Kiwi Flat Hut
(Kiwi Flat Hut: Warren Chinn 2005)
Maintenance Status
Kiwi Flat Hut and the track
to it from the roadend are designated as fully maintain. DOC hasn't done any work on the track
for some time and it had been overgrowing quite badly in places. John Hutt and Neil Bradley gave it a
good trim and cruise-taping in early 2011. Permolat volunteers did some more of the same on their way out in September,
and the track is
currently in pretty good shape. There are historical and ongoing issues with P.D. Farms Ltd.
who have at times refused access across their land on the South bank to the start of the Waitaha valley track, in protest
at DOC's use of 1080 in the area. We'd encourage folk to ring them anyway, as they recently granted
permission for a Permolat group to cross their land.
NZ Walking Access Commission is aware of the issue and is working through it with the various parties. DOC
are considering putting a track up the TR of the valley if the access issues aren't resolved.
Location
Waitaha catchment.
Grid Ref: E1416718/ N5221664. Map BW17.
265m altitude. Kiwi Flat Hut is located on a low terrrace on the TR of
Whirling Water, just upstream from its confluence with the Waitaha River.
It is a pleasant, relatively easy overnighter, and stopover for those heading further up the Waitaha.
The Hut sits adjacent to the
the large river flat from which it derives its name. The forest on the faces and terraces surounding
Kiwi Flat is mature podocarp, rata, kamahi and quintinia. A swingbridge leading nowhere
in particular, but with a great view, spans the
entrance of the Morgan Gorge at the bottom of the Flat.
Westpower are currently scoping a hydro project which would involve
damming the Waitaha at Kiwi Flat. A tunnel would take the water from
the dam down to a powerhouse below the Morgan Gorge and an access road constructed on the
TR of the Waitaha through virgin podocarp forest. The entire Waitaha
would be piped down the tunnel with only Whirling Water still feeding through the Gorge,
a mere 25% of its current
flow. The integrity and unspoiled, pristine beauty of the Gorge with its beautiful
azure blue waters and polished rock slots overhung with southern rata,
would be
destroyed. This development would severely compromise the remote wilderness value of the area
and high country users and the wider public need to
be made aware of this crazy plan.
Access
The track to Kiwi Flat is currently in reasonably good shape aside from a short
section from the top end of PD Farms to Douglas Creek, which needs trimming and marking.
An alternative to this first section is a route that follows an old road from the
NE corner of the Farm down to the Waitaha that connects with the riverbed. It is an easy 15 minute
boulderhop from here up the Douglas.
The P.D. Farms contacts for access are David at 03 762 7020, or Philip at 03 762 7632.
The Kiwi Flat track can be accessed from North Bank of the Waitaha, but this adds about 1.25 hours to the trip.
The Shaw property at the North bank roadend can be crossed with permission, and
a reasonable fine weather ford can be made just upriver from Douglas Creek.
The Waitaha can be tricky to cross at times, so this route
cannot be relied on for general use.
The South bank route starts at the
locked gate at the end of the public road. Continue up the farm road from here past the small cottage
to the top
SW corner of the farm. The track starts on the other side of a small creek
and follows an old farm trail that traverses the foot of the hill
to a large shingle fan. Cruise tape leads down the fan into a small creek
that flows down towards Douglas Creek. A track exits the creek on its TR and
cuts through a section of bush to the Douglas 150m upstream from its confluence with the Waitaha.
The Douglas can be difficult to
cross after heavy rain.
It is a one hour boulderhop from Douglas Creek
to Glamour Glen, with the boulders
getting progressively larger towards the mouth of the Morgan Gorge.
It is common to see goats in the river and creek beds on this section.
The track up and around the Gorge
on the TR bank of Glamour Glen. It climbs steeply intially, then sidles
above the Gorge.
There is usually a sulphury smell at the first small scoured out side creek on
the sidle, emmanating from a hot spring down in
the gorge.
Access to the spring is down the creek to the lip of a small
waterfall where a diagonal crack on the TR provides a route of sorts down into the gorge.
The crack is exposed and slippery at the top and a
rope would be a good insurance measure here. The spring feeds into some small rock hollows
just above the River and provide a half-decent bath.
The valley track continues sidling around the Gorge
crossing another freshly scoured out gut. At around
400m altitude it starts a gentle descent towards Kiwi Flat. Boulderhop up the Flat
to Whirling Water and ford it just above its confluence withe Waitaha. Around 200m up the TR of
Whirling Water an orange triangle marks the track up the river bank
to the Hut. Allow 3-3.5 hours currently from the roadend to Kiwi Flat.
It's worth having a look at the mouth of the Morgan
Gorge from the swingbridge at the bottom of Kiwi
Flat. It was recently done up by DOC and will be
minimally maintained. The big orange triangle visible at the bottom of the flat is not the
start of the track to the roadend. It's the track up to the bridge. The start of the track to the
roadend enters the bush 200m before this and is only minimally marked with a bit of cruise tape. Nothing
remains of an old Forest Service track on the TR of the swingbridge that used to go up to onto Urquhart's
Knob on the Hitchen Range. Travel down the untracked TR of the Waitaha from Kiwi Flat to the
North bank roadend is not particularly easy or pleasant according to a report from
someone who attempted it.
Type
Kiwi Flat Hut is a
standard six-bunk NZFS design with open fire built in the 1960's.
It was lined in the early 80's and had
some of the cupboards removed around the entrance. A water tank
was added around the same time and a woodshed followed in '87.
Condition
Kiwi Flat Hut was repainted and had some general maintenance
and chimney repairs done in 2003. It is in good condition currently.
Regenerating bush around the Hut is encroaching and needs a major trim-back.
