⛰️#31 - More Rescues, Hut-made Brew, A Moose Sighting, Gillespie Pass, & More.

And we are back with the 31st NZ Hiking Newsletter, sent every Thursday/Friday.

I'll let you know what’s going on in the hiking scene in New Zealand, along with other related bits and pieces I find interesting.

Alright, let’s get into it.

🗒️ Track News Etc.

• In doing some research for the newsletter, I came across this article from 2019. Zachary Byrne spent 30 days in the Tararua with a couple of goals…to explore the mountains, and to brew a beer in Roaring Stag Hut that he could share with his friends before saying goodbye to NZ for the time being. He had to work hard for the brew, there were no heli-drops for the equipment, so he hiked all the gear in. It’s pretty hectic that his friends and family didn’t hear from him for 30 days, they just knew to be at Roaring Stag Hut on a certain day. And it was a great success! With the aptly named ‘Roaring Brew’ being a dark and malty brew with a sweet, caramel flavour 🍻 

  • p.s. DOC has just finished replacing the Roaring Stag Bridge. The bridge will be good for decades, and brews, to come.

• If you’re hiking the Kepler Track (Great Walk), you might see a moose 😮 There was a reported moose sighting last week on the trail between Rainbow Reach and Motarau Hut. If you look at the lad’s credentials, you’d have to back he’s right…as does Ken Tustin, who has been trying to track down the kiwi moose for decades. But like DOC said…it’s probably a shaggy red deer… More details here.

  • In annoying news…vandals damaged dozens of cars at the main Kepler carpark earlier in the week 😠

• For the podcast fans out there, there are a couple of new hiking specific podcast episodes on Aotearoa Adventures:

  • Episode 129: Hiking Four Epic South Island Hikes in 10 Days with Stacey Walker. Listen here.

  • Episode 127: Tramping an Unmarked Route to Gorge River with Elvisa Van Der Leden. Listen here.

• The next mini hut launch has been announced by Kemi & Niko. Set your alarms for Thursday March 27th at 7pm (this will be the link).

  • Rather than a specific hut, they’ve got the standard orange SF70 Hut you can find throughout NZ. SF70 huts were built by the New Zealand Forestry Service deer cullers and many of the 6 bunk huts exist today such as Mid-Waiohine Hut, Tunnel Creek Hut, and Tauanui Hut.

• If you’re a member of the New Zealand Alpine Club, they have released there latest member survey (non-members can complete it too): survey here.

• In a time when DOC is facing struggles with funding, they could have kept pushing back the repair of the Coromandel Walkway on the section that was damaged by storms 2-years ago forcing the section of the track to be closed. But they’ve released an update on the work that’s going into rebuilding a track, and the details are nice. Press release here.

• There’s been yet another rescue above Brewster Hut. And French hiker Frederic Combier has detailed how his epic start to the day on Mount Taranaki turned nasty when he took a fall and had to be rescued (story here).

😹 Hiking Funny

Send me all the details. Credit for this to Mountain Rescue England and Wales.

🗒️ Other Track News Etc.

• Hut news for the week:

  • Omaru and Pouri Huts (Whanganui National Park) got some freshening up for those hiking the Matemateonga Walkway to have a cozy stay. This was a collaboration of teams from DOC, BCT, and Antarctic Heritage Trust.

  • Salisbury Lodge (Kahurangi National Park) got a new roof installed thanks to a team of 6 going hammer and tongs for 3 days during a weather window.

  • Howletts Hut (Ruahine Forest Park) got a makeover and is looking sharp with its pioneer red along with a new water tank. They also popped up a clear plastic screen to stop the howling westerlies from making a sleepless night slightly less sleepless? That’s all thanks to the Heretaunga Tramping Club. Photos here.

🎁 A Couple Of Competitions To Enter

• Win $1000 of Merrell Gear | Merrell x Adventure Magazine - enter here

• 2025 Thru-Hiking Giveaway c/o Garage Grown Gear - enter here

🧔‍♂️ What I've Been Up To...

Last weekend was a busy running weekend with the highlight being a loop of Gillespie Circuit Pass in Mount Aspiring National Park. Five of us did the loop in a day, with the rivers being low enough we didn’t need to use the jet boats to cross the Makarora River. I did the loop three years ago, and if you get the chance you have to include Lake Crucible side trip. It makes the hike so much more epic.

I was surprised by how few people we saw on the track, so if it’s on the bucket list for you still, a quick search on the DOC website shows there is still room for Siberia Hut this season (you’ll likely want to stay there two nights to make the circuit work best).

Three more photos:

Have a great week, hike it up.

As always, reply to this email (or message me on Whatsapp +642041702764) with anything and everything…I’m happy to chat.

Chur,

Jub

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