Bluff Hut
(Bluff Hut looking upriver: Photo Andrew Buglass 2010: Double click to get larger image)
Maintenance Status
Bluff Hut and the access tracks to it are
designated as fully maintain.
In 2009 the Hut was shifted a short distance upvalley from its original site on the bush edge, deemed unstable.
This coincided
with the replacement of a swingbridge over the Hokitika that had been washed out in the early 1990s, and
put Bluff back on the Frews Saddle - Toaroha Saddle circuit. This is a reasonably popular remote
back country route for the more experienced tramper.
The relevant sections of track between Bluff Hut and Poet Hut in the
Mungo were reopened in conjunction with the upgrades.
The circuit may get a boost in numbers through being included Shaun
Barnett's revised edition
of Classic Tramps. The Bluff tracks will be recut by DOC in the 2012/ 13 summer season.
Location
Hokitika catchment. Map BV19.
Grid Ref: E1447410/ N5232433. Altitude 925m.
Bluff Hut is located in open tussock and scattered scrub
above the TL of the
upper Hokitika River on the lee side of Conway Ridge.
The Ridge climbs in a series of
smooth rock steps up toward the Meta Range and there are great views
from here up
out over the Hokitika and Mungo valleys. The track up
from the Hokitika River is very steep, passing through
shattered rock bluffs with large
cracks and fissures cloaked in montane forest.
There were several alumunium ladders on this section originally, some of which
were replaced with chains when the track was recut in 2009.
Below Bluff the Hokitika River drops 400 vertical metres in less than a kilometer over a series
of spectacular waterfalls here to its confluence with the Mungo River.
Upriver it passes through a small canyon,
before opening out into a tussock basin that rises at a gentle
gradient for several kilometers to the foot of Mathias Pass.
They attempted to graze sheep in the upper basin in the late 1800's. The benign
tussock expanses filled with deep snow during the first winter and buried the unfortunate animals.
Access
Bluff can be approached from either the Whitcombe valley
via Frew Saddle, or from the Toaroha roadend via Toaraoha Saddle and the Mungo River. It is a good couple of
days from either end with the Frew Saddle route being the slightly shorter of the two. The tracks are in good shape currently,
having been recut in 2009.
From Frew Saddle Biv there is a poled route down down
some steep tussock faces into into the upper Hokitka basin.
When snow-free the the basin provides open and easy travel. In winter it can range from very fast to
very slow
depending on the snow coever and hardness.
From the 1040m contour there is a marked track through scattered scrub on the TL bank.
Opposite Steadman Creek snow poles
lead up over a tussock
knoll and down to section of track through the alpine scrub above a small canyon.
The riverbed is followed for a short stretch opposite Tub Creek. The track restarts and climb/ sidles
above a second canyon through open tussock and patchy scrub to the Hut. Allow 2.5 - 3 hours from
Frew Biv to Bluff Hut in good conditions.
The route from Poet Hut is down the TR of the Mungo River
and is a mix of track
and boulderhopping. The swingbridge spans the Hokitika River below the Mungo Confluence
and a very steep section of track on the TL leads from here up a bluffy spur to
the bushline and the old hutsite. The new Hut is a couple of hundred
metres further upvalley from here. Allow it is 2.5 - 3 hours to reach Bluff Hut from Poet Hut.
Type
The original Bluff Hut was a
standard 4-bunk NZFS design with open fire built in the mid 1960's.
The fire was removed quite early on. The cupboard and vestibule area was removed
in the early 1980's to create more space and a
roof-fed watertank installed.
Bluff became isolated from the Frews - Toaroha circuit
when the bridge over the Hokitika was washed out in the early 90's and the Hut
fell into disrepair during this time. It was discovered that the hutsite was unstable and in 2009 the Hut
was
shifted upvalley 100m, and completely rebuilt in the process. Apart from the recycled iron cladding it
is very difficult to spot any of the original bits. Bluff had two extra bunks and a wood burner added
in the rebuild.
Condition
Bluff Hut is in excellent condition currently. Not so the toilet. The original was shifted to the new site,
but because of the solid rock substrate around the Hut-site the pit was only able to be dug to around 0.5 metre's depth.
This pathetic little hollow filled rapidly with water and started spilling its contents onto the surrounds.
The base has a few rocks around ans large gaps, allowing Weka to take advantage of the situation and spread
toilet waste and paper around the area.
Routes
The route to Sir Robert Hut
has historically been up the TR of Steadman Creek. This was poled when the Bluff bridge was gone as part of a detour
around Homeward Ridge to Poet Hut. DOC removed the poles when the bridge was reinstated.
However, instead of walking all the way back up the valley to
Steadman Creek, it is much quicker to cross the Hokitika just below Tub Creek
and follow Tub Creek up onto Homeward Ridge.
The larger and easier looking TR fork in the Creek provides a direct route to the open tussock.
Although Steadman Saddle looks the most direct route from here, the Sir Robert of the
side of the Saddle is steep and unstable. Instead, continue down Homeward Ridge to the 1440m
contour line (around 1449130E/ 5231595N) and drop East from here down a steep side-spur towards Sir Robert Creek.
Drop of the side-spur where it flattens the 1250m mark, down a steep gut running SE into the
big side creek below. The gut turns into a small ceek down in the ribbonwood
zone, then tumbles down a series of rock steps into the main side creek,
200 or so metres upstream from its confluence with Sir Robert Creek.
Once in Sir Robert Creek head upstream on its TL for around 300m. There is a short section of track that goes behind a
large boulder
20m before the entrance of the track up to the Hut. Allow 3-4 hours for the crossing from Bluff Hut to Sir Robert Hut
in good conditions. Ice axes
and possibly crampons may be needed on the steeper sections in Sir Robert Creek in winter and spring.
Frisco Hut in the Hokitika valley can be accessed from Bluff via an old NZFS ridge track from Darby Creek.
This track was recut by volunteers in 2011.
Travel downriver to Darby Creek from the swingbridge is on the TR and takes 15-20 minutes.
The boulders on this section
are large and some are slippery. Darby Creek is easy to cross at normal flows, but would be tricky after heavy rain.
The track entrance is 100m up the Creek on the TR and is marked with white permolat. The track climbs steeply
up the ridge to around the 800m contour. It leaves the ridge here and sidles West across the montane
faces to the Hut. The sidle crosses some fairly unstable country, old slips regenerating with alpine scrub, and some
actively eroding guts. Two of the guts are used to gain height with entry and exit points marked with a mix of
permolat, cruise-tape and cairns.
The track sidles in and out of the upper branches of Detour Creek, then up a small regenerating slip
onto the bench where the Hut is located. Allow 3+ hours travel time from Bluff Hut to Frisco Hut.
There is a good high-level route from Bluff Hut to Frew Biv up and over
Conway Ridge. It shouldn't take a great deal longer than the official valley
route and has lovely views on a fine day.
Repairs Needed
The toilet needs relocating to site where there is enough topsoil to dig a decent pit.
Provisions on Site
Two bench seats, a hand saw, an axe, a first aid kit,
three billies, an aluminium wash basin, a hearth shovel and brush, a coal bucket, a roll of red permolat, a small frypan,
and a camp oven. There are odds and sods of timber and a wooden ladder under the Hut. The old Hut site was a bit of a garbage
heap in
2010 with a pile of old wood framing, a door, and some sheets of corrugated iron amongst the rubble.
