Ruahine Forest Park, Manawatu – April and December, 2024

After the power and fury Mother Nature threw at this hut, in 2023, it seems perhaps fitting that its rescue, relocation and restoration called for a major effort. In the end it took four trips and some big winds before the project team prevailed. A new-look Leon Kinvig Hut now stands on a new, safe site, ready for hunters, trampers and trappers in need of shelter.

Built by the New Zealand Forest Service in 1963-4, the 8-bunk Leon Kinvig Hut is located in the mid-reaches of the Pohangina River, in the heart of Ruahine whio country. The hut was named after a young deer culler, Leon Kinvig, who drowned in the Pohangina River. 

In May, 2022, a BCT contract team, funded by the government's Kaimahi for Nature scheme, re-roofed the hut and installed a new woodburner. As it transpired, they could have saved the bother. Just months later, in February 2023, Cyclone Gabrielle raged through Hawke’s Bay and the Ruahine Ranges. Anthony Behrens works out what seems to have happened. “A hillside just north of the hut gave way in the heavy rain and blocked the Pohangina River. The river built up behind the slip and, when it inevitably burst, the resulting torrent of water and mud lifted the hut off its foundations and spun it around. As nature settled, Leon Kinvig Hut was left hanging over a one and a half metre drop, above a river channel forever changed.”

While the hut isn’t hugely visited, it is much loved by hard core hunters and trampers who enjoy the challenge of its isolation (and handy venison supply), and it provides vital shelter for the Ruahine Whio Protectors, working here to protect what is the North Island’s southern-most whio breeding population.

Obviously, the hut couldn’t stay where it was, so the project began with the search for a new and safer site. This was selected 500 metres downstream on a higher terrace well above the flood zone. After DOC rangers cleared the site, builder Brock Beyer and his son led a BCT volunteer team of Fiona Burleigh, Emma Martindale and Duncan Ford, to set down the new foundations in preparation to receive the old hut.

Funding for moving the hut came from a variety of sources. These included a significant amount of Cyclone Gabrielle facilities restoration funding, as well as from BCT’s own small reserves.

In early June, the tempo stepped up. The hut, perched on its precarious site was stripped of chattels, braced and prepped for lifting. At the new site a heli pad was cleared, toilet hole dug, toilet installed and the woodshed started. The work in this three day stint was carried out by Megan Dimonzantos (project lead), Brett Stokman and his mate Ben, Hannah Cochrane, Graham Beaven and Emma Martindale.

In August 2024 Megan, Anthony and Brett returned along with Regan Dick, Tyler Lee and Reon Sheath, for four days of action. First up was the big shift, calling on the skills of pilot Mark Law, his Kahu NZ crew and the heft of their heavy-lifting Black Hawk helicopter, to move the hut off its precarious overhang and position it onto its new piles. Then followed four days of intensive renovation, with lining pulled off the walls ready for replacement, new framing completed and a new ridge beam installed. Meanwhile the woodshed frame was completed and covered, the toilet finished, and the hut deck started.

A ten-day stint in December, 2024, completed the project. BCT regulars involved were Megan, Steve Wilman, Tina Christie (described by Anthony as ‘master chef’), Dave Eaton, Fiona Burleigh and Anthony Behrens. They were joined by Rosie McIntyre – tackling her first BCT mission, and Konrad, a Te Araroa walker and last-minute volunteer who happened to be a carpenter.

The team flew in with Leon, of Mid West Helicopters, sharing their rides into the valley with Ruahine Whio Protectors trappers. Anthony enjoyed flying with them, given these hard working trappers also make use of Leon Kinvig Hut for their important stoat trapping/whio protecting work.

The work completed on the big, final push included recladding of the hut, installation of new bunks, relining the walls, painting inside and outside, installing new windows, varnishing the floor and bunks, and completing the deck, verandah and woodshed. David Eaton scoped and started flagging the new tracks to the hut.

The hut’s woodburner, installed just months before the flood, was rescued from the damaged site, moved and re-installed. The old meat safe was extracted from beneath a fallen tree and moved to the new site.

The workload over ten days was huge, carried out in harsh conditions, Anthony recalls.

