Poet Hut

(Poet Hut: Photo DOC 2003/ 4)

Maintenance status

Poet Hut and the tracks to it are fully maintained by DOC.

Location

Mungo River catchment. Topo Map BV19. Grid Ref: E1449475/ N5233573. Altitude 580m. Poet Hut is located next to the Mungo River two hour's walk above the Hokitika confluence. Montane forest cloaks the hillside behind the Hut, which is a relic of the 1950's, small, pokey, and cosy with the fire going.

Access

Poet is on the Frew Saddle - Toaroha Saddle circuit, a relatively popular tramp of medium-difficulty. DOC recut the tracks on the circuit in February 2009.

The most direct route to Poet Hut is via the Toaroha valley and Toaroha Saddle. A very fit person with a light pack would be able to do the whole trip in a 12 - 14 hours. A more sensible and relaxed time frame would be 1.5 - 2 days. From Toaroha Saddle Biv it takes a couple of hours to reach Poet. Snow poles lead from the Biv down steep tussock faces to a ridge on the TL of the Beta Creek. A track starts at the scrub edge and continues down the ridge to the Mungo River. It is wide and well cut. From the Saddle turn-off the main valley track continues downriver and across Beta Creek. A short section of boulderhopping and a stretch of track takes you to the Hut.

If coming rom the Whitcombe end via Frews Saddle, you'd need to allow 2.5- 3 days to reach Poet. The track down from Bluff Hut into the Mungo is very steep, with the Hokitka River dropping adjacent to it over a series of spectacular waterfalls. The track up the Mungo to Poet crosses three largeish side creeks, Poet, Harricot and Rice, and is a mix of cut trail and boulderhopping. Allow 2.3 - 3 hours to get from Bluff to Poet.

Type

Poet is a standard NZFS 4-bunk design built in the 1950's with an open fire. The original hut had a flat-iron roof that was replaced in the 1960's with corrugated iron. The original perspex window was replaced with louvres and a small deck with steps added in the DOC era. There is a loo, and water is from the River.

Condition

DOC did some painting, sealing and maintenance on Poet in the Summer of 2003/4. It should be in pretty good condition.

Routes

Getting to Frisco Hut further down the Hokitika valley is a reasonably challenging affair. NZFS ceased maintaining the tracks on the TR of the Hokitka below Bluff swingbridge sometime in the 1970's and much of the trail has vanished or blended back into the bush. The original trackline can be followed with difficulty in places. Follow the cut track down to the Bluff bridge. The old Frisco track goes up the ridge on the TR of Darby Creek to around 900m, then leaves the ridge and sidles across the montane faces towards Frisco. The first bit of the sidle has slipped away and the track is gone completely. Locating the remainder of the track further down the valley is difficult.

An alternative route to Frisco would be to continue boulderhopping down the TR of the Hokitika past Darby Creek to Detour Creek. The latter drops over a waterfall into the Hokitika and it is necessary to climb the bush faces upriver of it, droppin into the Creek above the fall. The Creek is open and steep from here with an area of slippage in its head. Either climb to the top of the slips and push through a band of dense montane forest to the old trackline downriver from the Hut, or continue up the Creek around a small waterfall on the TL of the slips to the trackline 10 minutes upriver from the Hut. The exit point from the Creek should be cairned and marked on the TR.

The track to Sir Robert Hut starts 20 minutes upriver from Poet on the other side of the Homeward Ridge swingbridge. The track crosses a terrace initially on which is a fair bit of windthrow from the 2008 winter storms. After this it begins climbing up Homeward Ridge. The going is easy, although steep initially. In the sub alpine zone the ridge flattens and the track crosses an open area of tussock before re-entering the scrub and continuing up the ridge up to the tussock. At 1460m it is necessary to drop off the Ridge down a steep tussock rib into a small creek which enters Sir Robert Creek about 400m downstream from the Hut. There are a couple of small sections of track on the TL between the side creek and the Hut. The journey from Poet to Sir Robert takes 4.5-5.5 hours. The track was maintained until the early 90's, but probably won't be maintained futher.

The route from Poet Hut to Mungo Hut is a dry-weather one. An old Forest Service track that once provided access all the way up the TR of the valley to Mungo is gone, apart from a short maintained stretch from the Toaroha Saddle turnoff to Saddle Creek (re-cut in February 2009). The remainder of the route is now river travel. At Saddle Creek the track drops steeply down a regenerating slip to the Creek, then down to the River. Boulderhop from here up the TR following cairns and the odd orange triangle. At the mid point of the route the Mungo cuts in against some bluffs on the TR, and a ford over to a river flat on the TL is required. This is not usually problematic at normal flows, but the River does change on occasions and becomes more difficult. Once on the TL of the valley it's straightforward travel up to Brunswick Creek. The Brunswick is fast flowing and care is needed at all times when fording it.

Above the Brunswick it is 10 minutes boulderhoppeng up to the swingbridge which is crossed back to the TR. Another 10 minutes takes you to Park Stream and 100m above this is a large orange triangle on the Mungo riverbed which marks the start of the track up to the Hut. A short steep ridge climb of 10-15 minutes takes you to the Hut. This was recut in February 2009. Allow 2.5 - 3.5 hours from Poet Creek to Mungo Hut.

Repairs needed

Unknown.

Provisions on Site:

Unknown.