If you love what we do, please consider “buying us a coffee” to help us fund our endeavour of helping New Zealander’s get outdoors! All donations go towards the running of NZFA.
With the last long weekend ahead of us before the long haul until the next one in October, we had mulled over a few different ideas to make the most of it. We settled on Blue Range Hut as we had camped at Kiriwhakapapa before, and the quirky hut piqued our interest. We tend to do most of our tramping during the cooler months mostly because I just don’t find tramping in hot weather much fun. The trade-off, though, is the cold nights. We were hoping to finally do some wedding planning in the cosiness of the hut while sipping coffee and relaxing.
I really love tramping. I love the challenge, the beautiful scenery, the feeling of accomplishment and I just love staying in huts. I’m probably not going to be a hut bagger, but I do love tramping to new places that I have yet to discover. My fitness is improving, and while I am still cautious on the downhills, both my confidence and physical ability is increasing.
It’s only been recently that I’ve had decent gear to stave off the cold weather and it has made tramping even more enjoyable. Gone are the days of freezing my butt off in Kmart clothes and lugging a large but not quite warm enough sleeping bag that took up a third of my pack. You can find a clothing review and a sleep system review on our Facebook group.
Because we are often heading out on various adventures, we usually have most of our gear at hand (read: piled up in the lounge or office). So, bar the food, this makes for quick packing. Now that I have dedicated tramping clothes, they are usually ready to go as well, so I’m not doing any last-minute laundry loads either. The difference between Jono and myself is that he will have his pack ready to go the night before, whereas I will lay everything out on the floor and pack it just before we go. It helps me visualise everything and lessen that fear of forgetting something. Also, pro tip – if you’re taking food that is in the fridge, pop a note on your bag or gear to remind you. I learnt this after forgetting some of our food on our trip to Pig Ridge. I’ll put my gear list at the bottom of this post for anyone interested. I also tried a different pack this time, which at first I wasn’t sure on but turned out all it needed was some adjusting.
Come Thursday night, which is usually our fortnightly date night, after dinner we headed to the supermarket to get our food. Jono had a hearty noodle dish planned, and I grabbed the snacks. Our current fave is cheese and crackers that come with a relish. Perfect for a snack or even breakfast if you’re not a typical breakfast eater like me.
We awake Friday morning to a clear day here in Wellington. I had checked the weather and was prepared for some wind and drizzle, but the day after was supposed to be fine. We headed off a little before 9am and made our way to our first stop – Subway. Half for breakfast and the other half for an easy lunch upon arrival.
We continue on and are notified there is a crash on the hill road. We weren’t rushing, but I was aware that the hut only had four beds, so I was keen to get there at a decent time. We always carry a tent, but I really just wanted to sleep in the hut. Thankfully the road was open, and we were ushered through by Police.
As we descended over the Remutaka hill, there was a rather large black cloud directly where we were heading. While I was expecting some possible drizzle, I wasn’t expecting rain. Mother nature is unpredictable though, and it would be foolish to rely on the weather forecasts 100%, especially when you’re heading into the mountain ranges.
We arrive at Kiriwhakapapa camp site and only a few cars are parked. I think to myself that people may be waiting for the following day as the weather was set to fine up a bit. We don our packs (mine was sitting at 9.2kg without water so was pretty stoked about that) and started our walk through the redwoods. They are impressive in stature and colour. A beautiful start to the soon-to-be uphill walk ahead.
About a kilometre in, the track begins its ascent. We knew it was going to be steep, but it still surprises the body. Jono had recently recovered from a cold, so about 1/3 of the way up, I charged on ahead. Well, not so much pressed as lurched uphill, in bursts, with frequent stops to breathe and reconsider my life choices. The track was quiet, and I only came across a trail runner who advised me that there were two people already at the hut who were set to stay the night.
Along with our PLB, we also carry walkie-talkies to communicate with each other if one of us is ahead. It’s also a source of amusement when you hear other people having conversations on the same channel. Every so often, Jono would check in and see if I was near the junction. I swear the first 1/3 of the track zoomed along. Each time I checked my map to see how close I was, the progress was minimal.
The scenery though, was stunning. Typical Tararua goblin forest, lush greens, tree root stairways and mushrooms galore. As I think I’m nearing the junction, the track levels out and then start to descend a bit. Multiple times. Usually a descent after some intense uphill is a welcome prospect, however, when you’ve still got some elevation to go, that just means you’ve got even more to climb.
Suddenly the sign at the track junction appeared and I excitedly radioed Jono to tell him I finally made it. He said to carry on, so I took the right turn which was signposted as 10 minutes to the hut. I don’t always get DOC times, sometimes they are accurate, sometimes they are way out. As an aside, I use the NZ Topo 50 app and it has track times estimated as per Naismith’s Rule, which is to allow one hour for every 5 kilometres walked on the flat, plus an additional hour for every 600 meters of ascent. It is further adjusted by fitness, load and terrain. I find that tends to be more accurate and even overestimating times.
I think I walk for about 10 minutes before the trees open up and the view towards the west. It is here where the westerly winds and rain also opened up. I stopped and donned my raincoat as the cold air was penetrating my top half. I would soon find out that there was a rock here that you could climb up and admire the view, but I had my hood on and was on a mission to get to the hut.
