There are not many places that a helicopter cant get , so its not outside the realms of possibility that a wheelchair could be flown ,with occupant of said chair, to an island like Quail....depends on how pedantic a District Council is when issuing a building consent.
I think the bunk thing just became a legend because of that Listener article which cited a specific occasion where it'd happened, but as far as I know it's not completely made up, and allegedly there were still officials concerned about having to take similar steps if the changes hadn't been made.
Sorrow is such a depressing word.......your input to the forum is far from that,izogi,as for rumour , where would all the critics and Hollywood be without rumour!
My final line in the earlier comment disappeared. (I said "I've been helpful in spreading the rumour in the past. Sorry about that.")
I'm not really too concerned but I find it interesting how easily rumour spreads in this environment. The original Listener article, which was also linked from the Cattle Ridge thread a while back, is at http://www.listener.co.nz/current-affairs/ecologic/whats-up-doc-4/ and it claims that DOC staff removed a bunk from a 6 bunk Ministry of Works hut in Kahurangi National Park so as to meet fire regulations. The article's author has a direct quote from the Golden Bay Area Manager saying that removing the bunk was the most practical way to deal with the fire regulation, so to me it seems safe enough to accept that one as correct.
In the Tararuas, people quickly noticed that Cattle Ridge Hut was also missing a bunk, and resolved that it must have been due to fire regulations. Eventually it becomes a fact which nobody really knows enough to justify, except possibly for one single hut, but which everyone's heard and is absolutely ready to believe because it's consistent with so many other things they're hearing.
Cattle Ridge Hut is the only 6 bunk hut in the Tararuas that has had a bunk removed .
This was done in 1974 by NZFS staff member Hans Kolinko.
It was removed at the direction of Noel Frazer,NZForest Service , i think he was in charge of the hunters in the Tarrys at the time.
The removal of the bunk had nothing to do with fire egress , and happened when hunters and trampers went into the bush and enjoyed the outdoors without all the fancy huts , gas cookers , double glazed windows, log fires and orange triangular track markers, little bridges with handrails........
