Mungo Hut-a hut too far!

Mungo-a hut too far! (May 2010)

It was during the Townsend Track clearing expedition that we (Stu McHugh, Charlie Ledbrook and myself) learnt that some of the tracks inland from Hokitika had been or were about to be cleared. So a plan developed that led to four keen types doing a reconnaissance in force partly to assess the suitability of the route for possible Club trips and also so that two of our group-John Wisker and Stu McHugh, could realize a life-long ambition to finally get into the Mungo hut-a remote hut up the Mungo river that gets about 4-5 visits a year.

We planned our 5-6 day trip to go in early May and anxiously watched the weather forecast as this is definitely not a place to be in rain! It rained the whole of the week prior to departure but there was a significant period of fine weather forecast so off we went, with lots of advice from various quarters as to how to tackle the various river crossings etc.

We started up the Toaroha River in perfect weather just after lunch and reached Cedar Flats in good time, on a well used track. There are two huts there-one new and the other an older style hut, faithfully restored. Not surprisingly we stayed in the new hut! Stu and myself sought out the hot pools nearby and enjoyed a relaxing soak while the others coaxed a fire to life out of some wet wood. On dark, another somewhat underprepared group arrived and spent the night in the other hut, before they headed back out the next day.(On a personal note, I was delighted to see our son’s name in the hut logbook, 9 years earlier, when he and a friend did the reverse circuit to us!)

From Toaroha Hut we headed up the Toaroha River to the top Toaroha Hut. It was brisk in the morning with a good frost which encouraged us along as we boulder hopped up the river. Another good fire was soon underway when we reached the very pleasant hut and we settled in for the night, listening to adventurous tales of years gone by, recounted by Stu and John-both of whom grew up in Hokitika-and we also played the second round of Crazy Euchre.

Next day saw us head of towards Mungo hut which entailed climbing up a very steep track and then a route through untracked tussocks and spaniards (@#*%) to Toaroha Saddle and the minute biv there.(We had previously considered staying the night there rather than the Top Toaroha hut and were very glad we didn’t as we would’ve been very cramped-and there was no fire.)

The weather had deteriorated at this stage and started to rain, although not heavily. We had considered taking a shortcut to Mungo hut (described as “very difficult”) but the low cloud and rain led to us sticking to the track which, in the event, proved to be a good decision! The track descended steeply towards the Mungo river with some very tricky and steep sections until we reached the turnoff to Mungo Hut. The track from here was more challenging especially when we descended to the Mungo river which had a LOT of water in it. There is only one place to cross the Mungo and when we reached it, it was very evident that we were not going to able to do so. It was running swiftly with a terrible runout so, reluctantly, we retraced our steps and headed off to Poet’s hut, further down the Mungo.

Poets Hut is an older style hut with an open fire which generates a lot of smoke and flame-but very little heat. By this stage, we were rather damp so spent most of the evening drying clothes huddled around the fire. However as it was rather cold outside we were very happy to enjoy what warmth the fire provided.

Next morning was fine and crisp and we set off in good spirits down the river and across a new, flash 6 wire footbridge. Very nice indeed! The track from the river up to Bluff Hut is described as one of the steepest DOC track about-and we soon understood why. It was very steep indeed averaging about 35 degrees and, to use the vernacular, was “a bit of a grunt”-especially for certain members of our party who took a wrong turn!

Bluff Hut is stunning and was worth the effort. It is two years old, double glazed ,insulated and has a fantastic view. It was warm and had a lovely stove and heaps of firewood from the remains of the old Bluff hut. It doesn’t get a lot of use-in fact we were the first people there in a month. We dried our gear in the warm afternoon sun and had a quiet afternoon. After dinner, yet another serious Crazy Euchre game ensued and we spent a very warm night there.

The following morning was crisp and cool again and we set off up the Hokitika river on what was to prove a longish day, heading eventually to Frew Hut on the Whitcombe river, via Frew Saddle. The going was treacherous at first with ice covered boulders and we all had a few slips until the sun came into the valley and thawed the ice. The track up to the Frew Saddle was another grunt but the views were outstanding when we  the top and while we lunched at the small biv there.

The descent down Frew Stream to Frew Hut took about 4 hours and was somewhat challenging at times, alternating between bush bashing and stream travel, not made any easier by some very slippery rocks. We were definitely “over it” by the time we reached the largish (10 bed) Frew Hut on the very impressive Whitcombe River, which was running reasonably high.

It took an age to get any heat out of the fire in the hut, but once we did, we roasted! After dinner another card game took place with John winning-for the second out of four sessions despite protesting that he didn’t know the rules! Hmmmmm! Despite being cold outside, we were very hot inside-too hot really but I guess we shouldn’t complain about that.

The walk out down the Whitcombe the next day was also challenging with more slippery rocks to contend with lots of boulder hopping and several creeks to cross (including the dreaded Rapid Creek which proved difficult as it was up.) Rapid Creek hut was our lunch spot and then we had the fun of an aerial cable car crossing across the swollen river, which was followed by the long trudge to our car.

In summary, an excellent and, at times, challenging trip were we where entertained by John and Stu with tales of heroics and hardships endured long ago. (Of course, we didn’t believe most of them, but they certainly made for a good story.) They achieved their ambition to complete this circuit-well done guys-no mean feat.(The average age of this group was 67)

So, is it a Club trip? Yes, but only for experienced and fit trampers. You need to take gear and food for 6 days. (For info, I managed to keep my pack to 12.5kg and the others weren’t much more.)

Thanks again to Stu and John for organizing what was one of the better trips we have been on and also to Charlie for the use of his vehicle for transport.

(PS It was good to spot Ray Twist’s name in one of the hut logbooks from a few years ago when he came on a similar trip with a tramping club from West Auckland-well done Ray.)