“The night winds were intense, our sleep was constantly broken by massive gusts we could hear roaring up valley towards us. Our tents heaved, tore, popped pegs, broke poles. The hut shook and loose paper and tin flapped noisily.”

Ten-hour days were common, and the crew managed to share a bout of Covid between them!
As with many BCT projects, the teams working on Leon Kinvig were a mix of skilled and unskilled volunteers. Anthony made observations about this that will resonate with those in the latter category, no matter which project they’ve taken on. “Being an unskilled foot soldier can be hard. Knowing how to find something to do when the skilled guys are doing the tricky stuff has its challenges. Being the lifter, the holder, or the tidier can bruise the ego. Waiting around nervously while there is nothing to do then feeling embarrassed when you realise you could have been polishing a door knob is humbling.”

He is indeed being rather humble – the point of the BCT volunteers is that everyone, skilled or not skilled, made a huge impact on the Leon Kinvig restoration – and has done with every project they work on.

Ruahine Forest Park, Hawke’s Bay - February and April 2023
Dianes Hut was built in 1978 by the Tressider family in memory of Diane Tressider, a farmer and hunter respected for her hard work and ability with a rifle. She was arguably a woman ahead of her time. The 6-bunk hut sits in steep Northern Ruahine country, perched on a tiny clearing 20m above Koau Stream (a tributary of the Ngaururoro and home to whio). For their tribute, the family designed an unusual but homely hut, featuring an extra-high ceiling, river stone/concrete floor and a golf club-style interior, with louvre windows and a Little Dorrit potbelly stove. The hut hadn’t suffered the dampness or rotting one might have expected for its age, possibly on account of the drainage provided by its river stone foundations. Nevertheless, the hut was in need of a thorough makeover.

The team who took on the work included Tina Christie, Steve Wilman, Anthony Behrens, Fiona Burleigh and Richard Wynyard. Fiona, Tina and Steve had previously worked on BCT projects. In Anthony’s words, ‘we were experienced chippies and me, a humble hammer hand.” Anthony and Fiona had voted the hut a favourite when they stayed there during their ‘Spine of the Fish’ Ruahine traverse, in 2017, and were keen to help with this restoration.

Owen, from Mid West Helicopters, flew the team and building supplies in from the Taruarau River, past Shutes Hut and up the steep and narrow Koau Stream. Dianes sits on a tiny flat clearing in a steep little gully 60 metres below the chopper pad. With rain forecast and a reroofing of the hut planned, a decent ‘kitchen and dining room’ was quickly set up under a tarp.

Over the next few days the hut was pretty much completely pulled apart. Just the inside and outside walls were left and the old louvre windows got a reprieve, while everything else was dismantled and replaced. The roof was removed, new pre-painted ply ceiling, exposed rafters and Clearlight skylights installed, and a scoria-coloured Coloursteel roof, along with guttering, was put up.

The interior was also transformed. Steve spent more than a day grinding down the rough concrete/stone floor then covering the most vulnerable areas with a waterproof epoxy. A stainless-steel workbench and woodburner were installed. Outside, a new woodshed and meat safe were built. (The area is well-regarded for its hunting. Following in Diane’s tradition, Steve and Tina had taken two deer off the face opposite the hut while on an earlier scoping trip.)

Painting, both inside and outside of the hut was still underway when the crew was due to fly out, though with heavy rain, wind and lightening forecast they were resigned to being stranded for some days.

In Anthony’s words: “We were wet, knackered and not looking forward to the next few days. We also had no food left. Then the message came. ‘There’s a clear spell in the weather. I’ll be with you in an hour and a half.’ I’ve never seen a building site cleared so fast. Everything was packed up ready for the sling loads and Owen was soon hovering above.”

They resolved to return on foot and finish the job but were thwarted when the weather took a bigger turn, and all access roads were taken out by Cyclone Gabrielle.

Thus, the return trip was again by helicopter, in April, when the team (minus Richard) flew in to add the final touches. Painting of the woodshed, wharepaku and both inside and outside of the hut was completed. The fire was properly attached, lining and floor added to the porch, bunks were painted and a ladder installed.

