9-11 January 2026

Leader: Elisabeth Hynes

Ten of us left Kāpiti at 8:00 am on Friday morning to give Makaretu Hut a thorough clean as part of the Love Our Huts campaign.

We made the traditional coffee stop in Dannevirke before continuing to the Kashmir Road end, which we reached at midday. It was far too windy for the planned route to Longview Hut, so we changed plans and headed to Awatere Hut for lunch instead.

From there, we followed the Makaretu River towards Makaretu Hut. A few trampers in the group did a side trip to visit Happy Daze Hut along the way. Other than windfall here and there and the occasional slimy rock, the river trail was easy going. After four hours we reached the hut. Six of us quickly found nice spots for camping, whilst the remaining four Parawais shared the Makaretu Hut with two other trampers.

On Saturday morning we all put on gloves and got the cleaning products ready. We scrubbed, pulled weeds, cleaned the toilet and aired the mattresses. When we finished, the hut looked sparkling clean. In the afternoon we explored the river downstream of the hut. During our wanderings two adults and two children arrived to stay the night at the hut. A heavy storm that night ensured that no one got much sleep.

After breakfast on Sunday morning, we packed up the tents and left the hut around 8:00 am. The river walk back to Awatere Hut was pleasant, and we stopped there once again for lunch. The final leg over Moorcock Saddle was the most challenging section of the trip, with gale-force winds making progress slow and difficult.

A well-deserved coffee stop in Dannevirke rounded off the journey home.

Those on the trip were:

Elisabeth Hynes, Jerri Bassi, Julie James, Kate Livingston, Marian Cox, Mark Robertson, Owen Cox, Petr Kure, Sigi Scrase, Shauna Powell

Currently there is no photo album for this trip.