I’d done Greenstone-Caples a couple of times, and whizzed past Mid-Caples Hut when they were building the new one, so it was a case of ‘long time listener, first time caller’. With a metric butt-tonne (actual quantity) of snow that had recently come down, and with sore feet and legs from Too Much Tramping Syndrome (TMTS), I thought an easy overnighter into Mid-Caples Hut was just the ticket. It began with snowy tops and the occasional peeky-boo pool of reflection.
Before heading to the track end, I swung by Fergbaker in Queenstown to pick up some lunch - a slice of vegetarian pizza. From now on, all my Queenstown-area trips will involve a pre-tramp visit to Fergie.
It’s 9km and 2-3 hours to get to the hut, probably closer to the 3h side of things if you stop to stomp around in the snow and get all excited. A few other critters had been in there before me - I met a hunting party on their way out, quite close to the carpark, and they looked at me as if I were a bit mad. Not far along, I figured out why.
After the extensive snowstorms we’d had - during which I’d been wrapped up all toasty-pie at the NZAC hut at Aoraki Mount Cook - the track had suffered no small amount of windfall and damage. Thankfully it was more of a case of hurdling all the windfall rather than having to beat a new track around it. I had sore legs the next day, and for the hunters with heavy packs, it would’ve been a bit of a bother. Pulling up to Mid-Caples Hut, there’s a handy letterbox for you to send your postcards home. Might take a while.
New hut is a generous size, the sort of beige affair they’re building these days, and very similar to Greenstone Hut. Plenty of sandflies despite the low temperatures. I had the hut to myself for a few hours, so I alternated between frolicking in the snow and baking myself in the sunshine. I may have also had some excellent conversations with myself.
Really, the inside of Mid-Caples Hut could be any hut, anywhere else in the country. I do appreciate these new rigs, but they *are* a little devoid of character. They’re probably more robust against the onslaught of overseas tourists, though, which seem to be returning in droves (if the campervan population at Ruapehu right now is anything to go by).
I didn’t bother lighting the fire but later, my new best mates - Sven and Olsen, Scandinavian-flavoured but local workers - cranked it up and burned our collective body weight in firewood. Even the walk to the loo is pretty!
After a blazing sunset in the front yard:
And a verrrrry frosty start the next morning:
I made my way back out to the car, battling sandflies, and I may have swung by Fergbaker again for a coffee and a pastry on the way out but I cannot confirm or deny anything.
Trip: Mid-Caples Hut, Greenstone and Caples Conservation Areas. Grade: Easy. Time: 2-3 hours to the hut from the Greenstone road end. Features: Windfall, snow, and beautiful water for swimming. Oh, and sandflies.