Whio visited the stream below the hut every night and ruru also kept the team company, said Anthony. ‘Not many people visit Dianes. It’s a long way from nowhere but it’s well worth the trip if you want a slice of Ruahine heaven. Just tip your hat to Diane as you leave.”
Photos: Anthony Behrens

Kaweka Forest Park, Hawke’s Bay – completed March 2024
Five trips between November 2022 and March 2024
Since the early 1960s Komata, also known as Comet Hut, sat at the end of Comet Road off the Gentle Annie highway, which crosses the southern Kaweka Range from Taihape to Hawke’s Bay. It was built mainly for hunters and forestry workers, and more recently subject to the abuse and vandalism often, sadly, meted out to remote road end huts. It needed help or, better still, moving to a safer site.

The Wāhine Job, as this project became known because of the all-women crew that took it on, started out as a simple relocation of the hut to a flat beside the Ngaruroro River. It would be a base for rafting, hunting, fishing and pest control, on an already popular rafting campsite. Plans to shift the hut in one go were shelved when the large helicopter required became unavailable. As well, some structural parts of the vandalised hut were beyond repair. The project evolved to one of deconstruction followed by re-assembly, as in pretty much a new-build. On the positive side, the bigger project enabled more learning opportunities for the wāhine volunteers, under the guidance of BCT Project Manager, Megan Dimozantos.

​There was an added complication. The planned riverside relocation site was rejected by Geotech engineers, who preferred a kanuka-covered terrace 30 metres above the river. Now the women had to clear the tall, chain-blunting kanuka to make room for the hut. Four went in for several days of hard yakka (leaving a massive firewood supply for future hut users). Weeks later, rain from Cyclone Gabrielle inundated the lower flat!

Next, a team of four flew into install the hut foundations. Emma Martindale recalls digging holes through rocks and tree roots, the grimy work of concreting the piles, then learning new skills like how to use a nail gun safely, and calculate Pythagoras’s theorem to set rectangles.

A new access track also needed opening up from Komata Trig, diverting off the Shutes Hut track near the Comet roadend. The new track descends 800m down a toe-crushingly steep face that’s covered with thick, tangled native regeneration. Clearing it took days longer than expected, involving much more lugging of chainsaw, fuel, loppers and camping gear than planned, with the work spearheaded by Megan, Sarah Millar and Emma Martindale.

​Meanwhile, Cyclone Gabrielle put Komata on hold as other, more urgent repairs around storm-battered Hawke’s Bay were dealt with. The wāhine team made the most of the delay. Given that only the floor, framing, trusses and iron roofing was of any use from the old hut Gary MacDonald (AFM Building and the project’s licensed building practitioner) opened up his Napier workshop to the crew. With Gary’s mentoring, they built new framework and flatpack kits for the woodshed, toilet and tank stand and pre-painted the ply for the internal walls.

Then came the big push – a mammoth, ten-day stint on site, in February 2024. Tents were squashed around the fringes of the tiny clearing that was also crammed with timber lengths, iron cladding, cement, paint, generator and a ‘kitchen/shelter’. 

Earlier, on Comet Road, re-usable bits from the old hut had been packaged up, and the floor braced ready for flying to the new site. There was a hold-the-breath moment, then celebration as pilot Joe Faram lowered the floor on a very long strop to fit perfectly onto the new foundations. Then followed ten days (and some nights) of labour: erecting framing, putting up building wrap then cladding, fitting trusses and windows, roofing (Coloursteel), veranda construction, wood shed construction (recycling roofing from the old hut), digging (the wharepaku hole and tank stand piles), Wagener woodfire installation, varnishing and painting (the bright, bold Dulux Mārahau and Moorhouse Street colours decided by consensus). Wānaka film maker, Deanna Gerlach, was on site to produce what became an award-winning documentary about the Komata Project, and Kathy Ombler popped in for three days to write about the project for NZ Wilderness magazine.

​Despite a massive effort the women ran just short of time to complete the job in February. In one final long weekend in March, nine wāhine returned to add the finishing touches. Five of them walked down the new track and completed the track marking. At the hut, the water tank and spouting were installed, bunks and cooking bench fitted and a table built. The floor was sanded, steps built for the deck, window trims and coat hooks added.

