on our new Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61576349080277 , or as usual at [email protected]

If you don’t have the fever, you probably need some ‘shelter from the storm’ !