Mungo Hut
(Mungo Hut looking over into the Brunswick and the Main Divide: Photo Andrew Buglass 2007)
Maintenance Status
Mungo Hut has been designated as
minimal maintenance. The main valley route to it is mostly river travel with
a few short tracked sections that will be maintained as a "marked route" by DOC.
These bits were recut in 2009.
Location
Hokitika catchment. Grid Ref: E1453218/
N5234720. Map BV19. 840m altitude. Mungo Hut
is a 1960's time capsule with fantastic remote ambience, in which little has changed
over the decades.
It is located in a tussock clearing on a flat section of ridge between the
Mungo and Park catchments, a 15 minutes climb up from the Mungo River.
Montane forest comprising pahautea, pink pine, toa toa,
rata, olearia, and nei nei surrounds the clearing, and the peaks
of the Main Divide and Toaroha Range tower above. There are a couple of
hot springs a short distance downriver from the Hut
above and below the Brunswick Stream. The upper and hotter spring
needs to be dug out, and there are a couple of
shovels at the hut for this.
Mungo Hut has always been low-use, mainly those doing Main Divide crossings, and gets
4-5 visits per year. It is a fantastic spot to spend a few days hanging out.
Access
Access to Mungo Hut from the West Coast side is via
the Toaroha valley and Toaroha Saddle. From Canterbury it is usually via the Wilberforce valley and Hokitika Saddle,
or occasionally Mungo Pass.
An old Forest Service track once went all the way up
the TR of the Mungo from Poet Hut. This no longer exists, apart from
its first section from the Toaroha Saddle turnoff
to Saddle Creek. This is kept maintained and was recut in 2009.
The remainder of the route is fine weather only, and is primarily river
travel with the odd marked detour. From Poet Hut follow
the main valley track upriver for half an hour, past Beta Creek, to
the Toaroha Saddle turn-off. Continues upvalley from the turn-off
to Saddle Creek and drop into Mungo riverbed here.
The remainder of the route is mostly boulderhopping.
Around the halfway mark the River cuts
in against some bluffs and it is necessary to ford to the TL
here. The crossing, a fine weather one, is usually not problematic, but is
is prone to change and can on occasions be difficult, or even unfordable.
Continue up the TL of the valley to Brunswick Creek. The Brunswick
is fast flowing and care needs to be taken fording this.
A three-wire bridge marked on the old maps is no longer there. Rex Taylor
has suggested cutting a short section of track starting about 200 yards
up the TL of the Creek down to the Mungo. The terrain here
is quite level once above the steep bank on the TL, and it
would allow a safer crossing of the Brunswick a couple of 100
metres upstream from the Mungo instead of a dodgier one nearer the forks. DOC
are OK with this being done.
Once over the Brunswick continue boulderhopping up to the Mungo for a round 10 minutes, then
cross back to the TR. A swingbridge on this section was removed by DOC in 2010, but
fording here or further up the Mungo is not normally problematic.
Boulderhop another 10 or so minutes to Park Stream, cross and continue up the Mungo another 100m.
The track entrance is marked with a large orange triangle and a steepish 10-15 minute
follows, up the ridge to the Hut. The track was recut in
2009.
Allow 2.5 - 3.5 hours from Poet Hut to Mungo Hut.
When approaching Mungo
Hut downriver from Hokitika Saddle there is a
short section of track that provides access from the riverbed starting around E1453255/
N5234540. It is incorrectly marked on the Topo map
as starting on the TR a small side creek further upriver. The track follows a
steep dry watercourse intially, then flattens and
meanders through scattered scrub to an open boggy area just before the Hut.
Another short, steep access track leads from the lower Park Stream up to the Hut.
This and the upriver access track were recut and
marked by volunteers in 2009.
Type
Mungo Hut is a standard unmodified NZFS four-bunk design with open fire built in the mid 1960's.
It replaced an older Hut built in the late 1950's. A toilet was added in the early 80's.
A small stream close-by supplies water and firewood needs to be
scrounged from dead standing trees or windthrow. The occasional idiot has dropped a
live pahautea (mountain cedar), which doesn't burn well even when dry. These beautiful trees are slow growing, and often
several hundred years old.
Condition
Mungo Hut had its
exterior repainted and resealed, some of the framimg and rotten floorboards replaced,
and the chimney and fireplace repaired and re-concreted in 2004. This is likely to be the last DOC
maintenance of any significance for a considerable time. The Hut is in sound condition currently, but
someone needs to adopt it to ensure its survival.
Routes
To access Hokitika Saddle from Mungo Hut follow the vague trail
and cruise tape around the bog at the southern end of the
Hut clearing. The track becomes better defined once it gets into the scrub, and leads
down to the River. Don't go back down the main track to the Park confluence
unless you want a considerably long trip upvalley. A couple of
hours boulderhopping should get you to
the base of the Saddle which has a near-vertical slot leading up to it.
Some tramping guides describe
the Saddle as being difficult from the West Coast side, and I guess this would be
the case using the direct approach. There is a much easier
route up a large steep scree that enters the
TL of the Mungo at around E1455908/ N5235847. Head up this and
climb out on the TR about 2/3 of the way up (avoiding the
obvious steep rock ribs) onto point 1850m. It is an easy stroll from
here North, along and down to the Saddle. Mt. Ambrose is an easy climb from the
Saddle and the
Main Divide traversable to Clarkes Pass and
beyond.
If continuing to Canterbury, drop into Griffiths Stream via the prominent
spur running NE from spot height 1850m. The
creek that drops from the Saddle into the Griffiths is reportedly user-friendly also.
