Burn Hut is the most northerly hut in the Tararua range. It
isn’t particularly high at around 750m, but the bush-line in this area is quite
low so there are some great views to be had.
From Wellington it was a 2 hour drive to the Mangahao Hydro
Electric Power Station situated near Shannon. From here the tarmac gave way to
gravel and after another 40 minutes or so along a very twisty and rough road I
finally arrived at Mangahao Dam No. 2 where the track to Burn Hut starts.
I was actually surprised I made it at all. I had checked out
the directions beforehand online which indicated the road went straight to the
reservoir. The reality was a number of junctions and side roads all with absolutely
no signposting; it was only some inspired guesswork and a bit of luck that saved
the day. The road itself is doable with a normal family car, but much
more than that and it's 4x4 territory.
I parked the car (parking by the dam is pretty tight with
room for just a couple of vehicles) and then headed over the dam and onto the
start of the walk.
The start of the walk.
The track sidled along a very steep slope above the
Mangahao River and was narrow and awkward in places with a couple of spots
where you definitely wouldn’t want to slip. The route proceeded in this fashion
for about an hour during which time there were three streams to cross, the last
of which is bridged. A short way after the bridge the track turned sharp right
and headed uphill. The climb started steeply at first and then steadied off a bit
and after another hour I hit the bushline and lots of lovely leatherwood. The
walking had been really enjoyable so far through some lovely bush and on a well-marked
and maintained track at that.
The Mangahao River.
The bridge.
The track was steep in places.
From here the track levelled out with some easy walking along
a route that had been hacked out of the leatherwood. A quick note on
leatherwood which is a very tough shrub that grows incredibly densely up around
the treeline and from a tramping perspective is almost impenetrable and hated
with a passion. This section of the track appeared to have been (re)cleared very
recently given the amounts of fresh cut vegetation littering the track.
The Leatherwood Highway.
The track followed along a ridge before heading down a spur
where Burn Hut is situated. For or the next 40-minutes or so I headed through
the leatherwood highway.
There were some great views when the leatherwood thinned out.
It was a lovely day so I took plenty of time for breaks.
Burn Hut on the spur.
At roughly the point the route heads down the spur the
leatherwood thinned out and the track became rather overgrown. From this point rather
than blindly following my nose I started to pay a bit more attention to the route
which wasn’t actually that difficult to follow, but could well be in another
year or so if it isn’t cleared. After another 30 minutes I arrived at the hut
and a well-deserved cuppa.
Only a few minutes to go.
The Hut.
Yours truly.
The hut itself is quite small with just 6 bunks but is
lovely and airy and a very nice place to spend the night.
The next day was a bit cloudy and drizzly, so I didn’t hang
around and walked out the same way I came in.
The walk in to Burn Hut is fairly easy with some
lovely scenery, so comes highly recommended. Mind you, I could have done
without the gravel road.
