Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
OLD WAIHOHONU HUT
Old Waihohonu Hut is NZ's oldest mountain hut, and it's certainly one of the most be-
loved among Kiwi trampers.
The hut was built in 1904 by the Tourist and Health Resorts Department as a stop-
off for stagecoaches on the Grand Tourist Route from Wanganui to Taupo, through
what is now Whanganui and Tongariro National Parks. After the main trunk railway
was opened on the other side of the park in 1908, Waihohonu Hut became the base
for the first recreational skiing in NZ in 1913. Later it served as shearers' quarters be-
fore becoming popular with trampers. Tongariro's oldest hut was finally retired in
1968, and was eventually declared a historical structure.
The fact that it has endured a century of extreme weather is testament to the Kiwi
ingenuity of its builders. The hut was constructed from pit-sawn totara wood beams,
and clad with corrugated iron, with all materials being carried up by men or horses.
Workers then filled the wall cavities with pumice stones to insulate the hut and protect
it from fire. The hut was so well designed that it has survived the foul weather buf-
feting the slopes of Ruapehu, occasional trampers' mishaps with stoves, and even a
few volcanic eruptions.
Today, the classic red structure, the oldest example of an early two-room alpine hut
in the country, is a museum with an interesting series of displays of early equipment
and photos. But the hut also serves as a monument to NZ's passion for mountain re-
creation and adventure. The fact that this museum has to be reached on foot seems
totally appropriate.
KAIMANAWA FOREST PARK
Just to the east of Tongariro National Park is Kaimanawa Forest Park, a 773-sq-km conser-
vation park dominated by the Kaimanawa Range and the beech forest that covers much of
the area. The park contains the upper catchments of four major rivers: the Mohaka, the
Rangitikei, the Ngaruroro and the Tongariro.
For trampers, Kaimanawa is a complete contrast to Tongariro National Park: one is well
known, well used and easily accessible; the other is little known, little used and difficult to
reach by public transport. In Tongariro, tracks are benched and well marked; in Kaimanawa,
you need good bushcraft and river-crossing skills to travel from hut to hut.
History
Although there was scant Maori settlement in Kaimanawa, the area was widely travelled
with some evidence of camps. Its name is derived from the words of Hape-ki-tuarangi, who
