Wharfdale Hut Track
The Wharfdale Hut Track is the perfect dog-friendly, overnight tramp close Christchurch - just make sure you go the right way.
After searching the DOC sites for an overnighter for CJ’s birthday, I gave up and headed to the DOC office at the Christchurch i-Site. With a list of restrictions (dog-friendly, good weather, somewhere we haven’t done, etc.,) the thoughtful ranger suggested the Wharfedale Hut Track. Close to home in the Oxford Forest Conservation area, it ticked all the boxes.
The Walk In
The track in was beautiful and began at the View Hill carpark. We gently climbed up through beech forest and stopped along a stream for lunch, at about the halfway point. The rest of the walk to the hut was downhill, and meandered along Dobson Stream. DOC time estimated the 15km walk to take five hours, but we did it in about three.
The Evening
The primitive hut was straight out of a storybook with its wood burning fireplace, quaint guestbook, and porch. Huts are not dog-friendly so we pitched our tent in a sunny spot nearby to enjoy a snack and a snooze. We read the guestbook which warned us of unsavoury track conditions for our route out - a red flag we should have heeded - and reports of snow just a week prior.
With so much time in the day, we were able to explore the area around the hut without packs, always a bonus when tramping. We discovered a secluded bank of the Dobson stream, perfect for enjoying our dinner. As with any mountain tramp, we settled into our tent when the sun set and went to sleep, Trapper curled at our feet.
The Walk Out
The walk out nearly killed us. There are three ways to walk out of the Wharfedale Hut - the way you came, Townshend Track out to Lees Valley (which ends at a different point), and the somewhat unmarked track up to the turn off of Mt Oxford and then back down to the View Hill carpark.
The topo map we studied the day before did not look favourable. Tight contour lines meant steep elevation gains with very little reprieve. But we’re fit, what could it hurt?
The answer is it could hurt everything.
The steep incline began at the base of the hut, which was fine because we were fuelled and caffeinated. The problem is it never really ended, until we had about 5km to go. We climbed, crawled, and traversed over fallen trees for what felt like hours. “I think this is the treeline, there must be a view here!” became our catchphrase.
There was no view, really, unless you count one time we saw the tip of a snowcapped mountain peek out between the trees. We stumbled and slid over snow as well, which proved difficult with a pack on and Trapper pulling. It was exhilarating afterwards, but it was mostly demoralising during the endeavour.
If you’re much tougher than I am, you can take a detour on this track and tick Mt Oxford off your summit list, a quick jaunt with more uphill. We obviously avoided it.
By the time we got to the carpark, we had enough energy to get in the car, turn to each other, and mutter “we should have gone the other way.”
So, friends, if you’re keen for a lovely jaunt through the forest with a cute little hut at the end, take the same way in and out. If you’d really just like to punish yourself, go the way we came out, just don’t blame me for your sore body after.