Putaputa Shelter

Janine has her sights on another hidden hut and is keen to rope in a few punters to share the risks and rewards.  

Putaputa  Shelter has caught her eye - it's on a stream by the same name close to Kaitoke but not exactly easy to access.  It has its meandering headwaters in the confusing flat topped ridges between Kaitoke and the Akatarawa Road.  There's old forestry tracks that run nowhere in particular, and (from experience) it's easy to get mislaid.  The stream gathers itself and cuts deeply SE to join the Hutt River in the gorges between the headworks (where a large chunk of Wellington's drinking water is collected) and the treatment plant at Te Marua.  

The Maori dictionary has a few definitions for putaputa that don't give an obvious reason for the name - variations on a group of people emerging; to be riddled with holes; and openings (or pores).  

Somewhere along the stream is the wee A frame Putaputa shelter. There appears to be three main options to get to it:

• via the Ridge Track and down the spur which emerges opposite the stream, cross the Hutt River and a roughish trip up Putaputa Stream; 
• an old sidle track on the true right from the Flume Bridge at the Kaitoke waterworks;
• climb the ridge NW from Pakuratahi Forks to pt 641 and drop to the shelter.  

We don't want to risk getting to the river and not being able to cross so scotch that one; the sidle track seems a little hit and miss and I'm not confident that we will be on our timing with a largish group if we have trouble route finding; - so that leaves the ridge route. This also has the advantage that I've been through before and know that barring a bit of rough stuff at the bottom it's pretty good travel.

What:    Hut bagging
Where:  Putaputa Shelter near Kaitoke 
Who:     Angela, Callan, Laura, Janine, Mike 
When:   3 April 2022

We gather in the car park by the Forks on a fine Sunday morning at 9.30am (a little delayed due to someone forgetting their boots - not me!). 

Crossing the (to me) brand new swing bridge, we follow the tourist loop to the Flume Bridge.  I'm pretty sure the route up to the ridge starts further back but I want to have a look at the bridge and see if there is a route up the spur.  It turns out that the bridge is closed and, with the work on the surrounding slopes, I decide not to drag the group up that way.  It's entertaining to see the acrobatics that the work crew are managing on a cliff face with a small digger. 

Back up the track a short way I pick a likely spot and we thrash up through fairly mucky stuff to eventually emerge in open beech above the bridge.  In retrospect, there is a better entry point where a marked pest control line leaves the track.

I cast around but there are a lot of animal trails so I can't see any obvious trail along the gorge.  As we climb the spur we start to come across old spray marks on trees signaling that we have joined the informal track. 

As we climb on to the ridge proper, the bush becomes more mature and it's quite beautiful travel.  A bit of inevitable windfall keeps us guessing at times but it's as good going as I remember.

I'm expecting to see some marking to indicate the spur when we get to pt 641 - we don't see any so just take a bearing and bash a course down slope.  This drops us into a wee gut with a trickle of water - a bit of head scratching and I take us across and onto the spur proper - probably at about 550m.  There's a foot trail here - it looks like it meets the ridge in the saddle between pt 638 and 641 so we (I) were a little hasty leaving the ridge.

We drop to where the spur flattens as marked, and then face a final steep wee scramble down a bank to the shelter.  

The shelter is as per the photos and in good nick.  There are no obvious reasons for it to be here but it has served our purpose - an excuse to get into a corner you would not usually bother to explore.

We have lunch and consider options.  It's 2.50 and, although I am keen to explore the stream and gorge route, I don't think it wise given the pace we have managed.  Even returning the way we came I think we might be cutting it fine with daylight and park closure times (someone thinks it is 6pm at this time of year).  

We agree to head back the way we came and arrange for the hares (Laura and I) to take the car keys and race ahead should we need to ferry cars out of the park before the gates close.  

This time we manage to follow the informal trail all the way to the loop track with only a bit of casting around on the way.  Oh, and one deviation onto the wrong spur where the ridge splits at 550m - quickly identified and corrected with a thrash across the wee gully.    

We've kept an eye on the clock and decided to keep the group together - this is vindicated by our arrival time of 5.40 at the cars.  It always makes me a bit nervous splitting a group, as there are so many ways things can go pear shaped and without the ability to communicate between the two parties outcomes become quite unpredictable.  Sometimes it is just better to take the known hit of leaving a car for later pick up or having a long walk.  

All up, an enjoyable adventure close to home and still a couple of options to explore another day. 

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.