tramping new zealand

I visited some friends in Ranunga in the morning, which meant I needed two nights in Reefton to visit the last of my new huts on the coast.

Green Hut doesn’t have a track marked on the LINZ Topo50 map, but photos on hutbagger showed a few four-wheel-drive vehicles parked outside, so it shouldn’t be too hard to get to.

Maybe.

The obvious way is to drive up Soldiers Road, just south of Reefton, and head to a named DOC forest circuit. However, as soon as I got on the gravel, the road was barricaded off with a ‘Road Closed’ sign, requiring a detour.

My detour ended with a ford through a stream, except the bank was washed out, and I was confronted with a three-metre-high sheer drop.

Third time lucky, I forged up a surprisingly smooth forest track. That gave me confidence.

Once again, the track was overgrown, this time with gorse. Then I got into the native forest, and the surface was great. Opened and closed a gate. But the good times didn’t last long, and I was forced to back down about 200 m when my rear wheels started spinning on a damp grass slope. No way to turn around.

Okay.

Another unexpected section of road walking. This was reasonably straightforward, with my feet able to get easily through where wheels couldn’t. It was half an hour more or less level, but then a 200 m climb on a steep slope that would be perilous for four-wheel drives, even in the downwards direction.

Then, I was on another near-level track for an hour and a half, one that my car might have taken me further on if I’d started at the bottom of that one.

The turn off down into the valley was obvious when I reached it. Okay on foot, but you would need to be an expert driver to drive down that, and complete with a winch to get back up a big jump-up. The track is now washed out, although some adventurers obviously make it down to the gold prospecting area.

I found extensive gold workings, with the hut nearby.

Now 3 pm, I couldn’t stick around as I had no chance of staying overnight in the damp and derelict hut.

It was a race back to get down that 200-metre drop before it was dark, and I almost succeeded, but it was certainly pitch dark with my drive out.

I was keen to get to the Fresh Choice supermarket before it closed at 7 pm, but just missed out on the time. Luckily, they allowed me in while they were closing up to get some dinner.

Yeah, lucky after all that.