Tracks, routes, and huts

Thanks for the suggestion lewshaw. The forecast isn't looking great at the moment, but hoping it improves over the next week before we set out next weekend!

There's plenty of wilderness out there. I've been to huts that have had no visitors for 8 years (Ant Stream biv) and 5 years (Back Basin Hide). I know there's places I've ended up where ...

We popped in a few weeks ago. It wasn't locked or anything but there was a bunch of building materials stored inside and around the hut.

Yeah. It's odd. Wading through it over the saddle, from an overnight drop. Cross over to the West Sabine side and zilch !.

You got waynowski on a bad day. However at the start you were talking about hiking for days at a time so the advise you got was based on that premise and then it has ...

classic, looking at that old map, we must have been within a few meters of finding that track up on top

Arthur's Pass National Park is easily accessed from Christchurch by the Greymouth bus. Mt Taranaki (I think there's a shuttle from New Plymouth, or else main bus routes get you to Stratford). Tongariro National Park ...

Good job! Arete Forks Hut really is a top spot. A couple of tips; Following Merv Rodgers, I've dropped off the knoll just north of point 1313 on Tarn Ridge - down that obvious spur ...

Thinking about a round trip Lake Sylvan - Rockburn - Sugaloaf Pass and back with the kids, what is the flat on the lower Rockburn downstream from the Sugarloaf Pass track junction like? http://www.topomap.co.nz/NZTopoMap?v=2&ll=-44.677642,168.2...

Good on ya madpom cheers.

You've only got 5 days, yeah? That's the absolute bare minimum you need for Gillespie/Rabbit Pass... 5 days of perfect weather! It's essential to have good weather for the crossing of Rabbit Pass. You're also ...

Go in via holdsworth do the loop via mid waiohine and Neill forks avoid the ladder that way.

Thanks Bazza read both those reports before. Actually talking about the un tracked spur behind gold creek hut itself. Sorry I put ridge instead of spur.

Aye. Your MTB link tells the story. Road is closed at Mangamaunu (just before point 243) and at Peketa going south. Mt Fyffe & environs is closed "indefinitely" according to DoC in Renwick (Blenheim).

Hi I was in a party that did a loop over the Ben Ohau via Fred's stream 20 years ago. Here's the link: http://www.ctc.org.nz/index.php/trip-reports?goto=tripreports%2F28 The title of the trip was "the double crossing of Ben Ohau". It t...

Ah! thanks, that's better then :)

@stunted: "large vandal of kea" Love the collective noun

You're right in thinking that it is mostly bush. As Madpom said above, north of Thompsons Track there are quite a few clearings along the ridgeline where you get views on a clear day. However ...

Vaguely recall little Wanganui saddle being sandfly free.

Well, funny sort of contact! I think he was going for the self-sufficiency and sussed out some form of entertainment while he was at it. No one got to clap eyes on him during that ...

http://i.stuff.co.nz/national/nz-earthquake/86647779/doc-huts-swept-away-in-earthquake-slips Barratt's Hut and Biv both confirmed gone. Quail Flat Cobb House danaged. Kowhai Hut damaged. Fox River Cave on West Coast has had a rockfall.

Ok thanks @Yarmoss, I had wondered about timing with Steele Creek. My plan was to climb up from the north, stop wherever I had got to about 1pm for lunch with a view and then ...

As mentioned, you have to book. And during Great Walks season, there are wardens who check your booking. So I wouldn't even think about not booking. Also as mentioned, you can't use hut facilities if you ...

South of Peak 1629 on the descent to Gillespie Stream can hold snow into February, although it's well worn by that stage via the hoards making the crossing. For late November I would carry an ...

I am wondering if anyone has traversed Amohia Peak (Kahurangi) from the Gouland Range to Aorere Lake, looks a bit sketchy on the map and any information would be rad as I am trying to ...