It is a long straightforward plod down the Griffiths
Stream to the Unknown - Wilberforce confluence and from here around
an hour upvalley to Urquhart's Hut. Allow 6-8 hours
for the crossing from Mungo Hut to Urquhart's Hut in good conditions.
Mungo Pass can be accessed from the upper Brunswick Stream via
a small side creek coming in on the TR at E1452935/ N5232200.
Climb out on the TL of the creek further up and ascend the large
scree to the Pass. The faces on the Gibson Stream side
of the Pass are very
steep tussock and bare rock. In winter and spring
ice axes, crampons, and possibly a rope may be required. Gibson Stream can
be followed a short distance down to the top of the small gorge
at E1456348/ N5231687. Here you need to climb out
on the TL up some steep faces, sidle behind point 1290m, and drop back into
the Gibson down a rib on the TL of the next side creek. Continue down the Gibson to the Unknown Stream.
Allow 6-8 hours for the crossing from
Mungo Hut to Unknown Stream Hut.
Mt. Bryce is a fairly easy climb from the head
of Brunswick Creek. A rock buttress between Mt. Bryce
and Kai Iwi prevents any further easy scrambling.
Sir Robert
Hut can be accessed via a high-level route over Brunswick Ridge.
Head up Brunswick Creek to the bottom a side ridge leading up onto Brunswick Ridge,
around E1452882/ N5232293. Once on Brunswick Ridge continue
up to a small dip at around E1451902/ N5231267.
Drop from here into the Sir Robert catchment down the large scree that feeds into the side
creek below. It's very steep at the top of the scree so choose your entry point with
care. Ice axes, crampons and a rope may be required in winter and spring. Once on the scree
proper it's straightforward down to the creek, although it is active at the top with regular
rockfalls. Follow the creek down to Sir
Robert Creek and boulderhop upstream to the Hut. Allow 6-7 hours
for the crossing fromm Mungo Hut to Sir Robert Hut.
There is a fast, but reasonably tough route to Toaroha Saddle Biv
from Mungo Hut via Topo Creek. The Creek has two waterfalls in its lower
section and a steep scree at its head. The lower fall requires a
a scrub bash on the TL to get around it. The upper fall can be negotiated via a narrow
scrubby ledge on the TR. Above the falls the Creek is steep with shattered rock, with a steep active
scree at the top. The scree leads onto a flat tussock bench above and
West of Toaroha Saddle (E1451662/ N5235060). From here it is a pleasant amble down to
the Saddle and a short climb from here up and along to the Biv. Allow 2.5-3 hours
to get from Mungo Hut
to Toaroha Biv.
There is a great tops route out from Mungo Hut along the
Toaroha Range with potential to drop in at
Crystal Biv,
Yeates
Ridge, Adventure Biv,
or Top Kokatahi Hut.
A track at the NW end of the
Hut clearing leads steeply down into Park Stream. Follow the Park up for an hour or so
to a dry gut (marked as a creek on the map) that enters on the TR of the Park at around E1452917/ N5236770.
This gut leads all the way up to the crest of the Toaroha Range
between Mts. Bannatyne and Chamberlin. Once on the crest either traverse Chamberlin on its East side, or cut across the
upper basin of Chamberlin Creek and back onto the main Range between Chamberlin and point 1809m.
Travel from here along the Range is straightforward.
A
prominent spur running West off the Range provides access down to Yeates Ridge and
Crystal Biv. The spur forks at a flat area around the 1300m contour.
Yeates Ridge Hut is accessed down the scrubby face on the NW fork of the spur. A trail has been cut through
a band of alpine scrub and there is intermittent cruise tape and couple of snow poles.
At the bottom of the face more poles lead West through patchy scrub and open tussock
onto a low ridge bounding Zit Creek. A track folllows this down to
an open area bordering the shallow basin in which the Hut is located.
Wooden stakes mark a rough route across the basin and up to the Hut. Allow 3-4 hours in good
conditions for this crossing.
To get to Crystal Biv drop down the SW fork of the spur. Crystal Biv
which is visible in fine weather from just below the 1300m contour.
It is easy travel down with a bit of scattered scrub to negotiate
just above the big tarn. Allow 5-6 hours from Mungo Hut to both Crystal and Yeates in good conditions
Top Kokatahi Hut can be accessed from the top of the Range
by dropping down the tussock faces a short
distance upriver from it. A shorter and more direct route can be taken from Mt. Chamberlin
down into the head of the Kokatahi, which can be followed without difficulty down to the Hut. The latter shouldn't
take more than four hours, but would possible be a bit avalanche prone in winter.
Adventure Biv can be accessed by continuing North along the Toaroha Range
to a point North of Zit Saddle around E1451520/ N5240255 where the poled route
up from Top Kokatahi crosses over. The poles lead down a steep tussock face
on the Toaroha side onto a narrow rib, then down a short tracked section through
a band of scrub into the upper TR branch of Zit Creek. Head up onto the TR bank of the Creek
and follow a rough trail through scattered scrub across the face to Adventure Ridge.
A short section of track leads through the alpine scrub down the ridge to the Biv.
Don't try dropping into the Toaroha down Zit Creek directly from Zit
Saddle unless you have a rope and a spare day up your sleeve. Allow 6-8 hours for the
trip from Mungo to Adventure Biv.
Repairs needed
None currently. That short section of track on the TL of the Brunswick would be
worth putting in at some point.
Provisions on Site
Four Billies, a camp oven, an aluminium basin, a hearth shovel and hand broom, a broom, two shovels,
an axe, a handsaw, some black polythene, some bags of 6", 3" and 2" joltheadnails, three rolls of Denzo Tape, two
spare louvre panes,
a makeshift ladder, and
one long length of 6x2.
