Kime Hut, Tararua Range, May 2014

My flatmate, Anita, had purchased her first pair of tramping boots and was keen to give them a whirl. I'd suggested a trip to Kime Hut, being a cool spot and not too far to get to. We'd planned to head to Kime in Easter, but due to the bad weather forecast, we gave it a miss. The weather forecast this weekend was much more promising though, so we decided to head out and up to Kime from Otaki Forks. 

Although both Metservice and Mountain-Forecast.com had promised me fine, clear, weather, the reality at Otaki Forks didn't quite reconcile (I was going to say match up, but reconcile is a much more exciting word for an accountant). 

Although eerily calm, there was a faint drizzle as we pushed our way up the Southern Crossing track towards Field Hut. They'd completed a bit of work on the track from where it enters the bush to just before Field Hut from when I was last up here. The new gravel on the track cuts out a lot of the really bad muddy sections, while at the same time not upgrading the track to a highway, great walk style.

We arrived at Field Hut to a bunch of very loud and excitable teenagers, accompanied by their parents. I was not keen to linger any longer than necessary. The hills are meant to be a peaceful place and this sounded like what I imagine Queensgate Mall to sound like in the school holidays. Ugh. We had to get moving anyway, as it had taken about 45 minutes longer to get to Field than I'd previously done and I'd expected to be there much sooner than that, so we needed to push on to avoid walking in the dark.

The drizzle had stopped by this point, and we enjoyed a calm walk across Table Top. 

Just past Table Top

We finally arrived at the new Kime Hut just on dark. It was quite clagged in and I was disappointed, as it's always kinda nice to take people to a new spot and show it off. But views weren't the forefront of my mind at this point. It was dinner time!

I chucked the pasta in the billy to boil and went to get the container of vegetables, spices and chorizo I'd chopped up earlier. Only to find it wasn't there. I'd left it in the fridge at home. Dammit. So pasta and pasta sauce for dinner it was. I wasn't popular. 

Luckily, we were so hungry we pretty much cleaned the billy out (500g of cooked pasta between three people!) anyway. And we had lots of chocolate and tea for dessert.

The new Kime hut is quite large and without any form of heating. Although it's well insulated (double glazed windows too!), it's a cold place to be. We were sharing the hut with six others and everyone was in the sleeping bags in bed reading by 7.30pm. Much nicer to be doing that than feeling cold sitting around a table. 

After a solid 10 hour sleep, I awoke to a special surprise. 

Kime Hut looking South

Looking North with the rest of the Tararuas in the background

Looking East towards the Wairarapa

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Not a bad way to start the day, huh? Although the pictures don't show it (it could be seen quite clearly, it's just my camera's not good enough), we could see Mt Taranaki, Mt Ruapehu, the Wairarapa, Wellington Harbour and the South Island all from one spot. It was quite something. I've never before been able to see so many different geographical features from one spot. 

The Tararuas are quite a private range. They are almost always covered up in some sort of cloud or mist. And it the skirt is lifted, it's usually only a tease; a small peek through a brief gap in the clouds. It's quite rare to be able to see the whole range and surrounds in its entirety. So I was particularly taken aback by the views today. 

Looking West with Kapiti Island in the background

The new Kime Hut is large, modern and practical. It's largely based on DOC's template modern hut and doesn't have a lot of character. But what new structure does? Character develops over time. But I think it's quite difficult for a large, popular barn such as this to develop the sense of quaint cosiness that many of the smaller, older backcountry huts have. 

Like the old hut (which actually had a fire and a wood lined interior to give it more of a feeling if cosiness), it's a cold place to be and not the sort of place where one could happily linger for a few days. Although as the sun came out, we opened all the windows in the hut and sat on the deck for a bit to enjoy the calm, warm rays. On days like this, Kime Hut was a nice spot to be, but days such as this apparently only occur on about 40 days of the year in the Tararuas. 

I was so struck with the beautiful sunrise that I forgot to get a good close up picture of the new hut and interior, but here's the best one I took. Nothing amazing. 

After a leisurely breakfast, we began the walk back down to Otaki forks again. 

On the way back down to Otaki Forks

I didn't really want to go back down. On a day like this, I just wanted to get out and explore all those other places I've been meaning to go for ages. Like up to Mt Hector, and back to Otaki forks via Elder and Renata huts, or to complete the section between Maungahuka and Waitewaewae huts I've never gotten around to doing. Ah, the possibilities. 

