Blyth Hut, via waitonga falls

My write up on the Track below

​​​​​​The blyth hut is a great overnight tramp in the Tongariro NP area. It combines river travel, with alpine marshes, towering waterfalls and bush clad spurs, before emerging out onto the tops at the last moment before reaching the hut. All of this compacted into the family friendly length 4 pretty easy kilometers.  I have done this hike in all four seasons and in some pretty cruddy weather, no thanks to huey, but each time, whether in summer sun or winter rain hail and snow it has been a great adventure. My favourite season to do the hike would have to be autumn or winter. Autumn was really nice because the days were a bit cooler and the weather was very settled and calm. In winter we arrived at the hut after a slog through a thunderstorm. However this was enjoyable because it was a bit more of a challenge and provided something a little more exciting. 

The track starts off at the popular waitonga falls day walk. It enters the bush and descends to cross 2 streams, bridged, before climbing solidly for 30 minutes before the Track plateaus onto to the rotokawa lake alpine marsh. This is where they filmed the dead marshes in the Lord of the rings and on clear days it is extremely pretty as Mt ruapehu is reflected onto the tarns. After leaving the alpine marshes the Track descends quickly through the mountain beech to the 40 Metre waitonga falls. This is a good spot for lunch and a point where you need to decide whether to keep going as all the streams from this point on are unbridged. After the waitonga falls you quickly cross 2 streams before climbing up to a ridge. You will get to a junction, take the one that says blyth hut, duh, from here it is about 35 minutes to the hut. After like, 20 minutes of ridge travel you pop out into an alpine steam bed,you cross stream or 2 and move past the Lupton hut before heading up a scree slope and the like a minute later arriving at the hut. The hut is cosy 18 bunker with two rooms, 12 in one, and 6 in the other. Try  and nab all the bunks on the inside wall as they outside wall gathers a fair bit of condensation. In the central room there are 2 tables a couple of benches a solid warm Woodburner, a roof suspended washing line, and some big benches. On the wall thereally is some interesting stuff about the person the hut is named after. If you arrive early early enough a track leads out onto the open tops that can be picked  up from behind the hut. I really recommend this as the views from up there are amazing, you can often see from ruapehu to Taranaki,  whanganui national park, and the kaimanawa, kaweka ranges. The trip back out is the same as there is no option for a round trip.

Driving times to Ohakune mountain road 

Taupo 2 and a quarter hours

Auckland 4 and a half hours

Wellington 3 hours 40 minutes

Hamilton 3 hours

Tauranga 3 and a half hours

thanks for reading

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