Lake Dive and Syme Hut, Egmont National Park

For Wellington anniversary weekend, three friends and I decided on a long weekend mission to Mt Egmont National Park. The original plan was to complete the Pouakai Circuit on the Saturday and Sunday, drive around the mountain to the Dawson Falls and walk up to Syme Hut Sunday night and then on Monday, head up to the summit and back out before driving home. A packed schedule for sure, but an epic one!

The weather forecast wasn't too flash in the days leading up to the weekend though, and shortly before arriving in Stratford from Wellington we saw that the South side of the mountain was clear and sunny, while it was raining on the North side and in Stratford.

So over lunch in Stratford, we changed plans so we could walk in the sun rather than the rain for the afternoon. So we drove to Dawson Falls and headed to Lake Dive Hut.

Lake Dive Hut is a straightforward 3 hour walk from the Dawson Falls Visitor centre (via the Lower Lake Dive track). It's not a bad track, though a bit overgrown. There's plenty of steps, but as the fill in them has eroded, they're mostly just annoying obstacles and the track would be much better off if they were removed. 

We arrived at the sprawling Lake Dive Hut to find we had the place to ourselves. Yay! The hut has two separate bunkrooms and a large open area. A very smelly Israeli man later arrived, but thankfully he took the other bunkroom. 

We checked out the small but serene Lake Dive nearby, and if you stand in the shallow water of the shore (the lake is completely surrounded by dense bush), you get fantastic views of Mt Taranaki. 

Standing in Lake Dive with Mt Taranaki in the background

Mt Taranaki near sunrise

View on the way up to Syme Hut

The next morning, we took the upper Lake Dive track and headed up to Syme Hut. It's steep going, but the views improve with each step and it wasn't long before we were amongst the tussock and we could see right across Southern Taranaki to Wanganui. The track sidles the mountain before joining the track coming directly up from Dawson Falls. From there, there's a few steps and then a long, very steep scree bash up to Syme Hut. The scree bit takes a bit over an hour, for a total of 2.5-3hrs from Lake Dive to Syme Hut.

Syme Hut occupies a barren, flat platform 2,000m up Mt Taranaki. It has fantastic views and it almost feels as though you're on Mars. 

Syme Hut

The plan for the afternoon was to climb Mt Taranaki. It's about a 3-4 hour steep return trip from the hut, and climbing the mountain from this (the Southern side) is much more steep and difficult than the main route, from the North Egmont visitor centre. 

Half our group wanted to climb it in the morning and the other half that afternoon. Although it was clear, it was very windy and the top of the mountain had decided to start clouding in a bit, so with better weather forecasted for the next morning, the morning won out. 

Syme Hut in the evening

So we had a lazy afternoon in the hut, having a great time reading, playing cards and being stupid. Later in the afternoon, it completely clouded it, started raining and the winds picked up. Our dreams of an epic sunset went out the window, but it did feel very cosy being inside the little hut while the weather buffeted it outside. Just as the final bit of light was about to disappear from the sky, the clouds parted for a bit and we popped outside to check out the lights of the Taranaki towns below and to get some photos. 

The next morning, the cloud and high winds were back, so we abandoned the planned climb and had a ball sliding down the mountain on the scree that we'd so painstakingly scaled the day before. I'd previously climbed Mt Taranaki from the Northern side so wasn't too disappointed about not getting to the top this time. It took us about two hours to get down to the Dawson Falls carpark. 

But I will be back to knock off the Pouakai circuit, which has been on the to do list for a very long time!

Burn Hut, Tararua Range, August 2014

Last weekend, after a long period of absence from the bush, I finally headed out on a trip with a couple of my flatmates and one of their mates. 

Man, it was good to get out. I reckon I need an overnight trip once every six weeks (even a short one), and as it had been two months since my last trip, I was getting desperate,. 

The weather forecast looked good for the first time in a long time, but as everyone was leaning towards a shorter, easier weekend trip, we decided to lock in the Burn Hut loop, a loop that I've always wanted to do. 

Burn Hut is a bit of an anomaly in the Tararuas, in that it doesn't really lead to anywhere and so is more of a destination in itself rather than forming part of a big adventure. 

The track starts at the Mangahao dams, about 10km in from Shannon in the Manawatu, on a very rough and windy gravel road. It's perfectly manageable in a 2WD car, though parts of the road could be a bit uncomfortable if your vehicle has low clearance. 

The dams themselves are quite interesting, and the hydro scheme is the only one in the lower North Island. 

The track to Burn Hut starts at the No. 2 Dam. It sidles along the very picturesque Mangahao river for about an hour, before crossing a wooden bridge. After the bridge, the track climbs relatively steeply to about 800m. From there, the track emerges out into scrub and leatherwood and it's a boggy, but more or less flat hour's walk to the hut. The hut is clearly visible from when you first emerge from the trees. 

Just after popping above the treeline

The weather was fantastic - mild and without a puff of wind. The views and the colours were amazing, although after seeing the snow-capped peaks to the South, I couldn't help but wish I was down there, amongst the snow. 

Beautiful evening colours - the hut is straight ahead in the distance

Burn Hut is superbly located on the ridge. It has big open windows to let you make the most of the beautiful outlook. 

It's a cosy, 6 bunker hut that doesn't seem to get a great deal of use, probably due to its off the beaten track location. 

Almost at the hut

The evening of a fine day is a great time to be on the tops and we took our time walking to the hut, soaking up the atmosphere. It was very peaceful and relaxing and was probably the highlight of the trip. 

Walking along the wide, flat ridge to the hut you can see the East Coast and the upper Wairarapa to one side and the Manawatu plains and the Tasman Sea to the other side. 

Looking North West from the hut

We were lucky enough to have the hut to ourselves for the night, and aside from a couple we bumped into, walking down from a day trip, we were the first people to visit the hut in over a month. 

Hut interior

Although there's no heating, the hut is very clean and tidy and is a good, compact size, so once dinner's on and there's a few people in there, it warms up quite nicely. It's a fairly modern hut, and would be less than 1 years old. It has a vestibule by the front door (but no deck), which keeps the bags and boots out of the hut and frees up a bit more space. 

The long drop, my female flatmate reported, was the best she'd ever experienced - clean and having a pleasant lemongrass and orange aroma!

The hut has a fantastic supply of tea light candles by the way, there's a bag of about 300 sitting in the vestibule!

After a pleasant evening reading and eating, we all retired to bed by 9pm.

From the hut, it's possible to travel further up the hill and then back down to the Mangahao River, which takes around 3hrs. From there, it's a further 4km along the gravel road back to the starting point. As my flatmate needed to be back in Wellington early afternoon, we opted for the easier option of retracing our steps. 

Heading back down the next morning

A fantastic wee trip and a great hut! Hopefully it won't be as long before I head out on the next trip.