Approximate timings:

Otaki Forks - Field Hut: 2-3hrs
Field Hut - Kime Hut: 2-3hrs

Field Hut

Rock & Pillar Range Run, Middlemarch - May 2014

I've been to Dunedin a few times, but have never really explored much beyond the city. With my sister's impending graduation in Dunedin, I'd vowed this time was going to be different.

Via the DOC website, I'd penciled a few potential trips in to try and make the most of the trip to Dunedin. With only four days in town, of which half was taken up with graduation stuff, I couldn't do any over night trips, so a run seemed like the best way to check out some cool spots with limited time. 

With a fine, calm, day forecast, I'd managed to convince my brother to come along on the run with me. 

The Rock and Pillar Range towers above the village of Middlemarch, about an hour's drive North-West of Dunedin. It's not quite Central Otago, so the area is a nice mix of green coastal Otago landscapes, and the golden tussock landscape of Central Otago. 

There was quite a bit of fog around, but occasionally mother nature lifted up her skirt to reveal a much nicer day above. 

On the road to Middlemarch, with the Rock and Pillar Range Behind

The plan was to run up to Leaning Lodge Hut, then across the tops to Big Hut and back down - a nice loop. But we had to be back in Dunedin by lunchtime to pick my sister up from the airport, so I wasn't sure if the planned route was entirely achievable.

The range is typical of many in Central Otago, with broad, almost rolling, tussock slopes. This, combined with the fact there was a rough 4WD track up to Leaning Lodge Hut, meant that it was an ideal track to run. Although there was still a solid 1100m climb to actually get to the hut!

My brother was not impressed as we pulled into the carpark. The temperature gague on the car informed us that it was -1 outside. I love running in the cold though, and within five minutes, the cold air stopped burning our lungs and we'd warmed up nicely. As we were running above the thick layer of fog above Middlemarch, it actually warmed up quite a bit as we climbed. 

Above the fog, looking SE towards the Tairei Plain 

 Although the first few kilometres of the trip are on a farm, aside from the first kilometre, you'd hardly notice but for the odd bit of deer poo. The hills appear to be quite sparsely grazed (probably due to the elevation and tussock) and most of the farm looks like the conservation park further up the range. Farm crossings can be a bit tedious, so this was a pleasant surprise. The above picture was taken on the farm bit. 

4WD Track climbing up

Cool colours looking NE 

Despite the length of the climb, I really enjoyed it. The track was a fantastic gradient and made the climb much more bearable. 

We finally spotted a building up ahead - was that the hut already? Well, it was a hut, but not the one we were looking for. It was a very basic and shabby affair, with a large rock to hold the door closed. Perhaps a good spot for some brief shelter, but certainly not a place I'd like to have spent a night.

Slightly disappointed, we carried on. It seemed to take forever at this point. After an hour and a bit of running uphill, I'd expected to at least have seen the hut by now. 

Finally, after an hour and a half of running, we came to a fork in the track and Leaning Lodge Hut came into view shortly afterwards. The hut is down off the track about 15mins, at an altitude of 1200m. 

It's a superbly located eight bunk hut, with fantastic views out over the Middlemarch valley and towards the Tairei plain in the distance. It's also a very tidy and clean (probably the cleanest I've ever been to), and well cared for hut, owned by the Otago Tramping and Mountaineering Club, rebuilt by them in 2007. 

It would be a great place to spend the night. Though bear in mind that the only water source is from the creek nearby and there's no form of heating in the hut. 

Unfortunately, we'd run out of time to head up to the top and over to Big Hut. It would have been cool to make it right to the top (only another 150m of vertical climbing) and to see what the other side of the range looked like. But another trip for another time.

Moi standing on a rock near the turn-off to the hut

It only took us about 50 minutes to run back down from the hut back to the carpark.

A great run, with some fantastic views. I estimate that it would only have taken another 20-30 minutes to run to Big Hut, but the track down would have taken slightly longer as it is a tramping rather than a 4WD track.

Access: Kinvara Station, just across Lug creek, 9km North of Middlemarch. There's no DOC sign by the road, so drive up the farm driveway even though it feels like it's the wrong place. There's a big sign by the drive for the station. The carpark is not far up the drive. 

Estimated times:

Kinvara car park to Leaning Lodge Hut via Kinvara Track: Running: 1.25hrs-1.5hrs, tramping: 2-3.5hrs
Return: Running: 40mins - 1hr, tramping: 1.5-2.5hrs

Managaweka and Purity Hut, March 2012

Another great trip to the Ruahines (two years ago, to provide some history to this blog), this time to the Western side of the range.

