Saturday, 14 March 2026 at 8:30 am to Sunday, 15 March 2026 at 5:30 pm
Organiser: Justin Atkinson
Want a fun overnight hike packed with swimming holes, swingbridges, classic Tararua Range huts, and some bonus hut maintenance work? Well, this is the trip for you!
We'll visit two huts (Cone and Tutuwai), enjoy socialising in Aotearoa's beautiful outdoors, and clean up the huts as part of FMC's "Love Our Huts and Tracks" volunteer initiative.
Route:
This trip is easy-medium difficulty. It is an 8km walk each way with mud and tree roots to navigate. We can take breaks and go at a chill pace.
Saturday - We'll meet at Kelburn campus at 9:30am. We'll carpool to Waiohine Gorge campsite (a 1.5hr drive), this is the same place from Freshers. A 2.5-3hr walk will take us to Cone Hut, we'll stop along the way for lunch. This involves a steep climb of 500m, then flat terrain for a while, and a steep 350m descent to the hut. We'll take a break and spend an hour doing basic hut maintenance.
A 1-1.5hr mostly flat walk along the Tauwharenīkau river will take us to Tutuwai Hut, our stay for the night. This will involve lots of easy stream crossings. At the hut we'll have a fun night socialising.
Sunday - We'll pack up and do an hour's worth of hut maintenance at Tutuwai. Ideally we'll leave by 10:30am. We'll then return the same way via Cone Hut to Waiohine Gorge (4-5hr total). We'll arrive in Welly between 5 and 6:30pm.
Gear:
You need basic overnight tramping gear. Please bring reasonable outdoor footwear (eg tramping boots or trail runners, NOT jandals!), and an overnight tramping pack. I recommend a towel and swimwear. Bring a pot/cooker if you have them. You can borrow club gear (eg packs, sleeping bags), but please let us know in advance. If you have any questions about gear, send a message to the club insta and we'll get you sorted.
https://www.vuwtc.org.nz/resources/gear-list
Food:
Have breakfast on Saturday before arriving at Kelburn. Please bring 1 breakfast, 2 lunches, food for a shared potluck dinner, snacks and drinks, and some emergency food in case we get delayed in the valley. Re drinks, cans and plastic only please, no glass!
Cost:
- $15-20 fuel per person
- Hut payment ($10 for a blue DOC hut ticket, you can buy at outdoor stores eg Bivouac, Macpac) - also can use DOC hut pass, or camp for free if you bring a tent
$19.58
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