Eastbourne huts

Janine has got wind of a couple of huts she would like to bag in the hills behind Eastbourne.  It sounds like a good diversion so Mike and I sign up.  The two objectives are Ranger's Hut and Stan's Hut.

What:    Hut Bagging
Where:  Eastbourne Hills
When:   26 March 2022
Who:     Mike and Janine

We start from Kowhai Street and follow the track up and over the ridge with expanding views of the harbour behind us.  At the track junction in the Butterfly Creek valley we take a bearing and head down slope, through kiekie to the creek.  We cast down stream a short way but don't find any obvious trails onto the spur where the Ranger's hut is located.  Heading back to where we met the creek we find some markers and follow these up hill.  Pretty soon the hut comes into sight through the trees on our left.  It's about midday - I didn't note the time we departed but it didn't take long.

Originally a solidly built and largish structure, it is showing signs of disrepair.  We fossick around the outside - it is well secured which is hardly surprising this close to readily accessible tracks.  

Back on the trail I lose track of the markers (probably a pest management trail) but it's not that steep and it's easy work up the slope to the top of the spur.  The trail along the spur is good and we rock along.  Stan's Hut is marked on the spur just before it starts climbing from the 200m contour - we keep our eyes peeled but in the end it is close to the trail and impossible to miss.  

It's a small and simple wooden structure with room for a bed inside and a wee deck out front.  The original log book is still there with (I assume) Stan's invitation to all dated May 1975:

"This shelter was constructed so that one could enjoy nature.  The trees that have been planted near this shelter are "food trees" for native birds.  To anyone who finds this shelter please use it, it is not private.  Please remove litter.  While you are here, listen to the insects and birds, rest a while."

It looks like Stan brought the materials in, built and maintained the hut and planted trees to attract birds.  There's also some news paper cuttings with a 2019 obituary that gives a bit more information about his life.  We take a bit of time to scan the log which has many entries from Stan and those that have appreciated the hut since.

With the official business of the day dealt with the plan is to head up the spur and along the ridge to drop down Kereru Track to Days Bay.

It's a bit slower than expected and it's easy to be a bit optimistic about progress as we roll over wee knobs and along the reasonably flat sections of ridge.  

Rata with an impressive root system

A couple of joggers potter past and we pause for photos at the foot of an impressive rata that has a  large exposed, convoluted root system.  As we head down Kereru track a couple of women pass in an upwards direction - punter one is swinging along, punter two looks ready to expire.  She gasps: "how far to the top?"  Mike replies that it's about 10 minutes - accurate for us but I suspect half an hour at the pace she is maintaining.  Ah well.

The support crew is enjoying a late lunch at the cafe at the bottom of the hill but by the time we turn up the kitchen has closed.   Ah well ano - back home via Zany Zeus it is.