The weather forecast was looking great, so we decided to give camping on the tops a whirl. 

The first part of the trip, from Mangakukeke Rd, crosses a farm, and we walk across this for about 45 minutes. The last part of this is a VERY steep climb, but thankfully not too long a one, to reach a fence and the entrance to the Ruahine Forest Park. 

The track then tapers off slightly, before climbing steadily again towards Purity Hut. Almost all approaches in the Ruahines are quite steep, but it does mean that the tops can be reached very quickly.

But I find steep climbs quite motivating, as I love the quick progression to the tops, spurred on by the changes in vegetation suggesting that that final burst through to the open tussock isn't far off. Unlike walking on undulating terrain, you feel like you're making good progress towards your target. 

Not far from the bushline, after about 2.5hrs walking, we reach Purity Hut. 

Purity Hut

Purity hut occupies a spectacular location, with commanding views across the lumpy Rangitikei landscape.  

Only built in 2006, the 6-bunk hut is very clean and tidy. With double-glazed windows and a wood fire, coupled with its compact size, it would be a very cozy place to spend the night. Though I feel the hut's best feature is its longdrop. Although the standard is improving, longdrops are a necessary evil in the New Zealand backcountry. The smell, the grime, the presence of huge blowflies, that you are paranoid about coming into contact with because you know where they ate last. They're horrid, dark pits of filth. In short, they're places to be avoided. Spectacularly shit (haha). Hold on if you can. 

Purity hut's longdrop is none of these things. It is very clean and tidy, almost pure. Like it's the sacred  dunny of the Ruahines. But best of all it has a window in its door (you can see out but not in), and that door faces out to the West, where the views of the Rangitikei and Ruapehu are. A great place to settle in the morning and read the Sunday paper (or FMC magazine as it might be up here!).

But as fascinating as the longdrop is, we have to move on. There's much more climbing ahead to reach our campsite for the night. 

After another hour or so, we reach Wooden Peg (1672m). To our left is the featureless Mangaweka, which at 1731m, is the highest point in the Ruahines. A true peak bagger would probably make the 45 minute return trip, but it's a bit too clagged in when we approach and none of us think we'd get any real satisfaction from the extra effort to the top.  

So after a short break, we turn right, and down towards Kelly Knight hut. Although often brutal in their approach, the Ruahine tops are relatively gentle, wider, and more rolling than their Tararua counterparts. Because of this, and because they're studded with tarns, they're much more ideal for camping. Not to mention that the weather is often more favourable as well. 

The other good thing about the Ruahine tops is that there are a lot more poled routes than the Tararuas. Although they not frequent enough to take away from the wilderness experience, and that there's still only a small proportion of routes with poles, it provides a good option for tops travel in low cloud, and makes them more accessible to people without a great deal of navigation experience. 

Walking down from Wooden Peg - our campsites lay just ahead by the tarns

We spot a nice, flattish section of the ridge ahead where we can plonk our tents for the night, and settle in for the rest of the afternoon.  

We settle down and pitch our tents. We'd brought up mini bottles of Lindauer, which we crack open and enjoy in the sun. Although it's warm lying the sun, as soon as it hides behind the clouds, it becomes freezing. Eventually, the coming and going of the cloud forces us to relent and retreat to our tents to warm up.

After dinner (tramping staple: pasta, pasta sauce, veges and chorizo) we go for a short stroll to a nearby peak to check out the lights of the towns laid out ahead. We can see Palmerston North, Fielding, Wanganui even. It's quite cool, feeling like you're high above them.

Looking East from our campsite

The next morning, we awoke to an incredible sunrise, with views right out over to Mt Ruapehu. 

Not a bad spot to be in while eating your morning porridge. 

Shortly afterwards, we begin the descent down to Kelly Knight hut and the car. The track in this part is hidden by the long tussock grass. Normally this isn't that much of a problem, as you can find the track quite easily as you walk along. But when you're going downhill, on a relatively steep descent, the tussock hides short, sharp drops. It's quite hilarious watching the person in front of you briefly disappear from view as they encounter a drop and slide down between the tussock on their bums!

Heather, Nick and Bart: Re-grouped after a bit of sliding down the hill

The walk down is very pleasant - nothing too steep or nasty and the sun and calm winds make for a nice morning on the tops. 

