Five reasons:

3 Dust off your mountain bike and join the fun on the Frog Rock Ride held on spectacular private farmland starting in Waipara and travelling through the Weka Pass with unsurpassed vistas of the limestone country of North Canterbury. There is a 16km and a 26km circuit to choose from and money raised from the event goes to Waikari School. www.frogrock.co.nz

4 Join the Heretaunga Tramping Club for a day’s tramp in the Ruahine Range behind Norsewood. The tramp follows Apiti Track before dropping into the Makaretu Stream and going downstream, past Makaretu Hut and Happy Daze Hut. From there it’s on to Paget Rd and the transport back to Hastings. Contact: htc@orcon.net.nz

7 Get out on a mid-week tramp with Taupo Tramping Club when they tackle the Urchin-Umukarikari loop in Kaimanawa Forest Park. This is a fairly hard day’s walk requiring between 7 and 10 hours and is best described as a gnarly, grunty obstacle course. Contact Peter Drew: 07 378 0794, www.taupotrampers.com

15 Also in Taupo you can accompany the Thursday section of Taupo Trampers on a fairly easy 4-6hr tramp from Whakaipo Bay to Kinloch covering 14-20km. Contact Helen Tapp: 07 377 2029, www.taupotrampers.com

18 Take part in an aquanaughting adventure with the YUF (under 40s) Faction of the Auckland Tramping Club. Aquanaughting involves tramping to a body of water and the paddling over it in an inflatable vessel. The group will meet at Whatipu and hike towards Pararaha Valley paddling over any bodies of water that get in the way. Return to Whatipu over the Muir and Gibbons tracks. craigdavsmith@hotmail.com