The
Hut is currently damp and shady on the terrace side.
The chimney leaks a bit and has rust patches
on the outside a metre and a half above ground level.
Routes
DOC officially ceased maintaining the valley tracks upriver from
Kiwi Flat in 2004, although in reality there had been no work since 1994. The trails
overgrew steadily from then on and
became increasingly difficult to follow.
Permolat volunteers have gone in on two occasions and recut the upper valley tracks, most recently in 2011.
The Moonbeam Hut track starts at the Kiwi Flat Hut door and
climbs steeply up onto the bush terrace that separates the Waitaha and Whirling Water.
It follows this for 30 minutes to the Headlong Spur turnoff. Aside from a light trim around a few of the windfalls,
this section wasn't touched in
Permolat's recent effort, because at that stage it was still officially fully maintain. DOC are now looking at
dropping the Headlong Spur/ Scamper Torrent Hut circuit from their maintenance regime,
so we may have to go back in and do this bit.
At the Headlong Spur turnoff the main valley trail
drops off the terrace and sidles across
the bush faces above the Waitaha Gorge. There are two
large slips around 1/2 an hour
up
from the turnoff. Both are active and there is a considerable amount of
wood debris to work through in places. Entry and exit points are currently well marked.
A new piece of track has been cut from the original trackline down 50 or so metres onto the first slip.
Cross here, through an area of dead windthrow onto the slip, and up a bare shingle rib on the other side.
The trail sidles through small regenerating
hardwoods to the second slip. This has one steep, very exposed section, and care needs to be taken crossing it.
This section can be avoided by climbing and taking an easier line across, higher up the face. After the slips the track continues its sidle across the bush faces with various ups and downs. It eventually
drops back toward the River, connecting with the riverbed
just upstream of Mark Creek. From here it is around an hour, mostly boulderhopping, to Moonbeam Hut.
Moonbeam Torrent is
a large, swift creek that is difficult or impassable after heavy rain.
From the Torrent it is another 10 minutes of boulderhopping to the track entrance up to the Hut.
The climbs steeply for 10 minutes up onto the terrace where the
Hut is located. Allow 4.5-5.5 hours to get from Kiwi Flat to Moonbeam Hut currently.
The track
to Scamper Torrent Hut starts at the
bottom of Kiwi Flat on the TR of Labyrinth Creek, about 75m upstream from
the Flat. It was put on DOC's fully maintain schedule in 2004, but no work was done on it.
DOC are now considering dropping it from their maintain schedule due to funding cuts.
A cruise-taped stoatline enters the bush just downstram from the actual track entrance,
but it all connects up eventually. The track entrance proper is overgrown, and the rest of the track
altough OK currently, gets more overgrown as time passes. There are significant
areas of windthrow up on the terraces above Labyrinth Creek and it requires a bit of care here to
stay on the track. A little bit of trimming was done on the lower section in early 2012.
The terrace section is followed by a steep climb up a bush face onto a steep narrow spur.
The track is better defined on the spur and easier to follow. At the tussock line the spur
connects with the main ridge that bounds the TL of Scamper Torrent basin.
Snow poles lead from here down into the basin, with the Hut is visible from just below
the crest of the ridge in fine weather.
A rough trail marked with permolat, cruise-tape and the odd pole passes through a
band of alpine scrub just above the Torrent. It is 15 minute's easy river travel from
here up to the Hut, located on a tussock terrace 30m above the TL fork of the Torrent.
The Scamper track has had the odd bit of
trimming and cruise-taping work done
by various folk over the years, the most recent in February of 2011.
Allow 2.5-3 hours to reach Scamper Torrent Hut from Kiwi Flat Hut.
The tops track up Headlong Spur 1/2 an hour upriver from Kiwi Flat provides
access to the Smyth Range and alpine routes to
County Stream Hut and Scamper Torrent.
Follow the main valley track to Moonbeam Hut to the turnoff. DOC designated
the track up the Spur
fully maintain in 2004, but no work was done on it. It now looks like being dropped from the schedule, leaving
the community or volunteers to cut it at some point. At the moment it is overgrown and
can be challenging to follow, particularly on the lower faces, and near the top end. The mid section
is reportedly still relatively open and easy to follow. Some repermolatting was done near the top end in early 2012.
There is a good three-day circuit from Kiwi Flat
around the Smyth Range to Scamper Torrent and back down the Waitaha. A tent is required for
the one of the nights. There is one steep South-facing section
of ridge on the Smyth Range just above the Kea
Glacier where a few steps may need to be cut in the snow.
The rest of the Range is good, reasonably fast travel,
with lots of good campsites. To get down
to Scamper Torrent Hut from Mt. Durward, drop/ sidle in a WNW direction
down the flat sloping benches above the two
deeply slotted TR forks of Scamper Torrent. Cross the second fork just above
a small waterfall and from here drop in a NE direction down
a fairly obvious flattish spur on the TR
of the main branch of the Torrent to the Hut.
To get to County Stream Hut requires a traverse of
Mts. Neville and Barry and as there is a bit of permanent snow on these two peaks,
it may be advisable to carry an iceaxe.
Also, there is a steep exposed section between
points 1945m and 1690m on the descent of Clearview Spur that
needs down-climbing.
Access from Clearview Spur into County is down the faces between Canary Creek and the next side creek
down. A band of scrub near the bottom can be avoided by dropping into Canary Creek for the last
couple of hundred metres.
Repairs
Some sealing work needs to be carried out on the fireplace. Major chimney repairs or replacement may be
required in the longer term. The louvre handle on the end window is
broken and needs replacing.
Provisions on Site
Two camp ovens, two billies, a broom, two aluminium buckets, a plastic wash basin,
and an axes.
