Gerhardt Spur Biv
(Gerhardt Spur Biv:
Photo Mauricio Lloreda 2005)
Maintenance Status
Gerhardt Biv and the track to it up Gerhardt Spur are
designated as fully
maintain. The track was recut and marked by
Permolat volunteers in 2010 and is in very good condition.
DOC have scheduled their next official retrim for 2013/ 14.
Location
Hokitika catchment:
Grid Ref: E1444715/ N5240380.
Map BV19. Altitude 1250m. Gerhardt Biv is located on the Diedrich Range between the
Hokitika and Toaroha rivers. Gerhardt Spur
divides the Diedrich and Muriel Creek catchments and runs from the
farmland at edge of the Kowhiterangi plain to Jumbletop at 1610m.
There are great views
out over the plain the Tasman Sea and it is a reasonably short,
easy climb from the Biv to the summit of
Jumbletop.
Access
The Gerhard Spur track can be accessed from the
Diedrich Creek bridge
on the Hokitika Gorge road. There are a number of
"private property" signs on adjacent farmland, so it may be
prudent to travel up the Creek bed to the Muriel Creek
confluence. Diedrich Creek veers South East into a
gorge here and the track starts at the foot of the ridge at around
E1439635/ N5240680.
Gerhardt is a long spur and the tramp up to the Biv takes 5-6 hours when in good
order. It climbs steeply for the first 2km until spot height 867m is reached. The Spur
then drops a bit before levelling, and after this climbs gradually in a series of steps
to the tussock.
The Biv can also be accessed from Cedar Flat in the Toaroha valley via the
Squall Peak tops track, a non-maintain track that volunteers
have opened up over the past few years.
It is currently in good shape and well marked. The route involves a traverse of
the north peak of Jumbletop, relatively straighforward in good conditions,
and a bit more interesting than the long plod up Gerhardt Spur.
The track starts on Cedar Flat on the TL of Percy Creek
20m above the Toaroha confluence. The entrance is cairned and cruise-taped. The first section
ridge track is reasonably open and steepens
from 600m. There is a prominent bump on
the ridge at E1447485/ N5242225, the a small dip with a wallow hole. From here
the track sidles across a face through a
band of leatherwood before resuming the ridge climb. Nearer the top it is
cruise-taped through the scattered scrub to
the tussock. The track start is fairly easy to locate if descending.
Once in the tussock travel is straightforward up and over Jumbletop to the Biv.
Allow 4-5 hours travel from
Cedar Flat to Gerhardt Biv.
Type
Gerhardt was one of the
last of the bivoucs built by NZFS. It was erected in the mid
1970's to replace the original Gerhardt Biv, sited lower
down the ridge, which had blown off its piles. The new Biv was larger than
than its predecessor, with room to walk at a
stoop. It has one bench bunk, is lined, and of sturdy construction.
It rapidly became a sauna with the door closed and the old kero cooker going.
Probably highly toxic as well, but we didn't have that awareness back then. There is
a small tarn supplying water, which could possibly dry up during extended
dry periods.
Condition
Gerhardt had its exterior painted and resealed over the
summer of 2003/ 4 by DOC and is in sound condition. Three
louvres that blew out on the South-facing window were replaced in 2010 and
rust areas on the roof and were treated in preperation for painting.
The door has lost all of its paint.
Routes
The northern-most
Jumbletop peak is easily traversable over to
Squall Peak. There are three other peaks running
South from it towards Mt. O'Connor. The first of these
(E1445735/ N5240920) has
a steep narrow section of crumbing rock on its northern approach that is very
exposed on both the Hokitika and Toaroha sides. It
is traversable, but not for those with a fear of heights. This can be
avoided from the Gerhardt Biv side
by dropping into the headwaters of Diedrich Creek
to a prominent fork at E1445315/ N5240625.
Climb back out via a true left fork in the Creek onto the southernmost peak of Jumbletop
(1610m). The top of this fork is steep with crumbling rock and care needs to be taken
here as well.
Once on the Deidrich Range it is relatively straightforward to get
to Mullins Basin Hut.
There is a rock cairn and iron
stake in a saddle between spot heights 1780m and 1610m, which is the turn-off
point. From here you head in a SE direction across and down
a sloping face deeply dissected by a number of small
streams and slots, into Mullins Basin.
The entry point to the
basin is around E1446865/ N5237960 on a sloping
bench between two small creeks. Both creeks have waterfalls
and the alpine scrub zone is a lot thicker at other
points of entry. This particular slope has only scattered
scrub, is not difficult to get through and was cruise-taped in 2008.
A Cedar Flat, Mullins Basin, Gerhardt Spur circuit (or vice versa)
is a delightful 3-4 dayer. Allow 4+ hours to get from Gerhardt to Mullins
For those wanting a bit more of a challenge there are high-level tops
routes from Gerhardt Biv to Toaroha
Saddle Biv and Frisco Hut
and
Serpentine Huts in the Hokitika. A trip over Mt. O'Connor and down Serpentine
Creek to Serpentine Hut was
done by members of a search and rescue exercise in 2003.
Repairs
A repaint is scheduled at some point by DOC on the treated rust spots. Not sure about the door.
Provisions on site
A Slasher, a sledgehammer, a hand-brush, a wide broom with no handle,
3 billies, a bucket, a wash basin, and 2 bench-seats.