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2022-04-15T00:00:00.000Z • Tararua Forest Park, New Zealand
Tararua tootling
A rare longer stint in the Tararua's where time and good-enough weather gave us six great days of relaxed exploring of ridges and huts.
Hike
Last minute plans
An unusual absence of plans further afield over the Easter break, plus an aversion to sitting in too many hours of holiday traffic, had me poring over the maps a little closer to home. As always with planning hikes, time on the tops was a priority, and connecting long-anticipated visits to Maungahuka and Dorset Ridge Huts in particular. Mooching in nice spots, lots of snacks, and a chill pace on a mix of on and off-trail routes was the mood I was after.
Day 1: Holdsworth road end to Neil Forks Hut
Heading in to the Tararua's from the Wairarapa side, it always feels like you're quickly immersed in beautifully lush forest. From the popular Holdsworth carpark, we made our way to Totara Flats Hut and followed the ridge towards Cone, getting a little lost around some treefall, then scrambled down the steep descent to Neill Forks Hut.
Although none of this is very deep into the Tararuas, almost the entire loop would be new territory for us. Despite feeling like regular-ish visitors, we realised that cumulatively we'd spent remarkably little time in the Tararuas, and certainly nothing more than a night or two, which had limited how far we'd ventured.
Being Easter, we weren't banking on space being available at the huts, which proved to be a good call. Though Neill Forks wasn't quite full, a nice riverside camp spot was the preferred choice.
Day 2: Neil Forks Hut to Maungahuka Hut
A short but vertical day took us straight up to the ridge where we held tightly to the tussocks in the fierce wind and rain. We'd planned to just hop to Maungahuka given the weather was pretty sub-optimal, and didn't mind the prospect of a hut day, expecting the view would reveal itself at some stage. The view was not to be this time, but it was a nice day of food, tea and yarns anyway, rugged up in our layers in the full-ish hut. Maungahuka Hut was a spot that had been on my wishlist for some time, and I'd love to go back via the infamous ladder route further south on the ridge than where we joined it.
Day 3: Maungahuka Hut to Nichols Hut
A leisurely morning was spent rationing coffee and waiting for the clouds to lift before we made a late departure from Maungahuka. It was a superb day picking our way north along the ridgeline via Anderson Memorial Hut, with some cloudy weather keeping things mostly overcast, but with occasionally great light. I'm always surprised by how slow the travel is through the Tararuas, though I love being up on the ridges where you can look back and see the route you've traveled.
We arrived late to the wee Nichols Hut packed with Te Araroa hikers, so after warming up by the fire and declining kind offers of cramped floor space, we found a more peaceful patch for our room-with-a-better-view outside.
Day 4: Nichols Hut to Arete Biv
A night in the tent is almost always better than a full hut, even if it is harder to get up on a cold morning. After climbing back up to the ridge, more fantastic rambling north along the spine offered some epic views. I enjoyed the switch to bush on the tops compared the the tussock I usually associate with Tararua tops.
The route was providing some excellent hut bagging, including Dracophyllum Hut for lunch. No views from the hut itself, but it's a nice spot.
The highlight of the day was reaching the stretch around the Pukematawai and Arete summits, and watching the clouds. It was a complete whiteout where they crashed into the mountains on one side, but mesmerising to watch where they spilled over and crept into the folds of hills on the other side.
Tiny huts always make me a bit anxious if heading to them for the night and hoping to sleep there. After the busy huts along the main ridge (which get a lot of Te Araroa action) we were relieved to find the tiny 2-bunk Arete Biv empty and made ourselves cosy. No doubt a camping spot could have been found but it's mostly pretty wild and lumpy tussock.
Day 5: Arete Biv to Dorset Ridge Hut
Our night at Arete Biv was an unexpected delight, having not really looked this one up prior to arriving. It's pretty adorable with some great views. The morning started out sunny, then clagged in a bit as we approached the Waiohine Pinnacles. They were, fortunately, less sketchy than the Broken Axe Pinnacles, but still with some steep drop-offs and scrambling to keep things interesting.
It's easier going after that, following a wide ridge and passing above Tarn Ridge Hut before veering off route before Girdlestone peak and finding our way down Dorset Ridge towards Dorset Hut. This was the other hut I'd been keen to visit, having read about how few visitors it sees. It turned out a couple of hunters had heli'd in and moved into the hut for the week. The most Wellington hunters we'd ever met, they had some questionable hunting and navigation skills – they got lost returning to the hut when there was very low visibility after a day out, and didn't seem to have much hunting success. However, they did come with craft beer, which they kindly shared.
Day 6: Dorset Ridge Hut to Holdsworth road end
From Dorset Ridge Hut we'd read of a permolat-marked route heading south/south-east down to Dorset Creek then some options up to the main ridge. It was easy enough to find the entrance into the bush right behind the hut and we descended steeply (an all-limbs scrambling affair), crossed the little stream and then climbed up, joining the ridge between the Broken Axe Pinnacles and South King. Then it was over to Baldy before dropping back below the bushline to the Atiwahakatu Track to round off the longest day of the trip. Back to civilisation at Holdsworth, the feeling of six days without a shower caught up all of a sudden.
We covered lots of new to us ground and huts on this trip, such a treat to spend a good stint of time in our local hills.
Note the GPX file on this one isn't recorded, so fairly rough in places, especially the off-track sections.