Only 2 keen participants for this trip myself and Barry. We left Timary early as we knew we had a good days walk ahead of us. Parked up behind a big pile of shingle at Forest creek and then scrambled under the bridge and started tramping up the river bed. This is always a bit tedious and hard on the ankles. Soon we were on a four wheel drive track and the valley was beginning to open up and we were seeing some stunning country. Soon we were seeing lots of clay cliffs which had been eroded and forming pinnacles. One lot looked like an impressive cathedral. The others were similar to the clay cliffs near Quailburn.
Forest creek was clear but did have a good flow of water in it, but only knee deep where we crossed a few times. After about 3 hours we stopped and enjoyed our lunch outside a rustic old stone hut. This is a private hut which is on Forest Creek station. There were multiple signs around to tell you where the boundary was and private property. DOC markers were almost non existant. We saw 2 poles until we got to Felt Stream where we climbed up steeply to head for Felt Hut where we were going to camp out. This hut is quite hidden and tucked away as the trees have grown around the area. There were only a couple of markers and the rest of the time we were following pink tape that some hunter (probably) had put in. Also Barry had his trusty GPS with him which has maps and huts marked in on it. It was a welcome sight as the last hour to the hut is quite a steady climb from the riverbed with a full pack and in the heat.
The hut is an old 8 bunk hut and still has the original beech beams. We spotted Dave Mason’s name on the outside of the tin with the musterers name and year. We set up our tents and camped out.
After a brief break and snack we headed out for a walk to explore more. We started out towards Bullock Bow saddle but opted to divert to another look out point and take in the views and relax in the sunshine. We had already walked 16km so we didnt want to overdo it! and our legs were already feeling it.
Back down to the hut in time to get some tea organised. A yummy dehi meal which went down well.
There was a bit of deer sign around but we didnt see any animals apart from lots of large hares.
It was a cool night but a full moon that gave you the impression a torch was been shown on your tent. There were a couple of spots of rain in the night but nice to listen to when you are snug in your sleeping bag.
Sunday dawned another lovely day. We were up and away by 8 to head back down the way we had come. We stopped off at the historic monument of Samuel Butler where he set up his house in 1860 after claiming land here.
There was a nice dawn chorus in the morning and birds we spotted were fantails, tom tits and riflemen.
As we walked out back along Forest Creek we were walking into a head wind and arrived back at the car by mid afternnon. Enjoying an icecream on the way home.
Another great weekend in some beautiful country. Thanks Barry for organising it.
Author: Catherine