Dickie Spur Hut

(Dickie Spur Hut looking up into the head of the Tuke: Photo Andrew Buglass 2007)

Maintenance status

Dickie Spur Hut and track are designated as fully maintain currently.

Location

Mikonui catchment. Map BV18. Grid Ref: E1426510 / N5230443. Altitude 1090m. Dickie Spur Hut is located at the northern end of Dickie Ridge high above the TL of the Tuke River. There are superb views from the Hut out over the coast, and of the peaks in the head of the Tuke. Dickie Spur is a longish overnighter, or stopover en route to Tuke Hut, and high-level routes provide access from here to Top Waitaha and Ivory Lake Huts.

Access

The track up to Dickie Spur from Mikonui Flat Hut is fully maintained, and an unmaintained track from Polluck Creek Hut in the Kakapotahi valley connects with the maintained track at Turan Pass. The track from Mikonui Flat was recut in March 2007 and starts in scattered scrub on the grassy flat 200m SE of Mikonui Flat Hut. It enters the bush and climbs steeply over a wedge of terrace into the Tuke River, avoiding a small gorge. The trail crosses a footbridge at the mouth of the gorge (at E1426960/ N5233523, not 7045/ 3373 as marked on the map) and continues upriver on the TL left towards Turan Creek. This section of the Tuke blew out in a flood some years back and it is quicker at normal river levels to ford above the bridge and head straight up the river bed.

At a bluff on the TL about 100m downstream from Turan Creek the track turns uphill and climbs steeply onto a terrace on the TL of Turan Creek. From here it sidles higher than marked on the map around to Turan Pass and the Pollock Creek turn-off. The Polluck Creek turn-off is also wrongly marked on the map as being further down Pollock Creek than it actually is. After the turn-off the track begins climbing quite steeply up towards Dickie Ridge. There is a fair bit of windthrow on this section from the 2008 storms that needs to be skirted.

The track connects with the main spur in the alpine scrub zone and flattens out for a bit. At 1200m a there is a marker pole indicating the turn-off down to the Hut. Drop down the side ridge in a NE direction along a trail marked with stakes with permolat and cruise tape down to the tussock bench where the Hut is sited. Good visibility is required to locate the Hut. Allow 5-6 hours from Mikonui Flat to Dickie Spur.

Route up from Polluck Creek Hut is a mix of creek travel and sections of track which are now likely to be overgrown. Allow 5-6 hours for this trip.

Type

Dickie Spur is a basic NZFS 4-bunk hut design. Its wood burner was removed time back. It has a roof-fed water tank and a toilet.

Condition

Dickie Spur is in good condition. DOC repainted and resealed it, installed a watertank, and revamped the toilet in the summer of 2003/4. Water appears to be getting in above the Hut door somewhere and dripping into the cupboard area. There is a small damp area on the floor in the NW corner.

Routes

To get to Tuke Hut head back up the trail onto Dickie Ridge and from there up and over spot height 1326m down to the small saddle at 1296m. There is a steep drop from here into the creek catchment directly below. Follow the creek down to just above where it meets the Tuke. A track (recut in 2007) exits the creek on the TR and sidles upriver for 15 minutes then drops into the Tuke at the top entrance of the Upper Tuke Gorge. It is mostly river travel from here up to the Hut. In 2007 the trackcutters marked a couple of fords with orange markers, and cut some short sections of track around boulders. The markers are not neccessarily at the easiest or most practical crossing, so use your own common sense here. A short section of track sidles around the TL of a small gorge 20 minutes below the Hut. A swingbridge marked on the older topo maps upstream opposite Tuke Hut is gone. A track of sorts leads to the Hut up a small creek that enters the Tuke just upstream from the Hut site. It is not well marked, but the Hut is clearly visible from many points on the route up to it. Allow 3-4 hours from Dickie Spur to Top Tuke Hut.

There are higher-level routes to Top Tuke via Dickie Ridge, but the faces above Tuke Hut are very bluffy and extreme caution and good visibility are necessary when choosing a route down. The valley route is probably just as going up the Ridge, so there is no real time advantage.

Top Waitaha Hut can be accessed from Dickie Spur Hut via Dickie Ridge, The Tusk and Ragged Peak. A notch in the ridge not far from the top of the Tusk around spot height 1920m has been problematic for some and a rope may be neccessary as a back-up. The route from The Tusk down to Top Waitaha is via Ragged Peak and a long spur rinning in a SE direction towards the Stag/ Reid Creek confluence.

Sawtooth Ridge, despite its ominous name, is reportedly OK to traverse. It would be possible to reach Ivory Lake Hut in a day via Sawtooth Ridge, spot height 1870m, and the spur on the TR of Ivory Lake.

Repairs

Some sealing bay be necessary to fix that leak. You'd need to be there in heavy rain to see where it was leaking, as water doesn't seem to come in during "normal" rain.

Provisions on Site

Two aluminium washbasins, a hearth shovel and hand broom, a full-sized broom, a pick, a shovel, two bench seats, two spare louvre panes (one perspex), and four 3x3 wooden stakes.