Kahikatea Hut to Staircase Hut -Waianakarua Reserve
Trip Report July 29/30 2023 Kahikatea Hut to Staircase Hut, Waianakarua Reserve
Three of us (different 3) set off on Saturday morning , brilliant weather and a good forecast from the end of Mt Misery Rd car park, past the Red Hut. We had left a vehicle at the other Mt Misery Rd car park for our return. An uneventful walk in to the new Kahikatea Hut although we did come across a deer about half way up the grunty slope to the hut, it took a good look at us before loping off into the bush. Morning tea was had at the hut giving those who had not been there the chance for a good look at the new facilities. Very impressed we were at the care taken in this build which will provide great shelter for many years.
Off up the ridge a little further where great views can be had of the surrounding hills and valleys. The first section on the ridge going down towards the Middle Branch of the Waianakarua River is easy going and quickly done. Then comes the point where you have to choose the right ridge to carry on down and as we know, going down ridges is much harder that going up them and identifying the right ridge is the trickiest of all. A small mistake was made and we found ourselves in very dense scrub and instead of a total reversal, we thought we could sidle over to where the actual ridge was…..wrong…this led to us battling some of the worst scrub and a very slow return eventually to within 50m of where we went wrong. Hopefully that mistake won’t need to be made again. It was easy to get down to the river from that point and lunch was had when we got there.
The river was quite high and dry boots were not to be kept as we made our way down stream with many crossings. A cairn on the opposite side of the river about 30 minutes later indicates the start of the ridge leading up to the Staircase Ridge track and by sticking as close to the ridge as possible it is quite a good route without too many tangling bushes. After a grunty climb it was nice to sit down and enjoy the sunny afternoon on the tussocky patch right on the track. The Staircase Hut was reaches after another 30min and we were the only ones to make use of it that night. It was the usual early night for us after dinner and the long night that follows.
Next morning it was decided to walk out via Tabletop. There was a decent frost down at the yards and the uphill 4WD track was chilly and shady. This made the sunny tussocky spot near the top even more enjoyable and this was the first morning tea spot. Followed by a second morning tea stop before the descent down the ridge to the Middle Branch. All the creeks were higher than usual and the rocks more slippery due to frost, so the usual side stream crossing just after you get down provided another wee challenge and a bit of a dunking beyond expectation for one member whose phone also survived the cold water. The only sunny spot available provided our last stop which was lunch. This just left the last grunt back to the carpark and a drive up to the end of the road to pick up the second vehicle.
An enjoyable trip for us all, two of the group had never been in this close to home area and I enjoyed showing them around very much. A tough trip but worthwhile for those with the right level of fitness.Thanks for coming Jenny and Jon – Robbie