Beeby's Hut

An 800m climb sounds daunting for a Saturday afternoon, but spread over 8km the walk up to Beeby's Hut was actually relatively gentle (relative to other tracks in the Richmond Ranges anyway). Meandering its way up through open beech forest Beeby's track is interesting both underfoot and around about, with road noise and farm sounds quickly dying away into the distance. Rich earthy-smelling brown humus, black honeydew-covered beech trunks, vibrant green leaves, melodic bellbirds; a soothing feast for the senses.

Intriguingly we came across a white post and a newly formed track marked with orange flagging tape leading off into the bush at 900m. Curiosity got the better of me so we dropped packs and followed the trail for 300m to investigate. From this junction up to the 4WD track there was fresh trail work and flagged deviations leading me to deduce (correctly) that a new mountain bike trail was being put in. There was one steep pinch two-thirds of the way up, gaining 100m altitude in about 300m, but after that it was a lovely gentle stroll through stunted, mossy beech.

Emerging onto the 4WD track the temperature plummeted as we were hit by the icy southwesterly wind. Wooly hats and extra jerseys were hurriedly donned before we briskly strode along the road, glad that the sun was shining. Turning around we were treated to panoramic views of Lake Rotoiti and the snow-capped peaks of Nelson Lakes; Mt Owen and Mt Arthur dominated the skyline to the west, while eastward lay the Red Hills and a cheeky glimpse of the Inland Kaikoura Range. The 3km of 4WD track to Beeby's Hut was pleasant enough despite the biting wind and the views were definitely well worth the walk. In terms of the Effort-to-Interest-to-Views ratio this track would have to rate pretty highly!

Beeby's Hut is a standard six bunk Forest Service hut but was recently refurbished so is nice and light inside. There are no views from the hut itself as it is tucked into the bush edge but it is only a minute up to the ridge. One little gripe is that the fireplace is extraordinarily smokey and unless both windows were open the hut filled up with smoke. At one point Brendan got smoked out from his perch on the top bunk, making a dash for the door with watering eyes.

It turned out to be "Local's Night" at Beeby's Hut. A few minutes after we arrived a group of four turned up, two of whom happened to live the next street over from us! They proved to be excellent company for the night. At 7:30pm a father and son turned up, and it turned out they they were also from Nelson. Despite having 8 people in a 6 bunk hut it wasn't crowded or chaotic at all. Merely pleasantly and courteously cosy.

One benefit of winter tramping is that you get to sleep in and yet still watch the sunrise. After a good sleep and surprisingly quiet night considering there were 8 potential snorers in the 6 bunk hut Brendan and I wandered up the hill to watch the dawn colour fade from the sky and the first rays of sunlight strike the mountains. First Mt Owen was lit up then Mount Arthur, soon followed by the Raglan Range. At 8:05am the sun peeped over the Red Hills. The breeze was still cool but had swung around to the east and was not quite so bitter as the day before. We were reluctant to leave this magnificent spot, but after a lazy breakfast of milo/coffee and half of a Chelsea bun each it was a quick stroll down to the car and out to Wakefield for a pie.