15. 23/08/2023. Trampers. Possum Hut Circuit. Grade 3.5. Leaders Neil Hodgkin and Gwenda Farqharson.
18 trampers completed this tramp in an anti-clockwise direction on a calm mild spring day.
Leaving the cars with the a totally different backdrop since the tree felling. Photo & caption John
The track was in good condition and everyone seemed to enjoy it. We had Smoke-O after descending the track through the Douglas firs, a photo shoot at the derelict Possum Hut, and had lunch at the site of the old Green Hut.
Various ways of getting down the steep slope. Photo & caption Pam
First creek crossing. Photo & caption JohnWe find Dame Edna’s old hideaway. Photo & caption Phil
Chris, near the top, taking in the spectacular view. Photo & caption JohnAmazing views across the Silver Peaks. Photo & caption Pam
Lunch at the former site of Green Peak Hut. Photo & caption Pam
Panorama – no sign of civilization in any direction. Photo & caption John
Homeward bound on Possum Hut route. Photo & caption Pam
The total distance was about 8kms and we were away from the vehicles for 4 hours.
We culminated the day with coffee at the Gallery Cafe at Waititi.
14. 19/2/2020 Trampers. Possum Hut via Green Hut track and Miners Direct. M. Leaders Carol and Neil
On a slightly foggy morning, 19 Trampers set off for Double Hill Rd, to begin Green Ridge Track.
Photo and Caption Gordon – “Starting off up Green Hut track.”
Photo and Caption Gordon – “The Happy Trampers.”
Being such a well-maintained track (by The Green Hut Track Group) made for a very pleasant tramp. We stopped for morning tea on a grassy patch at the junction to Swampy Ridge Track before moving on to the old Green Hut site and a photo shoot. We were reminded that further off the track is a fresh water spring and evidence of another well hidden hut.
Photo and Caption John – “Time for a break.”
Photo and Caption Gordon -“Looking out towards Mopoutahi Peak.”
Possum Ridge, with its dampened surface took us down, and down over roots, stumps, rocks, slips ….. “Ooooh, one down” ….. Fortunately sturdy stumps and trunks were close enough to grab (“we love tramping”) on many occasions while we still went down accompanied by the occasional …. “are we there yet?’ … bellbird song in the nearby trees, also fluttering fantails.
Photo and Caption Gordon – “Much steeper than photo shows.”
Looking down on Possum Hut’s roof was a welcome sight and so was the lunch that followed.
Photo and Caption Gordon – “Lunch at Possum Hut.”
Photo and Caption John – “Indecipherable plaque – must be something important.”
Up and away again required a short walk past an overgrown tarn and then to the junction of Eucalypt Spur off which branched Gold Miners Direct track. This new track was wide, clear, stepped,and well marked.
Photo and Caption Gordon – “Heading back to cars.”
A robin captured a photographer’s attention when it ventured within 1 metre of us, hungry for pickings.
Photo and Caption Gordon – “Where’s all the bugs?”
Vegetation was varied, and interspersed with ferns, mosses, an avenue of kanuka, beech trees etc, continuing upwards …(.”we still love tramping”)….. to the sign ‘Car Park’. A few metres of slight downhill and there, unexpectedly, we burst out of the bush to where our cars had been positioned about 5 hours earlier.
We returned to Dunedin and a coffee stop where everyone was happy to linger and chat. Was it medium, was it hard, different people, different ideas, but we hope all enjoyed the walk.
Morrison and Morrison
13. 25/1/2017. Trampers. Possum Hut – Green Hut (site) circuit. M. Leader: Arthur.
The early rain had cleared, and we had a lovely sunny day for our tramp. The southwest wind was quite strong all day, but we were well sheltered (mostly) on the bush tracks.
Lovely track. (Helen pic and caption.)
Out tramp started from Semple Road, we walked in the main Silverpeaks track, turned down Eucalypt Spur to reach Possum Hut. Uphill then to the Green Hut site before returning to the cars on the Silverpeaks track.
Leaving the cars we started with a rather unpleasant uphill 10 minute walk, but stopped for our morning tea at the top. Sunny and windy here, with quite a good view to the Silverpeaks – “The Gap” stood out well.
It seemed a long descent going down Eucalypt, but at the bottom we stopped for some time to decipher the enigmatic wording on the marble plaque beside the track – the wording is recorded on page 7.06 of Antony Hamel’s book.
A few minutes more and we were at Possum Hut. We knew it was Possum Hut as it had a sign on it to say so! The hut was dry inside and even had a wire bed frame as well as other essentials. Accommodation not to be sneezed at if the weather turned inclement?
Possum Hut. Eleanor, Dave, Carol, Neil and Arthur. (Helen pic and caption.)
It was a good stiff 23 minutes climb up from the hut to get on top of Possum Ridge. We continued on, and made our lunch stop at the old Green Hut site.
Lunch at the old Green Hut site in the wind. (Helen pic and caption.)
