Bag all the huts in the Tararuas!

It's time to bag all the huts in the Tararuas!

The goal of this event is to run a ton of simultaneous trips all in one go, with the goal of visiting every single official hut in the Tararuas in one go.
These trips range in difficulty from easy overnighters, all the way to 4-day missions along the main range.

We are running this event over 4 days between Thursday (ANZAC day) through to Sunday.
You can join one of the full 4 day options, or just a weekend trip depending on what suits you!

For this to happen, we need a ton of people, and lots of cars!

 

Here is a taste of a few of the beautiful huts you can visit:

More information will be added soon, especially once we've got some sign-ups and can start organizing people into groups and planning out different routes.

There will be route options available for all ranges of difficulty, like easy trips for complete beginners, all the way to advanced bush-bashes over the full 4 days.
So sign up and come and explore our local mountain range!

Some of the available routes:

 

Dundas loop

4 days - Medium

Classic loop of the main northern Tararua huts. This track has been recently cleared so it's nicer than it used to be, but still requires lots of steep climbs

Roaring Stag -> Cattle Ridge -> Dundas -> Herepai

Maungahuka loop

4 days - Medium

A famous Tararua route, visiting several main-range huts spread out over 4 days. Lots of steep ascents & descents, so decent fitness required

Powell -> Mid Waiohine -> Aokaparangi -> Maungahuka -> Neil Forks -> Totara Flats -> Sayer

Carkeek loop

4 days - Hard

Challenging loop to grab the more remote northern Tararua huts, includes some long days and a bit of bush-bashing

Blue Range -> Cow Creek -> Arete Forks -> Carkeek -> Dorset Ridge -> Mid King Biv -> Mitre Flats

Main range Te Araroa

4 days - Medium

A one-way clean up mish to grab all the remote main-range huts. Dropped off at Otaki forks and then picked up at Poads Rd (Levin)

Parawai lodge -> Waitewaewae -> Anderson Memorial -> Nichols -> Dracophyllum-> Arete -> Te Matawai -> Waiopehu

Winchcombe - Cone loop

3 days - Medium-Hard (Friday to Sunday)

Challenging day along Neil-Winchcombe ridge, then an easier return route via Alpha and Cone

Winchcombe Biv -> Kime -> Alpha -> Tutuwai -> Cone

Ohau rivers + Mangahao Flats

3 days - Medium-Hard (Friday to Sunday)

A mix of river travel and off track travel between Poads and Mangahao Flats via North and South Ohau

North Ohau -> Mangahao Flats -> Te Matawai -> South Ohau

Renata - Kapakapanui

3 days - Medium (Friday to Sunday)

Medium walk to pick up some of the outskirt huts. Leave Wellington Friday night at ~5:30pm, head into Renata (about 3 hours) from the Akatarawa Saddle. Next morning a couple of us can head over to Elder hut to pick it up and then make it all the way back over to KapaKapanui hut for the night. Then out to the road end for a Sunday pickup about lunchtime. Total Distance: 35km (Can take 4 people total!)

Renata -> Elder -> Kapakapanui

Kime weekend

3 days - Medium/Easy (Friday to Sunday)

Friday night + weekend trip up to Kime, including a side trip to Mt Hector and also staying in Field hut along the way.

Otaki forks -> Field -> Kime -> Return the same way

Holdsworth - McGregor overnighter

2 days - Medium/Hard (Saturday to Sunday)

Completing the classic Holdsworth - Jumbo loop, plus McGregor biv as an overnighter. Powell and Jumbo are booked out on Saturday night, so it will likely involve an overnight stay at McGregor biv!

McGregor biv is a tiny 2-person dog box, so this is best suited for a very small group

Powell -> Jumbo -> McGregor Biv -> Atiwhakatu

Penn creek overnighter

2 days - Easy/Medium (Thursday to Friday)

Thursday night includes a moderately rough and steep track down to Penn Creek hut, but nothing too hard

Field -> Penn Creek (return trip)

Waiotauru overnighter

2 days - Easy (Saturday to Sunday)

An easy length overnighter

Waiotauru hut (return trip)

Burn hut overnighter

2 days - Easy (Saturday to Sunday)

A short overnighter with a little bit of river travel near the end

Burn hut (return trip)

North Mangahao Biv bash

2 days - Hard (Sunday to Monday)

Navigation bush-bash over Sunday night

North Mangahao Biv (return trip)