Not too far from the road-end, we hit the turn-off to Kelly Knight hut. The sign says it's about 30 minutes walk away, and we vote not to bother with the detour. Though I now wish I'd made the effort, as it looks like a pleasant hut, and with my current obsession with hut-bagging, my 2014 self would never miss such a close opportunity to bag a hut. Hopefully I can make up for it in future by spending the night there. 

The rest of the trip is a straight-forward, easy descent along the Pourangaki river and across a pleasant few kilometres of farmland back to the car.

Heather proving that she's not just a pack with legs

A fantastic loop in the Ruahines, that's easily achievable in a weekend. A pleasant combination of bush, farmland, tops and a bit of river, along with a couple of very cosy huts (presuming Kelly Knight is as nice as it looks in pictures on the internet!). 

Approx timings:

Mangakukeke Road-end to Purity Hut: 2.5-3hrshrs

Purity Hut to Wooden Peg: 1.5hrs

Wooden Peg to Kelly Knight Hut: 2-3hrs

Kelly Knight Hut to Mangakuke road-end: 2.5-3hrs

Mt Hikurangi, January 2013

This trip was a while ago, but was a superb one. 

Being from Gisborne, I'd always wanted to tackle Mt Hikurangi on the East Coast. Hikurangi is a striking peak, and I think it is one of the North Island's most distinct mountains, and a classic climb that every tramper should attempt. It's about half an hour's drive inland from Ruatoria, which is about 1 3/4 hours drive North East of Gisborne. 

At 1754m, it's the highest non-volcanic peak in the North Island, and a relative outlier from the main Raukumara Range, which forms part of the main spine of mountains stretching from the Rimutakas to the East Cape.

Unfortunately, most of the track (distance wise) up to Hikuarangi is across a sheep and beef farm, but this does mean that the peak can be reached relatively quickly and simply. Of course there's the option to walk up the farm track, but Ngati Porou (the farm owners) also offer the option to be driven up the farm track to the hut at the border of the Raukumara Forest Park. However, this does come at the hefty price of $200.

Completing the climb with my uncle, who had a sore knee, meant that we opted for the drive up to the hut. Although I felt lazy and as if it were cheating to get a ride up to the hut, if my uncle was getting a ride, I may as well too! It also meant that we could complete the trip in a day. We may have been able to do this regardless, with just day packs, but it would have meant a 9 hour day. Not that appealing on a day in January in the East Coast sun.

The views from the hut, only five minutes walk from the end of the 4WD track, are fantastic. 

Whanakao, with the Eastern Bay of Plenty in the background

The peaks around Hikurangi, and Hikurangi itself, are quite something. They appear as giant monoliths, seemingly out of nowhere. 

The hut (1200m), known as the 'Gisborne Canoe and Tramping Club Hut', and built by the club of the same name, is a short walk from the end of the farm track, just on the border of the Forest Park. It's not a particularly well cared for hut, with bits of the roof lining hanging down, holes in the mattresses and only a few patches of wood covering the exterior corrugated iron, but I kinda like it. Although the hut is rather lonely in a barren paddock, and not even in the bush, it still feels as though you're away from everything. It is probably one of the most isolated huts in New Zealand, being far away from any population centre. The sheer distance required to even get to the carpark to the hut gives it an immediate feeling of isolation. 

The longdrop is horrendous, with a door that doesn't close properly. 

The Raukumara Forest Park is a true wilderness area. The route (most of the way up) Hikurangi is the only track in the entire park, so travelling elsewhere within the park would be a true navigational and physical challenge.

The track climbs steeply from behind the hut, through a grassy patch with regenerating bush on the sides. 

The views on the way up are just fantastic. It's an amazingly clear day, with not a cloud to be seen anywhere.

Looking out to Wharekia, with Ruatoria and the East Coast behind, about 150m elevation above the hut

After a short section of stunted mountain beech trees, we emerge onto the tussock and the gradient eases off as we walk on the flanks of Hikurangi, behind it.

We pass a tarn, framed by remains of dead leatherwood. The tarn and surrounding alpine vegetation must be the Northern-most in New Zealand, and so this area is quite significant botanically. Despite this, I feel no more partial to my encounters with speargrass on the way up. If anything, its sharp jabs seem more arrogant than usual. 

After a steep section of scree, we reach a big gully for the final push to the top.

