TARUARAU BIV

Ruahine Forest Park, Rangitikei – January 2022

taruarau Biv during its January 2022 makeover

Taruarau Biv sits high on the bushedge of the northern Ruahine Range, with an outlook over the Taruarau River and the distant Kaimanawa and Kaweka Ranges. It’s an isolated spot, and a classic Forest Service-era dogbox-style bivouac. Like many others in the range, the bivouac was due for a bit of attention, and fortunately attracted the interest of Jason Cheetham and a hard-working crew.

the old biv needed a bit of attention

Jason tells the story: ‘After painting Shutes Hut as a BCT volunteer project back in January 2021, I was keen to get involved again. After looking through the list of available BCT projects, I decided that I’d like to tackle a full restoration of a biv. It seemed like it would be a good introduction to a more complex project than painting. Taruarau Biv caught my eye, probably because it was just up the hill from Shutes and I was keen to revisit the area.’

work in progress

‘I signed up and began ordering materials for the job in October 2021. Thankfully the BCT's Megan Dimozantos has developed really good spreadsheets for ordering, making it so much easier to tick the items off my list as the days counted down.’

all hands on deck

​‘Our original fly-in date got canned in the face of a terrible forecast that amounted to nothing (thanks Cyclone Cody!). That delay cost one of my volunteers, but the word got and we soon had a replacement. The final team was Collin Davis, Megan Dimozantos, Jeanette Rybinski and I. From the DOC base at Kuripapango, we flew in with East Kaweka Helicopters. Pilot Chris Crosse told amusing jokes and impressed us with his flying. Four loads later, all four of us and our gear were at Taruarau Biv.’

thunderbox are go!

‘It’s a lovely spot, just on the edge of the beech forest. On the first day we stripped off the old roof, prepped all the surfaces ready for painting and dug holes for the new deadman anchors.’

an insider's job

‘On our second day, we set about repairing the thunderbox toilet and noticed some of the timber was more rotten than expected. Happily, we managed to find some replacement ply at the biv and got it ship-shape. I had my first experience of being a roofer under Megan's watchful eye while Collin and Jeanette powered through the painting.’

fitting new double-glazed window

‘During 2021 I had designed and built myself a portable reflecting telescope (150mm mirror, weighing 4kg) for taking into backcountry huts. On the second night we were treated with really dark clear skies and enjoyed some superb stargazing.’

red sky at night

‘By day three, we received word from Chris Crosse that bad weather was approaching. So we made a decision to fly out at 5 p.m. instead of the next day. That meant putting everything into completing the job. Thankfully Chris arrived just as the last job was being finished: it went absolutely down to the wire. The biv looked amazing: a real transformation.’

tucker time

‘Between flying in and out, I was able to drop into Shutes Hut with a scrub bar to clear the two-metre high grass around the hut. It was great to be back, and the paint job still looked good (phew!). After clearing the grass I had a quick dip in the Shutes ‘spa’ and enjoyed a hot chocolate given to me by trampers. They wanted to visit Shutes after seeing it on the BCT Facebook page.’

scoping out the view above the biv towards the Kaweka range

‘Not long after Chris was overhead and soon I was back at Kuripapango, feeling refreshed, satisfied and really glad to have taken the opportunity to get involved again.’

the finished product