FERN BURN HUT: POSSUM HUNT THAT I SLEPT THROUGH
- coupkovasvatava
- Nov 16, 2017
- 3 min read
The track from the car park at the end of the Motatapu Road to the Fern Burn Hut is the first part of the multi-day, 35-kilometre-long Motatapu Track. Mum wondered why the same 7 kilometres should take us 3-4 hours when the Meg Hut (MEG HUT: THERE WAS NO WOOD!) was even higher and we got there pretty quickly. The first two kilometres she was still wondering and then the track entered a beach forest, got very narrow, rocky and steep and she understood. Narrow, rocky, steep and slippery it stayed until the end plus it got a nice steep long drop from the cliff on the left hand side. You might consider it a bit scary but I actually liked it a lot, because often mum had to lean to the other side and I got to touch the ground, grab rocks and grass and it was good fun. Despite that we reached the hut in 2 hours and 10 minutes. And I saw it first. Mum claims it was her who did, but I disagree. She didn't point at it and I did and it is what counts. The last flat bit I walked on my own and my new friends were already waiting for me. Four Australians came here for a day walk and they were funny. They even told me about their constitutional crisis which was exactly what I needed to know at the moment. Then two Germans joined us for a bit. They didn't talk much and then they all left. It was when I almost started to think that we were going to have the hut for ourselves. By then I explored it thoroughly including the toilet and I liked it a lot. The Fern Burn is very different from the Meg Hut. It was built just a few years ago and it is very modern, clean and light, but it doesn´t have a fireplace. But then I woke from my afternoon nap and the veranda was full of people. There were Hillary from Wellington and Annabel from Napier and J. J. from France who lives in Dunedin. And they were going to stay with mum and me overnight! Yay! I liked them a lot. Especially J. J., who was very funny. But the girls as well. They were veeeery old (mum says in their mid fifties) and they were walking something called Te Araroa track. I don't know what it is exactly but mum said we were not going to do it and that I should be impressed. In the evening I couldn't fall asleep, everything was too exciting. But eventually I did and I slept all night long and didn't wake up until 7.30. Mum claims she is very proud of me and that sometimes I could do it at home as well but I think I will save it for my tramping trips. And I might change my mind even for the trips since mum told me that a huge possum came to visit the hut at night and J. J. wanted to kill it so badly that he broke one of the lady´s pole. Supposedly they made a lot of noise as well but I couldn´t hear anything. And I would really like to see a possum!
In the morning we had nice porridge, said bye to our new friends and set off for our walk back which was expectedly much worse than going up. I made mum slide on her bum a lot and I think she wanted me to pay it back when she forced me to walk the last flat kilometres. Fair enough. After all we are good hiking buddies. Your Annie
