Yule-time Herepai

The road to hell is, as the saying goes, paved with good intentions. So, apparently, is the track to Herepai Hut. The intentions in this case being to spend a night during the Christmas holidays by the river at Roaring Stag Hut.

It all began, as all tramps do, at the roadend, where an abundance of vehicles congregated by the trees. Dreams of blissful solitude shattered, we trudged off up the track in the summer sun.

Travel up the valley was (as it usually is) pleasant, the track winding its way through verdant undergrowth alongside the Mangatainoka river.
After a swingbridge crosses a side-stream, it's a solid slog straight up to the ridge. It's hardly the most enjoyable ascent but it thankfully doesn't last forever.

We had been discussing along the way how it seemed most likely that most, if not all, of the people whose cars occupied the roadend would've gone to Roaring Stag - by far the nicer of the two huts in the immediate vicinity. It was not out-of-the-blue then, when upon arrival at the track junction, that one of us said "we could just go to Herepai, no one will be there right?"
After much discussion and weighing of pros and cons, our lazy and antisocial predilections won out, and our destination was reset to Herepai Hut.
We then set of with renewed energy, knowing our destination was less than an hours walk away. The track is very muddy in places, despite it being the height of summer.

As it turned out, we were not alone at Herepai - a kid/teen and his dog were in residence - but at least there wasn't a crowd.
It being the festive season, we had a Christmas dinner of ham, smoked chicken and mac & cheese (only after some pre-dinner cheese and crackers). There was, of course, also a Christmas tree replete with candy canes. The remainder of the evening was wiled away with cards and booze.

Mysterious hut dog

After a slow wake up the next morning, we fried up our left-over ham and chicken for a tasty start to the day.
We hoofed it back down to the junction, making fairly good time. The going is slower heading down to the river, largely neccessitated by the homicidal tree roots that conspire to trip you over at any opportunity.
Once back across the swingbridge it's a pleasant amble back to road-end.

Brew with a view

Map & Info:
Distance: 6.04km
Time: 3:34 in, 2:51 out

Blue Range Hut

I'd been hankering for a night in the woods for a while, and it so happened that the weekend I finally resolved to do something about it I also found myself obliged to visit my parents.
Having not settled on a destination, I revised my criteria to huts near Masterton within a few hours of the roadend.
Atiwhakatu? Nah, been there not that long ago and, dear I say, too easy?
Powell? Again, been there recently, and slightly too long.
How about... Blue Range Hut? 3.6km from the Kiriwhakapapa camp ground, nice wee hut I've not been to for years, Blue Range it is.

And so I marched off up the gloriously flat track, my half-full pack bouncing around merrily. The track crosses a small foot bridge over the Kiriwhakapapa Stream less than than a minute from the start, before passing through a grove of towering redwoods, shortly coming to another footbridge over an un-named side-stream. On the other side of the footbridge, a junction is met. A piece of DOCware points left to the loop track, whilst I kept going straight. The track remains wide and even, following the path of the just-out-of-site Reef Creek.

About 1km from the start, after crossing a small creek, the track begins to climb. Early on, parts of the track are surrounded on both sides by thick tangles of black vines that create a foreboding sense that one should not be there. The track is also indistinct in a couple of places, where it looks like it has been re-routed to avoid fallen trees and the like.
Soon enough, the track becomes a fairly typical Tararua uphill slog, climbing insistently higher for about 2.5km.

The undergrowth is lush and green, and as the altitude increases, moss begins to encase the surrounding landscape.
It is in such goblin forest that a track junction is reached, ~3.3km from the start. The left branch continues up an over Blue Range to the Waingawa River and Cow Creek Hut, whilst the right branch heads north along the ridge to Blue Range Hut.
It had begun to rain lightly some time ago, and was now getting heavier. Gaps in the scrub that would usually provide a view further into the ranges, instead provided views of a dull grey fug and gusts of cold wind. Thankfully, the hut is only ~600m from the junction, so it was not long before its dented blue corrugated iron walls came into view. I took me a shade under 2 hours to reach the hut.

There's nothing quite like the feeling of arriving at a hut during bad weather, a mixture of relief and a simple sort of joy. Suffice it to say I was pleased to able to remove wet outerware and settle in nice and cosy for the evening. There's a particular kind of contentment you find sitting in quaint little hut like this, rugged up warm, dining on dehy, reading the latest Wilderness magazine with the fire crackling in the background while wind and rain huffs and puffs relentlessly outside.
Unfortunately, none of this translated to a good nights sleep but hey, you win some, you lose some.
At least the rain let up before nightfall, so I could get a couple of decent photos.

It's probably been said many times before, but I'll say it again: Blue Range hut is an absolute gem. It's difficult to articulate what exactly is so likeable about it, but it just exudes charm and character. It's great that places like this still exist, and that people out there care enough to maintain them.

I reluctantly removed myself from my sleeping bag the next morning to the sounds of wind and rain. I contemplated how wet I may or may not get over a morning brew.
Turns out, I needn't have worried, as the rain had abated when I departed the hut at 8am after photographing some of the old maps and signs that adorn the hut.

The walk out was fairly pleasant, although the going is necessarily slow to avoid taking a tumble down the steeper parts of the track.

Possibly my favourite track junction.

Mossy

The afore-mentioned vines on the side of the track

Almost there.

Redwoods

I was back at my car after 1hr45min, satisfied despite the very brief nature of this tramp. Sometimes just being out in the hills visiting a gem of a hut is its own reward.

Info & Map:
Distance: 3.87km
Time: 1:55 inbound, 1:46 outbound