Clubnights

CLUBNIGHT PROGRAMME
WEDNESDAY NIGHTS
7.30 pm
Doors open at 7pm

The club is always interested to hear from anybody wanting to be considered as a Wednesday night guest speaker and is open to suggestions

If you have any suggestions for speakers, or would like to give a presentation yourself, please contact Graeme at clubnight, or email to graememcv2@xtra.co.nz

CLUB NIGHT PROGRAMME SEPTEMBER 2026

2 September: Jonty Crane – Mongolia
Jonty has just returned from an 11-day hike in the Kharkhiraa and Turgen mountains in western Mongolia. Led by adventurer and author Tim Cope, the group hike followed traditional nomadic routes through vast steppe, alpine valleys and high mountain passes, with camels carrying gear between camps. Jonty will share encounters with nomadic families, and what it was like to hike through this remote and incredible landscape.

9 September: Robert Tristram – Te Araroa: Auckland Airport to the Cape
Robert will talk about another section of his south-north Te Araroa trek. In August he talked about the southernmost section. This time is about the northern-most part, covering the Te Araroa Auckland and Northland sections from Auckland Airport to Cape Reinga (also areas that are less visited by the club). These sections have some urban walking through Auckland, beaches, kauri forests, farmland and the rugged Raetea Forest.

16 September: Les Molloy – The 25-year campaign to protect the Olivine Range, Red Mountain and the Olivine Wilderness
Dr Les Molloy has a background in soil science (DSIR) and a lifelong interest in mountaineering — and national park, wilderness and other protected area identification and
management (including 10 years in the Department of Conservation and 20 years advising UNESCO on natural World Heritage identification).
In the 1960s and 1970s, Les’s passion was exploring the more remote parts of the Southern Alps and Fiordland, especially the mountains eventually protected as the Olivine Wilderness Area.
Les has spent much of his life advocating for better protection for our mountain wilderness, particularly as a member of FMC’s executive, through his several books, and through membership of government quangos like the National Parks Authority and the Nature Heritage Fund. He was closely involved in the nomination of all of New Zealand’s (three) listed World Heritage sites.
His talk canvasses how his mountaineering developed into a concern to protect our precious remaining wilderness from commercial exploitation, especially mining, logging and the damming of wild rivers. In particular, he will illustrate FMC’s long campaign to have Mount Aspiring National Park enlarged to include the Olivine Range and Red Mountain, and then for most of this mountainous wilderness to be eventually designated as the Olivine Wilderness Area.

16 September: No Sales Table tonight
A combination of poor support in August and the non-availability of the organiser has led the Social Committee to cancel September’s Sales Table. Look for it to be back in October.

23 September: Tony Birtwhistle and Jo Scott – Portugal 1 Lisbon, Porto and the Douro Valley
In June this year, Tony Birtwistle and Jo Scott spent two weeks in Portugal sightseeing and enjoying self-guided day tramps with local company, Green Walks Portugal. Tony’s first presentation (aided by Jo of course) will focus on the whys and wherefores of choosing Portugal and Green Walks plus the wonderful sights of Lisbon and Porto. Errant taxi drivers, a general strike, using a phone-based navigation App for the first time and a challenging language only made the adventure more enjoyable, if somewhat challenging. Tony will finish with the first instalment of the walking – the Douro Valley region famed for its wines

30 September: John Simes – What is it with John and native trees?
John had been reflecting on his lifelong passion for native trees when he was asked to give a talk to a Johnsonville gardening group in June on raising them. For the talk he focussed on some of the methods and how he goes about discovering, often by accident or good fortune, what to do or where to find material. He subsequently decided to refocus his presentation for a talk at HVTC as it gives him the opportunity to say thanks for the many occasions over the decades he has been helped by club members.

7 October: Tony Birtwhistle and Jo Scott – Portugal 2 Peneda-Geres National Park
Tony’s second presentation will cover tramping in the Peneda-Geres National Park, the only true national park in the country, close to the Spanish border; following the Minho River to the sea then a sojourn along the Atlantic coast famed worldwide for its enormous surf. The journey concludes with a second look at Porto and Lisbon in 37 degrees of heat!

Return of the Sales Table
Sales Table – sales start 7pm
The Sales Table will be on again third Wednesday of the month. Edibles, whether biscuits, cakes, jams, pickles or fruit and vegetables are the most popular offerings. Be there early (by 7pm) if you have items to sell, or if you want to buy some of the delicious home cooking. Please collect and take home any of your items that remain unsold at the end of the evening.
CASH ON THE NIGHT PLEASE

Contact Graeme McVerry graememcv2@xtra.co.nz ph 021 464349