A Dangerous Business

Date: 15th January 2024

Start: Mt Rintoul Hut (km 1896.6)

End: Mid Wairoa Hut (km 1911.8)

Distance Travelled: 15.2 km

Total Distance Completed: 1751.7 km

Song Currently Stuck in Head: Like It Like That by Guy Sebastian

Internal Thoughts When I Saw Robins: *joyful screaming*

One thing I forgot to mention in yesterday’s post is that because the hut was full I was forced to camp on the clearing around the hut. Not a biggie, I still used the hut to make food and get changed in. There was a bit of rain overnight, but once again my tent held firm apart from the floor which seems to let in moisture regardless of the weather conditions.

In the morning the rain had abated, Mt Rintoul once again in full view above us. It was a lovely view from up top but I’m glad to have it over and done with. Still have quite a bit of climbing to do today and for the rest of the Richmond’s, just not as technical. Our first climb this morning was up to Purple Top. Why? Well, the rocks on top of the mountain are subtly purple. The kind of subtle where you have to squint and stare at them for a few seconds before they start looking purple.

The wind briefly returned on the summit, the only point today where we’d venture above the treeline, descending back into a forest of moss-covered beech trees. During this time of year, through a process I don’t really understand in the slightest, the bark of these trees turns black and apparently tastes very sweet. The love of sweet things is a common trait in the animal kingdom; in this case the bark attracts wasps. It should be noted wasps aren’t endemic to Aotearoa, they arrived on boats in the early 20th century and spread like wildfire through this forest park. Thankfully for us, at this time of year food is plentiful for them so they’re pretty chill as long as you leave them alone. They become a nuisance through March and April when the food runs out and they get, for lack of a better term, hangry. That’s when they start stinging indiscriminately. Even so, from here on I started being a bit more cautious when it came to touching the trees.

One sting-free walk later and we arrived at the shore of a mountain tarn and a small hut beside it. Much like the others, it was on the small side and only contained 5 bunks instead of the usual 6. Granted there was plenty of room out front to camp.

Dropping my bag at the picnic table, I strolled down to the tarn, but before I got there I saw both members of Team Camera pointing their camera at something. Their target happened to be a South Island Robin, sighting of which completely melted my heart.

These little guys are very friendly towards humans and will happily approach you if you stay still. They’re mostly interested in feeding on the bugs that come to the surface of the trail as you walk over it, or in my case eating the sandflies buzzing around my feet. I think it goes without saying that I really love these little creatures and it was sad to say goodbye to them after our lunch break.

A short steep climb met us after leaving Tarn Hut, but once that was done it was all downhill to the next one. And it was pretty gradual too, my favourite kind of track.

Along with the usual orange markers to follow, many of the trees had wasp bait stations attached to them. Some of them not currently being used had had messages written on them by other hikers, ranging from motivational quotes to some a bit more silly.

Approaching the hut, the track got much steeper and I got much slower. It would be fitting that there would be a hard bit right before the hut, almost like we had to earn our place to stay there that night. Keeping the same approach as the descent from Mt Rintoul (but with less anger), I got down to the Wairoa River, crossed over another chicken wire swingbridge, and arrived at Mid Wairoa Hut…

…only to find 3 DOC workers renovating it. It still looked open, but until they finished their work inside we had to wait in the sun and share the space with bumblebees, sandflies, and wasps. Alternatively, you could go for a swim in the river, which I did for a grand total of two minutes (good grief it was cold).

At 4pm, the doors were opened to us, all four of us arriving early enough to secure a bunk inside. The interior looked very nice, the highlight being the new mattresses. More hikers arrived through what was a very slow afternoon for me. There wasn’t much to do apart from writing up past blog posts, reading the various magazines strewn around the hut, and just generally waiting for dinner time to roll around.

And that’s really how the day ended. After three monster days over the range I was happy to have a more relaxed one and get the chance to enjoy the confines of one of New Zealand’s amazing huts. It’s never fun arriving late and having to rush dinner and getting ready for bed. Tomorrow might be like that, but for the time being I can watch the sun dip below the horizon, counting myself lucky to be out here in this place.