As with all BCT volunteer projects, a varied bunch had come together on Komata, many of them juggling full time jobs and families to work on the remote site.  The core team included Emma Martindale, Sarah Millar, Emma Sye, Sally Neal, Helen Payn, Yvette Cottam, Bella Wilson, Fuis Tumanako and Rachel Howells. And they’re not letting go of Komata any time soon. They’ve signed the Community Agreement, taking on responsibility for future hut and track maintenance. Benching the steep track down to the river is an early priority, along with pest control. “This project has been a huge labour of love for us, we’ve learned new skills and met other like-minded women and its special to be able to continue that,” says Sally Neal.

There was significant support to help this wāhine team. Project sponsors included Tumu Building Supplies (now Placemakers), Dulux Paints, Pub Charities, Steel & Tube, Coloursteel, Kingspan-Thermakraft, Wagener fires and, of course, the Department of Conservation - Hawke's Bay. Also proving huge support were Gary Macdonald (AFM Building), Joe Faram from Rotorforce, and DOC’s Malcolm Lock (Locky).

Almer Hut was built in 1953 from materials dropped into site by fixed wing aircraft. It was the third hut on this site and replaced an earlier 1930s hut that was located on the next terrace down from the current site. The first shelter at Almer was not much more than a small A-frame biv that looked more like a tin and timber tent tucked into a rock slope. Almer Hut IIIIt has been preserved for many years as an historic hut and today still retains its original 12 bunks in two rooms layout from when it was built and is one of the only remaining huts from this 1950s era of alpine huts.

In the early 1990s the hut was in bad repair, with one of the rooms often filling with snow during winter. A conservation plan was prepared by Chris Cochran and some minor repairs were undertaken, followed by a major project lifting the hut onto a solid steel foundation in the early 2000s.
 
Late in 2023 part of the roof over the foyer was blown off and hastily repaired by DOC Franz. This prompted Wayne Costello, DOC Franz Operations Manager, to start a conversation with the Backcountry Trust about how to undertake a proper renovation to protect the hut into the future. At a meeting in early 2024 involving DOC engineers Jono Calder and Jason Davidson, and DOC historic advisor for the coast Tom Barker, DOC Senior Ranger Ian Singleton, along with Max Stenhouse-Burgess and Rob Brown from the Backcountry Trust, a work plan was agreed on the work needing to be done.to that would strengthen and preserve the hut for the future.

In late February 2024 work started., Max and Rob were joined by Hokitika carpenter Aaron Gillespie and DOC Rangers Mike Charles and Brendon Shaw. Over three days tThree sides of the hut were stripped back, strengthened with ply and more strap bracing, and the windows were fixed and properly flashed (they had never been properly flashed and had always leaked). The building was re-wrapped and then the historic cladding reattached.

A couple of weeks later a strong team of five builders were back with Mike from DOC and in a solid four-day push stripped off the old roof, removed all the rotten sarking and purlins, and completely redid the roof structure, before putting on new sarking and a coloursteel roof. While three builders were on the roof, the others toiled away to rebuild the western wall. The historic gutters that wrap over the roof and onto the walls were then refitted.

By the beginning of April another short weather window presented itself and Aaron and Rob were joined by Wanaka/Fox Glacier builder Clint Jarvis and Frank Rosie from DOC Franz to finish the exterior detailing and painting, and sand and treat the floor with linseed oil.
 
This work should see Almer Hut protected for many years to come. It'sAlmer Hut has been battered about for 70 years on this brilliant site high above the Franz Josef Glacier and the original cladding has the dents and imperfections that tell a story. With the mahi done it 2024 it will continue to serve ski tourers, trampers and climbers that visit to enjoy the parts of the high mountains that are easily accessed from the hut.

The work was jointly funded between the DOC Heritage budget, BCT and the NZAC Tupiki Trust.

​Lake Manapouri, Fiordland National Park, Southland – February 2022

​Located at the mouth of the Freeman Burn, on the shores of beautiful Lake Manapōuri, Freeman Burn Hut has long served as a haven for boaties, kayakers, trampers, hunters and tourists. The historic hut was first built over the summer of 1928–29 by tourism pioneer Les Murrell, who had an ambitious plan to establish a tourist trail to Bradshaw Sound.

