Canterbury University Tramping Club (CUTC) has also been going since the 1930s, and with over 400 members is the university’s largest sports club. President Olivia Martin says one of the reasons for its popularity is the community. “I’d only tramped about four times before I came here. Then I found this awesome group of people who are passionate about the outdoors. They took me along and gave me access to the outdoors in a way I didn’t know was there,” she says. “I encourage people to join the club not so much for the trips but more to find new friends and a community that’ll enable them to get outdoors. They’ll meet great people who share the same passions and get to do cool trips.”

Morris agrees. “I moved to Wellington and didn’t know anyone, and now the tramping club is my community,” she says. “Everyone has a different experience of what the club means to them, and community and kinship is something that shines through. It’s so wonderful to go to meetings and see people talking about their lives, tramping and all sorts. Yes, we happen to like tramping and so do that together, but really it’s about the people.”

The first trip of the year is the ‘Freshers’ tramp. “We consistently get over 100 people coming along and have to cap numbers,” says Morris. “It’s an overnighter on the first weekend after university starts. It’s about trying something new, a great and safe opportunity to give tramping a go, as well as a chance to meet people and make new friends.”

Otago University Tramping Club is also one of the largest and most active clubs on campus. Its focus is on the outdoors and having fun. “Every trip we celebrate and have fun,” says president Dave Sheppard. “Our historical events, like Bushball, have been happening since the club was formed.”

Bushball is an annual trip. “It’s at Aspiring Hut and is the big social event of the year,” says former president MJ Grove. “It’s themed, and everyone dresses up for the three-hour hike in.”

“A team decorates the hut the night before and brings props,” adds Sheppard.

Otago’s first overnight trip of the year to Glenorchy is also one of their most popular, with around 100 people attending each year. “Paradise is a day walk in, then we all tent together at Lake Sylvan and do different things the next day,” says Grove.

VUWTC is also partial to some fun in the outdoors. “A big focus is to upskill people, to make sure they’re safe in the bush, that they’re comfortable and can make good decisions,” says Morris. “Once you get good at that you can start doing some silly things and have fun with it. Most of our silly tramps centre around doing things in the bush that wouldn’t usually be done there.”

Morris’s favourite trip last year was a ‘Masterchef’ tramp. “We organised different rounds with all kinds of different food, all in the bush. We also have a habit of carrying weird things up Mt Ruapehu. Someone carried an armchair last year, and I once carried a birthday cake.”

AUTC also likes to run trips with a difference. “Every couple of years we run a swamping trip,” says Thomson. “Going swamping is exactly what it sounds like: we go for a walk in a swamp. We can be shoulder-deep in water. I advertised a swamping trip and described it as a suffer fest. I expected only a few people to sign up, but I had over 60. They’re very popular.”

They also like to carry strange items on trips. “We have a steel ironing board called Suzy and an iron called Old Rusty,” says Battley. “An ironing trip happens around twice a year and we make sure everyone knows what they’re getting themselves into when we advertise it; it’s strictly volunteers only who are happy to carry random heavy items up a hill.”

TWALK is one of CUTC’s most popular events and has been run for more than 50 years. It’s a 24-hour orienteering event that’s also open to the public. In 2023 more than 400 people attended from all over the country. Fewer than half the entries were university students.”

All clubs are serious about bush skills and want to ensure members are well-equipped to be outdoors. “A lot of what we do at AUTC is introducing people to the fundamentals of tramping,” says Battley. “The basics like hut etiquette, how to set up a tent, how to buy hut tickets. We help make someone confident to go out on a trip.”

“We have a lot of people from all experience levels, different countries and different practices,” adds Thomson. “You can be exposed to so many different ideas, which you don’t get if you’re trying to figure things out by yourself. It’s a chance to learn from each other.”

AUTC also offers instructional courses and helps subsidise costs. “Most of our funding comes from student membership fees and grants,” says Thomson. “We also share funding and expertise with other clubs, so we can expand the scope of what we can cover and achieve.”

Snowcraft and bushcraft are run by most clubs. Courses are often delivered by volunteers and are subsidised for members. “We’re conscious about safety,” says Martin. “We want to provide instructional courses for our members that are affordable.”

VUTC tries to provide opportunities and remove barriers, says Morris. “There’s quite a high barrier to entry to tramping in terms of knowledge, so we do our best to help out with that. We want to pass that knowledge on and have wonderful leaders for our trips. They make sure people have the right information and are working within their experience level.”

OUTC chooses trips with a range of options to suit all members. “It’s important to carry on with our key events each year,” Grove says. “They’re in areas that are reasonably accessible and have a range of trip potentials. ”

“It might be the same trip each year and going to the same location, but it’s different each time as groups split off to do tracks appropriate for their level,” Sheppard adds.

Sustainability, more international students and giving back are likely to feature in the future.

At Canterbury, Martin has seen a rise in the number of people interested in contributing to environmental and conservation projects. “We do a lot, like planting days, beach clean-ups and helping DOC and the Backcountry Trust, but I’d like to see more,” she says. “As students we can’t always help on the financial side, but we can use our labour and brute force.”

In Wellington, Morris has seen a rise in international students post-Covid. “It brings a rich culture to the club that is refreshing, and creates a bit more transiency.” She’s also seen the impact of the cost of living increases on students. “People can’t always afford the trips, or they have to work at weekends. We’ve invested in some communal items such as sleeping bags and packs to try to make it easier for people to get outdoors.”

Otago is also looking to help students and the environment, says Grove. “This year, our environmental committee officer is looking to set up gear buy, swap and repair nights.”

One thing seems clear: these clubs are loved by all, and the communities last longer than a course of study.

“At Auckland, people don’t immediately leave the club on graduation,” says Battley. “We’ve always had a lot of people who stay with the community long after they’ve left university.”

Otago also has a good network of alumni members. “They help out with trips and love to tell stories of how it used to be,” says Grove.

Wellington’s club stretches further than tramping. “We do all kinds of things,” says Morris. “We’re just a community of people who like doing things outdoors.”