Daphne Spur Track (Medium)

Come along to a scenic 7.5km hike through the heart of the Ruahine Ranges, showcasing stunning native bush, rivers/streams, a mountain top and two historic huts. It is a steep and rugged tramping route that is short in distance, but big on elevation effort. 

The two huts we'll visit along the way include Daphne Hut itself, a standard 12-bunk hut with many facilities like heating, mattresses, tolets and water via nearby streams. It sits on  It sits on a river terrace, 50 m from Tukituki River and was built by the Takapau Lions Club in 1986, with support from the Department of Conservation. Second is Howlett's Hut, a standard eight-bunk hut 1000m above sea level, containing a water supply tank and a woodburner for heating. It's current iteration was built in 1958 by the Heretaunga and Ruahine Tramping Clubs. It belongs to the Heretaunga Tramping Club but is open to public use.

• The track begins near Moorcock stream along Kashmir road, with a 5.24km trail that goes above 1000m to Daphne Hut (the carpark is at an elevation of 600m, so this more of an 400m climb), taking around 4 hours to reach Daphne Hut.
• Now for the main bit of the trip, the Daphne Spur Track! It's a short 2km track but has an elevation gain of over 750m, taking around 3-4 hours to uphill the track. It is a medium-hard track that is gravelly and steep. It transitions into leatherleaf scrub, then opens up to tussock near the tops. There is also no water on the spur, so you must fill up at the river before climbing up to Howlett's Hut.

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  Trip Route Map

We'll meet at Hunter Carpark at 9:00 AM and leave around 9:15-9:30 AM. Then we'll reach Daphne Hut carpark in 3 hours and 30 minutes, starting the tramp around the early afternoon. We will stay at Daphne Hut on the first track section, then stay at Howlett's Hutt in the second track section for night two. Afterwards, we will wake up early and quickly hike back down and up, then down again to the carpark to end the trip! The maximum amount of people I'll bring is eight, which is the maximum of Howlett's Hut.

Rough trip costs is 47.5$, which only covers fuel. You will need two blue hut tickets which are 10$ each and are seperate from the total trip costs, although you can likely evade this if the Ruahine rangers don't show up.

Also, if anyone is keen for a shared dinner let me know!