Today, the hut stands as solitary monument to Murrell’s efforts. The passage of nearly a century had however taken its toll. Vandals had also done significant damage, many of the piles needed replacing, and the windows were rotten. Additionally, the original hut structure had many deficiencies, including inadequate framing, and even most of what did exist was badly out of plumb.

Clearly the hut needed work, but how much of the old structure could be retained, and how much needed replacing? These were questions that tested consultant Simon Brackstone and Backcountry Trust manager Rob Brown during a recent rebuild/restoration of the hut. Keen members of the Southern Lakes branch of the New Zealand Deerstalkers’ Association carried out the work. Here’s the story, and more about the hut’s unusual origins.

First, a tale of two Les’s. ​

Penn Creek Hut occupies a grassy clearing on the banks of its namesake creek, a tributary of the mighty Ōtaki River. From Ōtaki Forks, a good track leads to Penn Creek via Field Hut and Table Top, making it accessible in a long day, or an easier overnight tramp.

​The six-bunker is one of a dozen or so ex-Forest Service deer-culling huts remaining in the Tararua Range, and recently got some attention from the ex-NZFS group, organised by the ever-energetic John McCann and his team of merry men. They were supported by a grant from the Backcountry Trust.

Halfway Hut is the third hut on the Dusky Track that the Backcountry Trust's has targeted for catch-up maintenance. It is the last of the original Dusky Track huts that still had an open fire and this had recently failed an inspection and needed to be replaced.

The 12-bunk hut takes it name from being halfway up the Hauroko Burn, which provides access onto the tops of the aptly-named Pleasant Range

The roof was also past its best and was in need of the lead being removed as we are doing now for all huts in the mountain areas where there are kea present.

In December 2022, builders Clint Jarvis and Mark Williamson went in with the roofing maestro Vítek Kočandrle and Paul Chinn. Over four days they re-roofed the hut, removed the old fireplace and installed a new Wagner Cooktop wood burner. The weather was perfect the whole week and the team was able to get in and out from the Borland Saddle loading area as efficiently as possible.

The work completed by this team followed on from the renovation of Lake Roe Hut in 2021 and Spey Hut in 2020 by the Southern Lakes Branch of the NZDA.

Stage two to complete the Halfway Hut work was carried out by a Permolat Southland colunteer crew in February 2023. ​The team included Hayden Cohen, Garth Lornie, John McDonald, Karen Nicholson and Greg Wilson.

​A team of volunteers supported by the Backcountry Trust recently spent time working on the Waitōtara Track, which links the Waitōtara River with the Matemateāonga Track in the Whanganui-Taranaki backcountry. The aim was to clear all the many windfalls on the entire track with chainsaw crews, thus completing hand-clearing work undertaken the summer before.

Black Birch Biv occupies an elevated knoll between the Blairich and Black Birch Ranges in southern Marlborough. It’s reached on a track from near Black Birch Station, in the Awatere Valley, west of Seddon. In 2015, the bivvy was relcoated here from another site, in a joint project between the  Marlborough Branch of the New Zealand Deerstalkers’ Association, DOC, and the Backcountry Trust. As well as moving the bivvy, the team also adding an extension (visible in above picture).

In December 2022, NZDA member Simon Wayatt led a small team in to do some more work on the bivvy, as part of a wider project doing up huts in the Ferny Gair Conservation Area (see Penk Hut and Lake Alexander Hut blogs).

Over a three-day weekend in spring, a hardy crew of 17 volunteers, one DOC ranger and the Backcountry Trust’s very own Megan Dimozantos set to work on a range of tracks in the eastern Kāweka Forest Park. Split into six teams, they cleared tracks by hand, and also used scrub-bars and chainsaws. In addition, the teams marked and re-poled sections of the alpine routes.

Lake Alexander is a rare example of a lake in the Marlborough backcountry. The attractive bush-surrounded lake lies near the headwaters of the Tummil River, in the Waihopai Valley, southwest of Renwick. Near the lake is Lake Alexander Hut, a standard six-bunk Forest Service design. Built in 1965, and originally called Tummil Hut, it was relocated to its present site in 2010.
​
Simon Wayatt from the Marlborough Branch of the New Zealand Deerstalkers’ Association (NZDA) has been undertaking some excellent work in the area, with support from DOC ranger Ray Bennett. In December 2022, Simon flew into Lake Alexander Hut with fellow NZDA member Paula Carter. Their main mission was to install a new water-tank. Previously, hut occupants had to walk for some 10 minutes to get water.