Lovely and sunny here, mostly sheltered apart from the occasional very blustery gust coming in to us. It was a very pleasant spot for our lunch. While we were three 2 young chaps came past on their way out after overnighting at Jubilee Hut. Good to see.
An hour’s walk then returned us to our starting point. A short car journey had us at the Blueskin coffee stop, for discussion on a variety of subjects. The leader was very grateful to hear that all had really enjoyed the day’s outing – it had been a very worthwhile day out for the 6 trampers. Distance – 9.2 km. – Arthur.
12. 11/9/2013. Trampers. Green Hut, Possum Hut, Blue Gum Spur.
GPS of route, courtesy Ken. Distance 7.02km ave moving 3.2km/h Moving time 2h 12min Total ascent 380m
We decided to shorten this tramp,
as Ian H needed to take his wife to the hospital in the afternoon. We went down the Possum Hut access track, just a short distance along from the Green Hut track carpark. On reaching the bottom, after getting thoroughly wet from the dew hanging on all the bushes/ grass etc, we had morning tea in the tussock,
Morning tea in the tussock at bottom of Hunters Access (Ken pic and caption)
& then went upstream to Possum Hut, where we decided to walk down stream to the track that goes back up to Mountain Rd, from the side of Rosella Ridge. This is an interesting walk, but we just got wetter than before!! As it was still quite early, we decided to have lunch back up on Mountain Rd
Lunch back up on Mountain Rd (Ken pic and caption)
GPS of route, courtesy Ken. Begins middle right, and goes anti-clockwise.
The days had been drier, so the mud wasn’t as bad as it had been, thank goodness. Ten of us parked at the main entrance on Mountain Road and walked up the road to enter by Hunters Access for a change, something we hadn’t done for five years. It’s entrance is at the top right hand corner of the route photo.
Hunters Access was a bit neglected and overgrown, so we had to skirt large mud pools on the track and push through some gorse overhang. We had a cuppa on the way down. At the Rosella Ridge junction, the Possum Hut notice, indicating to the left, was a bit askew but resisted Doug’s attempts to straighten it.
Junction between Hunters Access, Possum Hut and Rosella Ridge.
The last descent through the pines to the South Waikouaiti Valley
was the usual almost-vertical descent, thankfully dry and grippy on the pine- needles carpet.
Careful!. It’ steep.
Possum Hut (at the end of the GPS ‘tail’ top LH corner. We had the choice of continuing up the ridge above the hut, but decided to go back down and return via Blue Gum ridge.
Hut
We climbed Blue Gum Ridge. Some of us lunching half-way up, the others at the top where the track joins the Green Hut track.
We meet again at the track junction.
Ready to move on.
The mud on walk out was as we had hoped well dried out and much safer. We met one of the Green Hut track clearing group making a safe bypass around a still very muddy patch. Bravo. – Ian.
9. 14/10/2009. Trampers. Semple Road track entrance past Hightop, Blue Gum Ridge, Possum Ridge , Green Ridge. Leaders: Ian, Bruce.
Mud must be this tramp’s theme. The entrance tracks from both Semple Road and Mountain Road after our prolonged stretch of rain have become dangerously muddy. Starting to dry out come the morning (muddier on the recce), a shower towards mid-day slathered them up so dangerously again that on the way out it was almost impossible to keep one’s feet.
Not the worst stretch of mud by any means.
We entered by the Semple Road entrance as Mountain Road beyond had developed those dangerous deep ruts again. So it was up over the rise and down again to join the Mountain Road Track further in.
Coming down off Semple Road Track at the site of the track signs. Bruce, Susan.
After a cuppa at the start of the Green Ridge Track, we went up a little way to turn off along the Blue Gums track, one the club had never tackled before, previously going to Possum Hut via Hunters Access.
Looking down Blue Gums Ridge just as rain set in.Looking back up Blue Gum RidgeEmerging from Blue Gum Ridge at its foot. Ria, Susan.The plaque on the track to Possum Hut. Joe Clark P Powell. 1882 Curley F 1892. Our Playground 1952. Gold. Possum Pics
Light rain had set in as we descended Blue Gums so we didn’t tarry at the plaque or Possum Hut except to note that someone has considerately slung a drip-stopping tarpaulin across under the roof. The light rain persisted, the steep climb up Possum Ridge had become no less steep, but had eased as the ascent began to ease and we stopped at a “drier” spot for lunch.
Lunch. Ria, Hazel, Susan
Then it was across to Green Ridge, down past the Green Hut site and on till we reached its foot, to encounter again the morass of the now much more slippery mud and greasy clay of the access tracks of Mountain Road and Semple Road. There were one or two falls, but no serious accidents, thank goodness. Ah well. Must remember to schedule those access tracks for the drier summer time. – Ian
8. 19/4/2006 Hunters Access, Possum Hut, Green Hut, Mountain Road. Leaders: George, Ian
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