Mikonui Biv
(Mikonui Biv looking across to Remarkable Peak: Photo Andrew
Buglass 2005)
Maintenance Status
Mikonui Spur Biv and the track to it are designated as fully maintain.
The Biv was completely rennovated in 2004 and the track recut in June 2011.
Location
Mikonui catchment. Grid Ref: E1431895/
N5233867. Map BV18. 1130m altitude. Mikonui Biv is located in the tussock
on Mikonui Spur, which divides the
Dickson and Mikonui catchments. It can be accessed in a day
from the Mikonui roadend and there are superb views to be had of Remarkable Peak,
the coastal plains,
and the Tasman Sea. Mt. Bowen is a relatively easy climb from the Biv which
attracts a steady,
low-level
stream of overnight visitors. It is now part of a maintained tops circuit
over into Noisy basin and the Whitcombe valley.
Access
The Mikonui Spur track should be in good condition currently.
It starts around 1/2 an hour upriver from Mikonui Flat
Hut. The entrance is on the TR of the Dickson River 20m upstream from an old deer pen at the
Mikonui confluence. The track sticks close to
the River's edge for a couple of hundred metres, then climbs up onto a terrace on the TR of the Dickson Gorge.
It follows the terrace for a bit, climbing gradually, to the foot of Mikonui Spur proper.
The track climbs relatively steeply from here to around 850m where the Spur flattens,
veers NE, then SE, passing through the montane/
sub-alpine zone. Following this a steeper section of ridge leads up through the alpine scrub
onto a flat area with tussock
and scattered scrub. The trail then drops into a tussock gully, which it follows for
a short stretch before exiting and climbing up
through a band of alpine scrub to the bench where the Biv is located. Allow 4-5 hours from
Mikonui Flat Hut to Mikonui Biv.
A track from the junction
of the Mikonui River and Explorer Creek onto Mikonui Spur marked on some of the older NZFS
route guides
probably no longer exists in a usable form.
Type
Mikonui Biv is a basic NZFS two-person design built in the late 1950's. There are no bunks,
mattresses or toilet. A tarn
supplies drinking water.
Condition
DOC replaced the piles and roof, and painted and sealed the exterior
of the Biv in 2004. It should still be in good condition.
Routes
To access Mt. Bowen continue up the Spur from the Biv through
scattered alpine scrub to the open tussock. Follow the ridge up, there some scree slopes just below the
summit. Access is possible from here to Miserable
and Misty Ridges, and Noisy Creek basin via Sentinel Peak. There isn't any up-to-date information
at this stage on an old NZFS track
from Rapid Creek in the Hokitika up onto Miserable Ridge, although it is undoubtedly very overgrown.
Another old FS track provides access from Explorer Hut onto the mid portion
of Miserable Ridge. It had work done on it by volunteers in 2009 and is
now cut and taped to within about 100 vertical (800 lineal) meters of the
tussock. The last bit will still be overgrown, but the route us probably useable.
From the summit of Bowen you can drop down to
Misty Ridge to Mt. Browne, where an old tops track leads down to Rapid Creek.
This is still OK albeit overgrown in patches, and some trimming
and marking work was done by volunteers in on it in 2008.
There is a route off
Mt. Bowen over Sentinel Peak into Noisy Creek basin. From here a maintained track leads down to the Cropp junction
in the Whitcombe. A derelict Biv in Noisy Creek basin was removed in November 2005,
however there is now rumours that a high-stud Biv
may be rebuilt there as a community project.
Another old NZFS track
goes from the Noisy Creek tops down into the Cropp Basin. This is very overgrown and at last report nigh
impossible to follow in its mid section.
If travelling from Mikonui Spur, the Cropp basin can be accessed directly from Sentinel
Peak, Dickson Pass and Douglas Gully. The ridge down from Sentinel Peak to Dickson Pass is
steep, would often be icy in winter and spring, requiring ice axes and crampons.
Tops traverses to Healey
Spur Hut and Tuke Hut
are possible via Dickson
Pass and Galena Ridge. A sidle on the Cropp basin side, under Remarkable Peak's North face,
is required for this. Access down onto Healey Spur is via a steep rib composed of loose rock and scree.
The dip in Healey Spur is followed by a short razor-backed section, which can be traversed with care.
This can be avoided by dropping onto a sloping bench
on the Healey Creek side of the Spur and sidling in the direction of the Hut, which is visible in fine conditions.
A deep
slot just before the Hut necessitates a climb back up to around the 1500m contour
on the Spur. Allow 5-6 hours from Mikonui Biv to Healey Spur Hut.
Travel along Galena Ridge from Remarkable Peak to Mt. Beaumont
is reasonably straightforward, apart from one exposed notch on the Ridge just
before the col West of Beaumont, which requires a bit of downclimbing. The
most direct route
down into the Tuke and Tuke
Hut is
via the SW ridge of point 1974m. The spur borders the TR of a hanging basin
whose side creek enters the Tuke upstream of Tuke Hut.
The route down from the lip of the basin is from a flat tussock bench on the TR
of the waterfall.
A small
gap in the bluffs at the end of the bench (around E1428665/ N5227080) provides access to a steepish rib that drops
down into the Tuke.
Tuke Hut is visble directly below the bluffs here. Drop off the rib further down into the
small creek that flows past the Hut. Sidle out of the TR of the creek and continue down
the tussock faces to the Hut.
Repairs Needed
There are no recent reports of any repairs needed.
Provisions on site
The ubiquitous DOC hearth shovel and brush, and a hammer.
