Napier Tramping Club

based in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand

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Lost (in a winter wonderland) and Found (the Black Stag Hut)

August 26, 2020 by Elly Govers Leave a Comment

Longview Hut and Awatere Hut, Ruahine FP, Wednesday 26 August, 2020. Map: BL36

Five cars with four trampers in each arrived at the car park at the end of Kashmir Road. The road was in excellent condition, which was a pleasant surprise as earlier indications had a sea of mud at the Moorcock end of the road.

Light snow before setting off

As we got out of the cars, the earlier light drizzle turned to snowflakes and thoughts turned to Christmas cards. Thankfully it did not settle, or last, but it remained cold. For once in this area, there was little wind.

Fifteen of the group set off for Longview and the other five headed to Awatere Hut.

Elly reports on the Longview tramp:

Heading up the zig zag start of the track

The track up to Longview is in very good condition, particularly the first part, which zigzags up the spur. Sooner than expected, we had climbed considerably to see the cars in the deep distance and arrive in alpine territory. The foggy weather, starting with snow, then hail, then just fog, revealed only one misty hill at a time, and as soon as we had climbed to its top, the next misty top became visible, but only one. There was no wind, and the scenery was very beautiful.

One of the many slips alongside the track

Normally you can see Longview Hut most of the way, but not this time. We had no idea where we were until we arrived at the part where the track follows the cliff edge for a short while. I recognised this point as ‘one more climb to go’, and once we got to the top, Longview Hut was visible in full wintry glory. It had taken under 1.5 hours to get there, probably because it was too cold to stop anywhere longer than half a minute. Many of us had cold and wet feet from the snow and mud on the tracks and the snow on the vegetation. It had been quite slippery in places and we were not looking forward to the downhill.

Some warmth inside the newly refurbished Longview Hut

Longview Hut was in good condition. The last people to visit the hut, according to the hut book, were DoC staff. That was nine days ago. While we were having our very early (before 11) and short morning tea/lunch, Bruce attempted to make a fire, but failed. It was cold, and soon we were on our way again.

The original plan had been to go over the tops to the Daphne Track and come down that way. However, due to the poor visibility and the lack of a track on the tops, we decided to leave that for another time and retrace our steps instead. The downhill was not as bad as we had anticipated. Since earlier that morning, the clouds on our side of the mountains had lifted slightly and we could now see Longview Hut if we looked over our shoulder, and the various hills around us. Near the car park, the snow had already melted away.

Elsewhere, as Kelvin reports…

Two golden oldies on their way to Awatere Hut

Five set off for Awatere Hut, which lies at a lower altitude than the car park but requires a climb up to a ridge heading south and then a steep descent to the hut. The hut is on the true right of the north branch of the Makaretu River and at this point is no more than a stream – except the bit where your scribe fell in whilst rock-hopping to the other side.

Rock-hopping gone wrong

The pool below this crossing was above knee-deep and sufficiently wide enough to accommodate a severe dunking. So with dented pride, scraped skin and a large bruise, your scribe dripped his way to the hut to get changed as best the spare clothing could provide. The lesson learned was not to wear your spare clothes as extra layers against the cold in the morning if you are going for a dunk before you can get them off.

Our LandSAR colleague took command but met resistance when she tried to get all my wet clothes off. After a suitable compromise and with the fire going, sanity was restored and it was back to the business of the day: to find the remains of Black Stag Hut. On a previous tramp, this elusive old hut could not be found. Thoughts last time were that maybe it had collapsed into the bush and disappeared from sight. This time, armed with GPS coordinates, it was supposed to be easy but they turned out to be at least 200 metres adrift. We found the hut thanks to a lone tramper from Dannevirke who just happened to be out on the river in that area at the same time as us. All it took was a pointed finger.

Found at last

Black Stag Hut is there, with a rainproof sheet steel roof, though the walls and fireplace are in a very sorry state. But it is still standing. Further into the bush behind the hut is quite a collection of old bottles in a dump that could be worth a closer look for any labeorphilists among you.

So it was back to the Awatere Hut, happy that we had found the Black Stag Hut, for an early lunch and a game playing dice. The hut was getting to the point of cosy with the fire going. The sun was out as forecast. We four were wondering what had happened to Vic as he had previously managed to get to the hut, but we met up with him safe and well on the return journey. The steep climb back up to the ridge took about 30 minutes at a steady plod. It was a short but eventful day.

The main group wanted to call in at the Tiko pub for a coffee or whatever, but it was closed, then it was the Chook and Filly but it was closed, then it was Silky Oak but that was closed too. So we went home early.

Longview trampers: Bruce Hodgson, John Dobbs, Sue Martin, Gaye Gasser, Cherie le Lievre, Matthew Nisbett, John Burrell, Lynette Morgan, John Bennett, Marie Deroles, Margaret Palmer, Johanne Karlsson, Rosemary Jeffery and reporter Elly Govers
Awatere trampers: Hilary (get your wet grundies off) Heath-Caldwell, Murray (get the fire lit) White, Dot (I’m not looking) Sole, Vic Bullock, and reporter Kelvin Shaw

Filed Under: Recent trips, Ruahine Tagged With: Awatere Hut, Kashmir Road, Longview Hut, Ruahine Forest Park

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About us

We are a group of like-minded people who love the great outdoors. We tramp mostly in the Hawke’s Bay province, in remote areas such as the Kaweka and Ruahine Ranges; but we also travel longer distances to new places, for longer walks.

The Napier Tramping Club was established in 1974 and has about 70 members. We belong to the Federated Mountain Clubs of NZ Inc (FMC) and run Saturday, full-weekend and Wednesday tramps, every fortnight.

Interested in joining us?

Enjoy the great outdoors, keep fit and get to know others with similar interests.

More information

Latest news

May 2025 News

The NTC AGM was held on 22 May. The officer positions for the club are: Di Reid - President, Sue … Read More

April 2025 News

The AGM for 2025 will be held on 22 May. Where we're headed in 2025 The first six-months' … Read More

Latest trip

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Useful links

  • Dept of Conservation
  • DoC Huts Use, Kaweka Forest Park
  • Federated Mountain Clubs of NZ (FMC)
  • Heretaunga Tramping Club
  • New Zealand Tramper
  • NZ Walking Access Commission
  • Wanganui Tramping Club

Useful links 2

  • Royal Forest & Bird Protection Society
  • Taraponui i-Networks camera
  • Weather forecast

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