We were meant to be camping this weekend with the Canterbury Recreational 4WD Club. But, I was really dumb and forgot it was my nephew’s 21st! Of course, we cancelled the trip and I went to a great celebration for a brilliant young man. Toby was so disappointed we were not going to do anything ‘exciting’ that I had planned to do an overnight tramp on Sunday as it was Labour Day on Monday. This was just the ticket to get the young man excited. The gorgeous boy was packed and ready Saturday evening before bed.

Sign said ‘2 hr 30 mins’

The last time I was up this way was 13 odd years ago with my Dad and I was excited to show the kids Pinchgut Hut. This one is a good one as it is only a 45 min drive from home and a fun 3 hour walk to the the 7 bed hut. We left home at a reasonable hour and after stopping for supplies and parking up at the carpark with 5 vehicles crammed in we started walking at 9.25 am.

Crossing number three to collect Annushka

Only a minute or so after starting your walk you are greeted with a river crossing. Thankfully, the weather has been kind and today was not too hot yet so the flow was not raging but the path I first chose with Toby slung over my shoulders still was mid thigh high. I had to cross the river with the children one at a time as it was still quite swift. The kids thought this was exciting. Great way to start a day of tramping. Toby had his pack for this trip and the girls were adamant that he was to carry it the whole way. Weatherwise, it was not scorchingly hot as forecast and there was an overcast. The going on the track was good we had plenty of stops and had a blast heading up the river.

  • Lovely waterfall
  • Phew, not a crossing
Lunch

It was weighing on the old mind if we would be able to get a bed in the hut as the carpark was full. After an hour on the track we passed three groups and we were told that the family of six was walking out today. We passed the family and a day walker telling us the hut was empty! Yay, the backup plan was to walk to the hut and if there was no room walk out again.

  • Terrain one
  • Terrain two
  • Terrain view

Not long after chatting with the day walker I did something I have never done before… I slipped off the track and tumbled down the hill, the kids said it was a ‘cliff’. Thankfully, the kanuka and scrub was thick and I did not go too far. After the initial shock I started to giggle as I was upside down in some bushes! The poor kids did not know what was going on. In my head I did the check to see if anything was broken or sore and surmised that all was good. With a bit of jiggling and wiggling the pack was off and my feet on the ‘ground’ I made it back onto the track. With a few scratches and reassurances we carefully carried on. Unfortunately, this spooked the kids.

  • Pinchgut Hut
  • Cuppa

Not too long later we made it to Pinchgut Hut at 12.45pm just over 3 hours on the track. Josie and Annushka had already sorted the sleeping arrangements before Toby and I arrived and we settled in for the night. The billy was on and a cuppa was soon in hand. The kids loved the stream and explored while I had a sleep.

With a mixture of memories of Mum and me falling Josie was really unsettled and was in a bit of a state. After a family conference it was decided that we should head back out. The kids packed up while I cooked up an early dinner to lighten the load we headed off at 3.28pm. We made really good time and I was amazed at the stamina of the kids. We made it back to the river just after 6pm and made the crossing back to the truck and changed before driving home. I was so proud of the kids we walked for six hours and had a blast.

  • Sack of spuds
  • And we’re off…