Steep section of scree on the flanks of Hikurangi

Bottom of the steep gully

The track/ route from the hut, up to the gully is poled and isn't difficult to follow at all. But there are no markers after you reach the gully, which is VERY steep, with lots of loose rock. But at least you can see the top of the gully in the distance, so there is a clear goal to aim for. In snow conditions, this gully would be quite an undertaking. 

At the top of the gully, the views of the East Coast once again emerge, and we can see the summit. Quite a reward after scrambling up that gully!

Aorangi with Ruatoria in the distance

The summit, with trig station

But the final section is probably the worst bit of the whole climb. There's an area (of which I didn't photograph), where you have to scale the side of the cliff, clinging onto vegetation, with a steep 1500m drop below. This is on the upper rocky knob in the photograph, just before you get to the knob with the trig on it. My heart is definitely pounding, but the adrenalin from seeing the summit so close gets me through it.

At the summit!

Whanakao from the summit

I've never before experienced a view as complete as the one we get from the summit. We can see the entire East Cape of New Zealand, stretching from Opotiki in the Bay of Plenty, down to Gisborne at the bottom of the East Coast. It's really special to be able to see such a large and distinctly shaped part of New Zealand in its entirely. It makes you realise just how small New Zealand really it. It's quite something.

We don't linger at the summit long. It's very windy, and I really want to get that cliff scaling section over and done with before I can start to relax on the climb down. 

We stop at the hut for lunch on the way out. By this time my brother and sister are really feeling the day's efforts. They had the beginnings of the flu the day before the climb, and for them the carpark just can't come soon enough.

The walk down the 4WD farm track is long, very hot, and tedious, but we make steady progress. I think the encounters with some staunch looking bulls in the paddocks give us an additional reason to keep the pace up. I look back to the mountain quite a bit on the way down. It's quite satisfying having climbed Hikurangi, and being able to look back on the achievement. We soon roll up at the Ruatoria Four Square for all those food items we'd been thinking about on the way down. Ice cream, ice cold coke. A pie. 

Back in Gisborne, I shared some pictures of the trip with my great-grandmother. Her next door neighbour popped around and mentioned that he had climbed Hikurangi some 30 times, but had never been on the mountain and had the weather conditions to offer the clear 360 degree views that we had received on our first climb up the mountain! 

Approx timings:

Carpark to Hut: 3.5hrs
Hut to summit: 2hrs
Summit to hut: 1.5hrs
Hut to road end/ carpark: 2.5hrs

Howletts Hut, March 2014

I thought I'd start the blog with a post about what was quite possibly my most favourite hut I've ever had the privilege to spend a night in. Howletts Hut. 

When sifting across the Topo Maps of the Ruahines, which I sometimes do when bored in the evenings, the Longview-Howletts-Daphne loop often stuck out as a cool place to go. 

Finally, in March this year, I'd arranged to head there with a mate.

We got to Hawkes Bay on a gorgeous, sunny day. Unfortunately my Toyota station wagon did not take a liking to steep gravel hill climbs, spinning out on a section of Kashmir Road. After initial fears of skidding off the road down the cliff below, or not being able to get to the carpark, the car finally managed to skid its way up the remaining third of the hill. Tip for next time: take a 4WD, or build up a good amount of speed before tackling the climb. We eventually hit the track up to Longview Hut around midday.

The vegetation is quite bare along this section, meaning the hut can be seen for most of the walk up to it. This is initially useful, being able to see the target and realising it wasn't all too far away. But there's this annoying bit in the middle where the hut suddenly seems to get pushed further away and you realise it's not as easy as you first thought. 

But after an hour and a half slog we reach Longview Hut, and are rewarded with clear views out over Central Hawkes Bay.

Although offering good views, Longview, built in 1979 by the NZ Deerstalkers Association, is not an attractive hut by any means. It has a high pitched ceiling, which is never welcome in a hut of this altitude (1200m), and a boring, characterless interior. It's not a place where I'd like to spend a night after a cold day in the hills. But it does have a great deck, and we join a hunter and his dogs there for lunch.

Longview Hut interior

From Longview, the track becomes a poled route. I maintain that since our high point of the day is Otumore (1519m), and we're already at 1200m, it won't be much more of a climb to go. It turns out 319 is a long way up, especially when you have to go up, then down, then up again. And ESPECIALLY when there are about three false peaks on the way up. You know, the ones where you think you're about to crest the top, but as soon as you reach the horizon, there's another monster that pops up that has to be climbed. 

