MCINTOSH HUT: MY COSY LITTLE HUT HIGH IN THE SKY
- coupkovasvatava
- Dec 28, 2017
- 3 min read
Normally I am not allowed to get up too early in the morning but it seemed to be fine on Wednesday. I already knew something was going on the evening before because mum packed our big backpack.
As soon as I ate my breakfast we set off and this time it took really long to get to the place where we started walking. I don´t know why we had to go so far, there were mountains everywhere. But the other day our friend Erica told us about one track and of course mum wanted to check it as well.
Actually mum didn´t want to check the track itself but some hut, which unfortunately was at the end of it and almost 1 100 metres higher than the place where we parked our car. I was secretly hoping for the Buckler Burn to be too high but it was not and we crossed it easily. I really liked the rocks on its bank and before mum put her shoes back on I managed to get all wet.
The McIntyre Hut in almost 1 000 metres above sea level was a big surprise since we couldn´t really see it until we stood in front of it, so well hidden it was. We had a long lunch and a nice chat with four ladies who were coming up just for a day trip and then I went for a well deserved nap and mum carried us the rest 500 metres up to the McIntosh Hut in 1 464 metres. She said the last bit from the Long Gully Saddle was really painful but I think she is just lazy and should get more fit.
Anyway the hut was awesome! It was probably the most beautiful hut I have seen so far (and I have visited a few of them now). It was an old mining hut and it looked pretty rustic from outside but inside it was nice and cosy. It had a proper kitchen with plates, pots and cutlery and there even was a plunger (shame we didn´t have coffee with us L)! The living area was huge and there was a table with many candles on it and a packet of cards which I had a lot of fun with. The bedroom part was very small though with only four beds so it was quite a good idea to be there really early.
I didn´t even finish my Chinese noodles and two ladies joined us. Then two German girls arrived but even though they looked pretty much settled down in the sun they went down eventually. So the young man who arrived at 5 could consider himself really lucky because his bed was the last one available. Which I didn´t think so but mum decided I was going to sleep on the mattress with her. Boooring!
We spent the afternoon hanging about in the sun soaking in the beautiful views on Lake Wakatipu and Mount Earnslaw, we even went for a short walk a little bit further up where I found soft moss which was very nice to touch. I wanted to wait for a sunset but then my eyes started to close at seven and mum promised to take a picture of it for me, so I went to sleep instead.
In the morning we started walking down pretty early. Not really because we wanted. But one of the ladies´ alarm clock went on at 6.30 and it woke me up. The porridge was nice but then something – and I am not pretty sure what it was – made me really upset and I threw such a tantrum that mum had to stand me out in the cold and while I was screaming and stomping my feet furiously she was trying to pack our stuff quickly and disappear as soon as possible.
The first 15 minutes to the saddle I was still screaming but then I fell asleep and missed the ridge which mum said was very nice. I even missed the first part of the horrific descend that our friend Erica described like “a little bit steep”. When I woke up and saw the drop I better stayed quiet and tried to hold on the fence the way mum was doing. I don´t know how much it helped but somehow we managed to get down, fought through the thick bushes and there we were, at the car, almost 1 100 metres lower than 3 hours ago.
Maybe next time we can go somewhere flat?
Your Annie