​Sprawling alpine lakes, granite tops and the stupendous Mt Irene: the location of Robin Saddle Hut certainly takes a lot of beating. Situated in the heart of Fiordland, at the very western extent of the Murchison Mountains, this is one of the remotest huts in the country, and also one of the hardest to reach. Now over 60 years old, the hut got a comprehensive upgrade by a New Zealand Alpine Club (NZAC) volunteer team led by Paul Maxim.

Ferny Gair Conservation Area, Marlborough – October 2022

​Penk Hut lies in the headwaters of Marlborough’s Penk River, a significant tributary of the Awatere River. The standard 6-bunk ex-NZFS ​hut lies near the forks of two creeks that drain the high slopes of Ferny Gair (1670 metres). In October 2022, the hut got some overdue attention from Backcountry Trust volunteers led by hunter Simon Wyatt, with help from DOC ranger Ray Bennett. The rest of the volunteers, also keen hunters, included John Flannagan, Jock Flannagan, Matt Large and Paul Fuller.

\Some guess Field, others think Cone, but no, the oldest hut in Tararua Forest Park is actually Sayer Hut.

​Built in the early 1900s by the Sayer family, who used to run cattle on Tōtara Flats, this rustic hut has stood in place for more than century, albeit with many modifications over the decades. It was there when the Tararua Tramping Club formed; it was there when members of a missing tramping party wandered past, oblivious to the hut, in the infamous Sutch Search of 1933.
 
In a nice turn of history, members of the Sayer family recently did a marvellous job of re-cladding the hut, helped by a grant from the Backcountry Trust.

Dickie Spur Hut occupies a terrace near the bushline above the Tuke River, south of Hokitika. It’s most often reached on a track up the Mikonui River, past Mikonui Flats Hut, up the Tuke to Truran Pass. From there, a staunch climb leads up Dickie Spur itself. The four-bunk, ex-Forest Service hut recently received some welcome attention from a combined team of Backcountry Trust volunteers and builders. They did a great job, and Dickie Spur Hut is looking tip-top.

Stan’s Hut sits on an elevated shoulder high above the Whataroa valley. The 4-bunk hut is blessed with  exceptional views, low sandfly numbers, surrounding native scrub with healthy birdlife, as well as handy access to the tops. At Easter, a three-strong team of volunteers funded by the Backcountry Trust flew in complete a fine refurbishment of Stan’s. Led by Dave Keen, the group included Dave’s son Josh, and Michael Wilson.
 
Hunting guide Stan Peterson built the hut in 1985, on a site where he had previously maintained a tent camp. When Stan retired from guiding in the early 2000s, he donated the hut to the New Zealand chapter of Safari Club International (SCI). A few years later, the hut got a new roof and porch area, but time marched on and once again it needed some attention.

​Herepai is one of the most northerly huts in the Tararua Range, set in a small bush clearing above Ruapae Stream, and a launching pad for trips across the rugged tops beyond. It was built in 1980 by NZ Forest Service rangers Hans Kolinko and Mark Hunter, with assistance from members of the Pahiatua-based Bush Tramping Club. Unfortunately, Herepai Hut has received little attention in recent years and was in very poor condition.
 
Happily, in March a huge effort by Backcountry Trust volunteers – led by the irrepressible builder Steve Wilman – completely transformed the ailing hut. As well as doing behind-the-scenes organising, the BCT’s Megan Dimozantos was there on the tools as well. The rest of team included Fiona Burleigh, Tina Christie, Matt Falepau and Roy Rolston. 

Kaweka Forest Park, Hawke’s Bay – 27-29 May 2022

​Black Birch Bivvy occupies a pleasant clearing in the forest of the Black Birch Range in the eastern Kaweka Forest Park. The two-bunk dogbox-style bivouac was originally built by the Forest Service in the 1960s, and has provided an accessible place for hunting and tramping ever since. In May, a Sika Foundation team made some significant improvements to the bivvy to increase its capacity and make it more user-friendly.
 
