After being granted an extra hour of sleep thanks to a change in pick-up time, 11 of us set off to Sunrise Hut at 7.30am on Saturday morning. We were heading up as one group, before splitting into three at the hut, for WTMC’s inaugural Masterchef cook-off. Ethan had informed us each team’s dishes would be judged on three elements: theme (comfort food), presentation and taste. The dishes also had to be vegetarian and gluten-free so everyone could partake in the impressively democratic judging process.
We left the train station with one team needing to pick up an emergency pumpkin on the way. Pumpkin acquired, we arrived at the start of the track just after 11, to some sunshine. The track to Sunrise is mainly gravel and we passed a few families and kids carrying teeny tiny packs (jealous) before starting the gradual climb.
We travelled at a relaxed pace, stopping for plenty of snacks and birdwatching breaks along the way. We arrived at the empty hut around 2pm, where we dropped our gear and set off for a walk to explore the tops and see some views.
A few minutes from the hut we realised it was likely to be a pretty quick wander as the wind was fairly brutal, but the sun was still out and the views were lovely nonetheless.
We battled on for about 15 minutes, snapped a few photos and views of Ruapehu, before turning back.
Back at the hut, we lay about on the deck chatting about Ethan’s imminent literary career and what we were going to contribute to the next WTMC Journal before starting to think about dinner. When it came to cooking, we were luckily still the only ones in the hut, so we set about chopping veges and crafting our respective dishes.
Team Sunrise One had gone for a crisp springy salad and macaroni cheese. Team SH3 had made a tagine from the club cookbook – also a great choice. We figured our mushroom gnocchi would be a bit quicker than the tagine, so our team (Remy & Co) waited around before starting to sear the mushrooms and make the sauce.
Each team had a chance to tell the story behind their dish and pitch how it fit the theme, before we each lined up for a taste. Everyone scored each dish on taste, presentation and theme, and we divided the scores by the number of voters. The mushroom gnocchi took out the top spot, helped along by a candle-lit presentation.
Once we were finished cooking, a couple of other groups arrived. Some of us sat around chatting to the other trampers, while others headed off for an early night – as we had a sunrise to catch!
The next morning we woke early to sip coffee and watch a very dramatic (and windy sunrise). We hung about the hut packing and eating breakfast before making our way back down to the road end.
Thank you to Ethan for putting together such a fun trip. Could Masterchef be on the cards for 2026?