It’s hard to believe this little two-bunker was designated for removal in a 2004 DOC review – deemed too remote, too dilapidated, too little used. Only a handful of parties visited every few years. Then Andrew Buglass’s Permolat network stepped in, securing a maintain-by-community agreement and reopening the routes.
“Every hut’s got its baggage,” Andrew says, “Some just need a bit of love to make them liveable again.”
Writer Victoria Bruce, along with Andrew, take a rugged, three-day tramp into the remote Tara Tama Range to show how even the smallest shelter, if tended with love, can endure.
Missed Friday’s feature? Paper hut tickets being phased out, new huts added to booking system, is ultralight tramping really taking over, Tongariro recovery effort continues after massive fires and more in last week’s The World Outdoors.
LAST CALL: applications close October 15th
The Shaun Barnett Memorial Scholarship is a tribute to leading tramping author and photographer Shaun Barnett.
Open to aspiring photojournalists of all ages, the annual scholarship offers up to $1000 to the successful applicant in support of their backcountry adventures and creative development. Read the story this year’s recipient wrote.
There is still time to apply, but don’t delay, applications close October 15th.
Poll
Would you rather have a bluebird day at a stunning ridgeline campsite or have cosy hut with a fully-stocked woodshed all to yourself?
Check Wednesday’s newsletter for the results!
Do you have a question you want to put to other Wilderness Daily readers? Email [email protected] with your question.
Featured Book
Women of the Catlins
Award-winning writer Diana Noonan and photographer Cris Antona collaborate to capture the thoughts and feelings of 26 women from this remote outpost.
Subscribers get a 10% discount.
This month in tramping history
Mackay Downs Hut erected in North West Nelson Forest Park
October 1970
For several years, politicians had been proposing a road to link Golden Bay with the West Coast. Because this highway would possibly destroy the Heaphy Track, it became a political hot potato, and was met with much opposition. Nevertheless, government engineers built a remote hut on Mackay Downs between the Heaphy Track and the lighthouse at Kahurangi Point. This hut became a base for surveyors to shelter in during inclement weather. Today one can stay in the historic hut.
Current Issue - Nov 2026
Discover this stunning 47km stretch of TA, 10 films to avoid before your next trip, a rugged, three-day tramp into the remote Tara Tama Range, the nightmare of being lost, the pros and cons of a smartwatch and dozens more stories in our latest issue.
Photo of the week 📸
This week’s photo comes from Deb Corbett who captured this stunning shot of a bird in the sun.
This photo was submitted as one of our Walk1200km #microchallenges from last month (challenge: ‘eclipse the sun’). Deb won a $100 Back Country Cuisine voucher for this shot. See all the winners and this month’s challenges.
Have a photo you want to share with Wilderness Daily readers? Flick us an email with the photo and a few words about it.
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