Day 1: Mangahao Lower No 2 Reservoir to Burn Hut Weather: Dry and warm
DOC travel time: 3-4 hrs Group Time: 4 hrs
Departing Wellington at 9am, it was a 1 1/2hr drive to Shannon, where we had morning tea. After this, there was a 45 minute drive up a narrow gravel road to Mangahao No 2 reservoir – where parking is limited to 6-8 vehicles. The trail begins by crossing the spillway on a sturdy metal gantry and heading over a grassy field to the bush.
It is a track of three distinct sections – at first you follow the Mangahao River until you reach a hump bridge. There is a wonderful swimming hole visible here in the river proper. The path then climbs 370m through pretty forest to the bush line and the final hour or so is a trek across open tops to the hut. Recent work on the tops to clear a wide path through dense bush made up of Leatherwood and Dracophyllum plants made the going easy. However, there is no avoiding the boggy patches – of which there were a few.
Burn Hut has a magnificent vantage of the Manawatu. And later, as the sun set, Mt Taranaki was silhouetted black in the distance. A party of three had already made themselves at home and although the Hut claims only 6 bunks, it can easily sleep 8. That being said, it was a beautiful night and there was sufficient space outside to set up 5 tents. With more care 7-8 small tents could be pitched.
With only a small cooking bench and no table, our group prepped and cooked dinner for 10 in the tiny communal area, maneuvering around the space with a fluidity that a choreographer would have been proud of. We spent the evening chatting with the other visitors and as we were all New Zealanders, it didn’t take long before we unravelled our two degrees of separation, discovering not one but several mutual acquaintances.
Day 2: Return Weather: Low cloud, fine, cool wind
DOC travel time: 3-4 hrs Group time: 3 hours
The view was missing as we headed back to the van. And unsurprisingly, as it was downhill, we made faster time than the previous day. As it wasn’t yet midday when we arrived back at the van, we drove a further 20 minutes up the valley to the Mangahao No 1 reservoir and on the way back to civilisation visited a derelict hut near the Tokomaru No 3 reservoir. A stop in Shannon for pies and drinks rounded off a very pleasant excursion
