Not all Adventures Require Walking - RZR Trip

Polaris RZR 1000 Rangitata River Trip

The plan for Saturday was for a group of about 10 Polaris RZR's to spend the day heading up the Rangitata River Valley to Mistake Flat Hut and back. Saturday in Ashburton dawned misty and foggy, but the Canterbury High Country forecast via Metservice promised a beautiful day.

So off we headed, meeting at the Arundel Bridge then continuing on to Mesopotamia Station. By the time we passed the Peel Forest Store the weather was on the improve, clear blue sky and a beaming yellow sun was shining.

Meopostamia Station is in a great location, providing a number of options to explore, and the parking area at Bush Stream is the gateway to all of this and more:

• 4WD the upper Rangitata River Valley,

• Hike the Two Thumbs Track section of the Te Araroa Trail to Tekapo,

• Hike or hunt up Black Birch Creek to Dog Kennel Bivvy

• See Dr. Sinclair's grave and learn about the history of this area

With excitement running high, we parked and unloaded at the Bush Stream parking area. We then carried on along the 4WD track that provides access to the Havelock River and the head of the valley. The river was running low at 46 cumics, which makes for easy crossing of the many braids, and after a short time we reached Growler Hut for morning tea.

Further up the valley, the 4WD track continues to Carneys Creek, from here there is no clearly marked track and it is all river bed travel. The last time we were up here was in the 4WD and it was very slow journey, with the worst section being the crossing of the Forbes River. This time was not much better, but the RZR did make for a quicker journey.

We reached Mistake Flat Hut, which at this time of the year does not get to see the sun and is surrounded by a stunning hoar frost. About 50 metres out from the hut, the tussocks were bathed in warm sun so this is where we parked up, enjoyed our packed lunch and planned our return journey.

I love bagging new huts, and for years I have been looking at Curtis Memorial Hut on the topo map that sits across from Mistake Flat Hut. A few people in the group had crossed and been to this hut so I was thankful when they suggested doing this, then coming down the true left of the Havelock River and crossing back just above Growler Hut.

Curtis Memorial Hut

This hut sits in a clearing about 100 metres above the valley floor, it sits in a beautiful sunny spot and has impressive views both up and down valley.

After our brief stop here, we carried on down the 4WD track to where it drops back into the river, at this spot we made our way back across the river and picked up the track we had come in on at Carneys Creek.

Bypassing Growler Hut on the way back, we had a quick journey back to the trailers at Bush Stream parking area.