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