I finally began the descent through more muddy goblin forest when the bright blue hut peaked through the trees. One of the best feelings when tramping is that moment you finally see your destination. I radioed Jono to tell him I had arrived, briefly appreciating the quirky signs on the door, ditching my boots and bursting through the door. I was greeted by a man and his daughter, who happened to be a member of our camping group. It’s always lovely to meet people when we’re out on adventures. I was also super grateful that we were going to have a bunk for the night as the wind would have made for a less pleasant stay.
I heard the radio crackle but couldn’t quite make out what Jono was saying. So I headed back out to try get a clearer message. All I could understand was that he was a minute away, but then a couple of minutes passed and he hadn’t come down the hill yet so I wandered up to meet him. A slight moment of worry that something may have happened, but soon enough he appeared and we walked to the hut together.
We said our introductions to Casey and his daughter, and quickly found ourselves chatting about all things tramping and camping. The other half of my Subway was calling my name and I’m sure it tasted even better than the first half.
We settled in to the afternoon with a coffee and lots of chatting. It wasn’t long before the dragon breath started appearing as we were all talking. Jono went off and did a wood mission, and came back with a large log that he managed to drag up the hill. Wood was chopped and then stacked outside. There wasn’t really much dry wood and we hadn’t bought any firewood, so we were content with no fire.
Soon another couple turned up and our hut became very cosy. As we had our own mattresses, we gave them the hut mattresses and they would sleep on the floor. We laughed as they told us it took them longer than expected to get up there with a travel time of 2h15m. We laughed because we were all younger and yet our travel times were a little longer.
The light faded and the tummies started to rumble. Jono got to making his noodle dish for dinner which contained pork belly and boiled egg and a sticky sauce. An overnighter gives the luxury of taking more extravagant meals and food is something that we really appreciate on our adventures.
The chatter of huts and tracks and adventures had, continued on and by about 8pm everyone started winding down for bed. The hut was adorable with its old hospital décor and some fairy lights someone had left, but it is small and there are only two small benches. This doesn’t leave much room nor does it have that communal hut feel when you have a table and seats/benches around it. It also means that once everyone starts winding down for bed, you likely will too.
I snuggled down into my sleeping bag and quickly drifted off to sleep. It was darn cold outside but I was toasty warm all night. A good 11 or so hours we all rose. It was coffees and breakfast, and getting ready for the day. We were heading back to the car park, along with the older couple. Casey and his daughter were headed off to their next destination. We wished them well and soon it was just us left in the hut. We had no rush to get home which is the way I like it. We swept the hut and put the mattresses away, then began our trip back. But not before taking some photos of the cool signs:
We stopped at the rock lookout that I missed on the way in, but the weather wasn’t as great as the forecast I had seen, so no views to be had. I was slightly nervous about the descent, as it was quite steep in parts, and also slightly worried about the sore legs in the coming days (I could barely walk for three days after Powell). Slow and steady, we made our way back down. I swear by having two poles now, as they give me some more balance and a boost to my confidence.
We made it down 10 minutes quicker than our trip in, hopped into the car with the heater blasting, and made a beeline to Clareville Bakery for a pie. We had a slight delay due to some sheep on the road which reminded me of the time I was in Milford Sound and first experienced a sheep traffic jam. By now, I was hanging out for a hot shower and the drive home seemed to take forever. We chatted about the trip, and we always ask each other what the highlights were and would we change anything, and where is our next adventure going to be. We didn’t get around to the wedding planning, but we had a great time chatting with people and enjoying the scenic walk.
As promised, here is my gear list with links where applicable (some carried by Jono but included):
- Osprey 55L pack
- One Planet Sonder -8 sleeping bag
- Peak XV MaxComfort 7.2R Sleeping Mat
- Peak XV Whisp Ultralight Pillow
- Clothes:
- Walking
- Hut
- Macpac Women’s 150 Merino Singlet
- Macpac Women’s Geothermal Long Sleeve Top
- Hunters Element Ice Leggings
- Fleece pullover (from Macpac but not on their website)
- RAB Microlight Alpine Jacket (was Jono’s but it’s mine now so women might want to try the women’s version).
- Various beanies depending on my mood
- PLB
- Gas and cooker
- Sea to Summit X-Pot 4L
- Sea to Summit Frontier Ultralight Collapsible Kettle — 1.3L
- Grayl 710ml GeoPress® Purifier
- Head torch – we have a variety of them but Jono is loving the Nitecore UT27 Pro Rechargeable Headlamp 800 lumens
- I think I used a Black Diamond one this trip. Usually it’s whatever I find and charge.
- Random USB charging bricks I inherited from a previous job.
- If I need more charging power and willing to carry the weight, I do have a Goal Zero Sherpa brick. There is a newer version out.
- Folding knife
- Kiwi Camping Cutlery Set
- Fozzils Snapfold Bowl
- KEA KIT First aid kit
- Personal items:
- Medications including Panadol and Nurofen because I’m old and sore
- Lip balm
- Strapping tape for knees
- Tissues
- We also brought these for some ambient hut lighting: Torpedo7 Inflatable LED Light – 250 Lumens
I think that’s it, there may be some things I’ve forgotten to list as I’ve written this a few days after!
Thanks for reading and happy adventuring
We are always happy to help with all of your camping questions! Feel free to contact us on our Facebook group HERE and ask for Jono.
If you love what we do, please consider “buying us a coffee” to help us fund our endeavour of helping New Zealander’s get outdoors! All donations go towards the running of NZFA.
Jono & Chloe
Leave a Reply