​The volunteers included Alex Dixon, Ben Gordon, Mike Main, Brett Stokman (lead builder) and Joseph Turner.

​Recent work at Top Waitaha and Mullins Huts by Backcountry Trust volunteers has breathed new life into these backcountry locations. However, both huts needed toilet facilities.

​After Jane Morris secured funding, it was decided to co-ordinate the two projects. Colin Morris constructed the toilets, using a simplified design adapted from plans provided by DOC’s Tony Thrupp. In April, a BCT team of three flew in to install them.
 
Personnel were: Colin Morris (qualified carpenter), Roger Woods (former project manager for Fletcher) and Col Pearson (professional painter), all from Canterbury.

Nestled under the flanks of Mt Arthur in Kahurangi National Park is Ellis Hut, an important base for cavers, and a welcome haven for trampers too. Last year this great 6-bunk hut got some much needed attention from a Backcountry Trust (BCT) volunteer team of climbers and cavers, which including putting in a new cooking bench and removing of soil and rock under the hut to aid ventilation (see blog April 2021).

​As is often the case, this working bee hatched even bigger plans. The two main goals were to replace the existing open fire with a decent wood-burner, and add a foyer to the hut for use by cavers to hang wet gear. The Ellis Basin is karst country, with several small sink holes visible around the hut, and cavers often return wet and dirty from their explorations.

​The BCT once again funded the cost of materials and transport.

Carkeek Hut lies in the heart of the Tararua Ranges, and can be regarded as the most remote hut in the forest park. The six-bunk occupies a ridge-top position on the 6-bunk Carkeek Ridge, high above the headwaters of the rugged Waiohine River. It recently got a makeover by members of the ex-NZFS team, using funding from the Backcountry Trust.

High on a spur above the Waiohine valley lies McGregor Bivouac, a classic Forest Service era two-bunk dog-box bivvy. Nestled against the edge of the forest, the bivvy has commanding views north over the upper Waiohine catchment and the peaks of the northern Tararua Range. It’s most often reached from the Holdsworth Road end via the Atiwkahatu and Jumbo tracks. From Jumbo, a route over the tops, past Angle Knob, leads to a signposted turnoff that descends to the bivouac.

Built in 1966, the bivouac has been maintained over the years, but recently reports of it leaking reached John McCann, the man behind the ex-NZFS team. McCann organised for two members of the volunteer group, Grant Timlin and Roy Winterburn, both ex-cullers, to walk in and inspect the bivouac. They found that when the bivouac got new piles some years ago, this had exposed the bottom bearers. They also discovered that many of the old clouts in the cladding had completely rusted through.

McCann talked through options with Megan Dimozantos, the Backcountry Trust’s North Island manager. One option was a completely re-roof and cladding, and the other was replacing the clouts with screws and rubber washers. McCann, however, felt a complete re-clad was unnecessary, and that the screws would give the bivouac a ‘pimply’ appearance, undermining its authenticity. One the guiding principles of the exNZFS is to retain originality when possible. 

Accordingly, Grant Timlin and Roy Winterburn flew in by helicopter in February 2022, and replaced all the clouts with new ones. They also added a skirting to protect the bearers from the weather, and replaced the window. An unoriginal ceiling seemed to be retaining moisture inside the hut, so this was removed. McCann hopes these solutions will keep the bivvy watertight.

​The ex-NZFS team now maintains some 16 huts in the Tararua and Aorangi Ranges, and aims to ensure huts from the NZFS deer-culling era have a long life ahead. Next in their sights is some work on the Mid King Bivouac.

​Bald Hill and Fraser Peak are twin summits on the West Coast’s Bald Hill Range, about 35 kilometres south of Hokitika. While only modest in height – about 1160 metres, these two peaks protrude above the bushline, offering good views of the Mikonui, Tōtara and Whitcombe valleys on either side. In March 2022, a team of Permolat volunteers worked on the route between the peaks, with funding from the Backcountry Trust. The crew included Ted Brennan, Andrew Buglass, Annie Hughes, Jane Morris, Joke de Rike and Geoff Spearpoint.