By Justin Atkinson, 17 December 2023
Jack, Vic, Kate, Patrick, and myself set off to help Chris complete his lifelong quest: bag all the huts in the Aorangi Forest Park. This area is known for the Pinnacles and the Aorangi Crossing, but Chris had just one hut left: Tauanui.
Chris and DOC both suggested a 4-6 hour return walk to the hut. At least Chris noted that "apparently the road access is chill." While on private land, the landowners are pretty relaxed about visitors.
A 40min drive from Featherston brought us to the track start. While this started out nice, Chris's words came back to haunt us. After reaching a private back road, it became super rough and potholed, making for a bumpy rollercoaster ride to the Tauanui river.
We set off from the carpark at 11:30am along the river in high spirits. The day was overcast but warm. We expected a 2-3 hour walk to the hut. The track weaved back and forth across the river with plenty of crossings. It was pretty shallow and mostly flat, so it was a pleasant walk. Christmas was only a week away, which added to the chill vibes.
Yet Chris and DOC had misled us: oh dear, it was not a 2-3 hour walk. It actually took us a grand total of 55 minutes! We were all amused but also let down, as we had barely started tramping. We threw around an idea of a multi-hour bush bash to the Pinnacles. In the end though, we decided to keep up the chill vibe of the day and limit ourselves to Tauanui hut.
The hut was nice enough but a little soulless. It felt more for hunters than trampers. The hut book was pretty wild, everyone who visits Tauanui seems to have a wild time, leading Patrick to write "I guess we should get fckd up too." For the historians, we noted that "Chris completed a lifelong quest." I'll leave it at that ;)
We enjoyed lunch, before heading back to the car at 1:15pm. We stopped for a chill swim at a nice swimming hole on the way. Still, it only took an hour to reach the car. Another rollercoaster ride thus ensued.
While there was still a faint desire to visit the Pinnacles, we settled for Lake Ferry. Unfortunately the hotel cafe there was closed, so we travelled to The Royal Hotel pub in Featherston for drinks and fries (and a passionfruit yo-yo that cost $5.50! You're welcome). Bidding farewell, we headed home having had a super fun day!