Dr Dan climbing up from Longview Hut with Hawkes Bay in the background. Longview is just over the ridge stretching to the right of the photo

Finally, we reach Otumore and the turn off to Top Gorge Hut. From here the tops flatten out a bit and views of the Western side of the range open up, which is a refreshing change from the wall of tussock we've been facing for the past 90 minutes. 

Looking North West from just past Otumore

The trail is barely defined in some places, but the poles appear regularly enough that there is no trouble finding the route on the clear day. Annoyingly, though, the poles are just plain rusted metal with no coloured markers on top and they tend to blend in to the landscape a bit so can take a bit of scanning to find the next one. After a windy but pleasant hour on the ridge, we come across a group of four trampers having a break at the intersection to Daphne Hut. Two of them look a bit like they're the men from the Mainland Cheese ad, complete with border collie. 

There's one major climb left before the hut, and with the knowledge that the 10-bunk Howletts Hut can be a popular place on a Saturday night, we figure we can push on past the guys to try and gain at least a bit of a lead and beat them to the hut. 

Although the climb proves to be less of an effort than expected, the next stretch, going slightly downhill, is a mission. There is a lot of leatherwood to push through before reaching the hut. And it takes FOREVER. Definitely gaiter territory here. However, there always seems to be a way through/around it, but finding it takes a lot of trial and error and we generally just give up and try to push through it. 

Dan pushing through the leatherwood

Eventually, though, we reach Howletts. It proves to be perfect timing. There is one guy at the hut when we arrive (who just happened to be part way through a trip walking from the East Cape down to Wellington). Literally seconds after we arrive, the first members of a group of 7 arrive. With the four guys we passed also due to spend the night at the hut, we're very happy to have reached the hut when we did to secure a bunk. Thankfully, some of the group decide to pop down to Daphne hut to spend the night, and a couple opt for a night on the deck, so everyone's happy in the end. 

Howletts hut is superbly located. It's placed in a snug hollow on a ridge, with steep drops on either side. When looking out from the front deck, it almost feels like you're in a giant tree hut. This version of the hut was built in the 70s, but it has a character far beyond its years. I just love the bright NZFS orange roof and the contrast with the freshly painted blue walls. It's a well loved and cared for hut. It has a hand carved hut book case, a cute crows nest space above the front door for two mattresses and a library of reading material, much of it carefully placed in clearfiles. Howletts is owned and maintained by the Heretaunga Tramping Club, and has been in the same spot since 1893 (this is the third version), when an eccentric local schoolteacher, William Howlett, plonked a hut in the spot. 

There's not a great deal of space in the hut - no table either, and so the evening (after the Kaweka butter chicken had been devoured for dinner) was spent lounging in the bunks eating chocolate and reading the newspaper we'd carted up, until it got dark enough to sleep. A thick blanket of clouds quickly rolled in during the evening, as if the Ruahines were being tucked into bed, too.

But the next morning, the Ruahines had definitely gotten out of bed. I awoke to this gorgeous view from the bunk. Pretty impressive. It almost felt like we were on a plane, with the lower layer of cloud smothering Hawkes Bay below.  

After a breakfast of oats and coffee, we left the hut and walked down the knee-jarringly steep Daphne ridge down to Daphne hut. 

Daphne Hut is a pleasant, if unusually shaped, A-frame hut. Plenty of space, but the valley was very cold and dark in the morning. Not much sun down here.

From Daphne hut, we walked down the Tukituki river for a bit. It proved to be a nice contrast from the tops and bush travel and it was nice to have a gentle gradient.It was a very shallow, meandering river. 

North Branch of the Tukituki River, just downstream from Daphne Hut

Next up was the final climb of 600m or so, up over a ridge on the way back to Kashmir Road. The gradient wasn't too bad though. By the time we started going back down, Dan's knee was playing up and he was forced to go down the hill sideways, even backwards on the steepest sections, whatever hurt less. Near the top of the ridge before dropping back down to the carpark, we managed to get a wee glimpse of Sawtooth Ridge in the distance. I'd love to do that trip one day.  

After a short walk back along Kashmir Road to the car, we had an uneventful drive out on the gravel road. 

A satisfying round trip, with some fantastic views.  

Approx timings:

Kashmir Rd (Moorcock Saddle) to Longivew Hut: 1.5hrs
Longivew Hut to Otumore: 1.5hrs
Otumore to Daphne Hut turn off: 1hr
Daphne Hut turn off to Howletts: 1hr
Howletts to Daphne Hut: 1.5hrs
Daphne Hut to Kashmir Rd: 3hrs