I literally found Mt Domett via a random search on http://www.topomap.co.nz/. I was looking for something high (i.e. covered with snow), not too steep (no avalanche danger), close to the road and not too far from Dunedin (achievable in a day). The location and topography looked perfect. so I sent an email out, looking for people to with whom to share the ride and the trip. I later found out that Mt Domett is a reasonably popular tramping peak, with the route I’d picked being one of the common approaches. Hey, I know how to read a map; good for me.

The day started innocently enough … and actually ended the same way. A perfect peak for a day trip. We left Dunedin at 7am, had a coffee stop in Oamaru, and hit the trail at 9:15. We made it up to the slightly-but-not-much smaller Little Domett at about 2pm via a leisurely walk on 4WD tracks, through snowgrass, and about an hour of snowshoeing. I was all for heading on to the slightly bigger Mount Domett, but common sense, and the beer that we’d stashed in a stream near the car, enticed us back down for a sensibly early 7:30pm return to Dunedin. Great trip with a great group of people.