Hideaway Biv
10th January 2016
Arriving at the Ahuriri River on a sunny day with some wind, we crossed it 20 metres upstream from the vehicles. Rather than do the usual route to the run down hut a kilometre in from the river, we went straight towards the west side of the large hill which Hideaway Biv is tucked in behind. This avoided a dry swamp area with very uneven terrain. Around the back of the large hill, we continued along past the large tarn above the fenceline. There was birdlife on the tarn but not the numbers that I had seen on previous trips. Lunch at Hideaway Biv was delightful, taking in the history of names written on the corrugated iron in pencil. Lead pencils contain graphite and this reacts with the zinc coating on the corrugated iron, forming a metallic bond that cannot be erased. A former Governor General, Lord Bledisloe visited the hut in 1931. It is thought that the hut was built in the 1890s for musterers of Benmore Station. Good to see it has had a revamp recently. We then walked around and over the top of the hill behind the hut and then back to the cars. Thanks for the company.
Linda, Jac, John, Bev, Jane, Ross F, Dean and Bess.
