In 1986
Milton Rotary Club took a small party (24) on an “independent” tramp over the
Milford Track. This was so successful that in the following season 2 trips were
run. This project has now grown into a huge enterprise, with more than 16,000
people having participated over the past 27 seasons. In 1990 the Otago Youth
Adventure Trust joined Milton Rotary Club to help run the trips, and a few
years later the independent “stand alone” Tramping Club was formed.
In the
current season (2012-2013), now completed, some 750 trip places were filled. People
came from all parts of NZ , Australia and further afield, participating in 6 Milford Track trips, 4 Routeburn Greenstone tramps, 1 Kepler Track
tramp, 3 groups Cycling the Central Otago Rail Trail, 2 “Aspiring” trips, 1 Hump
Ridge Track tramp, 1 Catlins trip and 4 new trips to Stewart island, tramping
the Rahiura Track. Also 3 special trips
on the Milford, Routeburn and Cycle Trail for overseas Rotary Youth Exchange
students. A total of 26 trips. All these trips are the “freedom or
independent walks” as distinct from the commercial guided walks available on some
of the tracks, and each was of 3 – 5 days duration.
Some 60
volunteer leaders and organisers give many hundreds of hours to organize and
lead the trips (usually 3-4 leaders on each trip), and attend to the logistics
of transport, food, “bookwork”, communications etc. All helpers and Leaders are
volunteers, and NOBODY receives any remuneration whatsoever for their efforts.
A mammoth task!!
The trips are
now well known throughout NZ, Australia, USA, UK etc. We have had many enquiries for next season
when another 28 trips are planned, and half are already full. Apart from informing the Service Clubs (Rotary
& Lions), other Tramping Clubs, past member participants, and responding to
requests for information, there is no public advertising, and the fact that our
trips fill up so quickly shows that there is a real need for this voluntary
service. A significant percentage of people return year after year to join
another trip.
Our
volunteer Leaders and Helpers originally came from the Milton Rotary Club, and
the Otago Youth Adventure Trust, but now other local people, who may have
participated in some of our trips, and have expressed an interest, have showed
ability in helping. Most are middle aged “Mums & Dads”, with a love for the
outdoors, who derive tremendous pleasure from assisting others to experience these
truly magnificent adventures. We are proud of the fact that out amateur Leaders
have always been able to cope with the occasional emergencies that can happen
when taking a large group into what can be difficult terrain or unpleasant
weather conditions. Leaders Outdoor First Aid Courses are run bi-annually
Those
working behind the scenes – attending to the trip bookings, financial
accounting, liaising with DoC, the food ordering & packing, organizing
transport, boats etc and the general planning contribute many hundreds of
voluntary hours in the “office”. We are proud of the fact that over the past 27
seasons, with 16,000 + participants, there has never been a trip booking of any
sort messed up by our actions.
We operate
as a Tramping Club, and as such DoC insist that we must run our trips at
“cost”. We are not a commercial operator, and do not seek to become
“concessionaires”.. Consequently the
only funds we raise from our activities are from donations, Tramping Club membership
subscriptions, and “non-trip revenue”.
The benefits to the community are twofold.
(1) There are
literally thousands of New Zealanders, Australians and others, who have always had the wish to tramp some of our well known tracks (Milford,
Routeburn, Kepler etc.), but who find the excellent commercial guided trips out of their price range, and who
possibly lack the experience to undertake a “freedom” walk by themselves. We provide a low cost alternative, that allows people to walk these trips in
groups, with “
low key” leadership. For many it is a “first time” experience, or a
re-introduction into the outdoors. Many of the participants are middle aged,
and very many continue tramping, by joining tramping or walking clubs, and by participating
on other trips with us in subsequent years. It is always a humbling experience
to witness a bus load of people, on the journey to the tracks, subdued and
doubtful with a “what have we let ourselves in for” attitude, and then to see
them on the journey home, buzzing with excitement and high spirits, thrilled
with their achievements, meeting different people, and making new friends. The Hillary Commission spent millions of dollars
getting people into the outdoors, and we feel that we are assisting this cause.
(2) Our
constitution states that at the end of each financial year, all surplus funds
held by the Tramping Club are to be split equally between the Otago Youth
Adventure Trust, and the Rotary Club of Milton. Funds are generated principally
by the requirement that those participating in a trip become financial members
of the Tramping Club, and pay a subscription. Also we point out that a DoC
requirement is that we must run our trips at “cost” but that we would welcome
donations. Many people are happy to do this, in appreciation of the service we
provide, and donations are the major source of our annual income. . As all our activities are run on public land
and Dept of Conservation demand that we must run our trips at “cost”, purely as
a Tramping Club.
Over the
years our surplus funds have been of great benefit to Milton Rotary and the
Otago Youth Adventure Trust, and most of them have gone back into the community.
Milton Rotary provide substantial funds
for the local Youth Worker, for the High
School, for special needs and grants for students, for bursaries, and the many
community and international projects that all Rotary Clubs are involved with.
The Otago Youth Adventure Trust has been able to add many facilities and improvements
to their 3 Outdoor Education Camps, which would not have been possible without
the financial assistance of the Tramping Club. The refurbishment of Tautuku
Camp, in the Catlins, the addition of a Gymnasium and Community Hall at Berwick Camp, and recently
the complete renovation and rebuilding of the newly acquired Sutton
Camp, near Middlemarch, a “specialty” camp, to be used principally for “at risk” families and children., are
examples.
