Thread: Tutu hut

Planning on flying into Tutu hut for a few days with a couple of mates. Anyone been in there? Whats it like in terms of scrub and hunting?

Used to hunt there a bit 20 years ago, it was buggered and full of rats so stayed in a tent instead. Had some interesting river crossing going up in there.

Fair bit of broom but there can be some big pigs in there, a chance of a good chamois and should be a fair few deer about because of the almost zero WAROthe last couple of years.

The canvas bunks are rotten thru- unuseable, but the roof is dry.As @Stag said, take a tent & cook in the hut.The snow crushed heavy broom is thick lower down but once you climb out of the valley it gives way to tee tree and beech regen.Good travelling on the leading spurs picking up the clay pans.the higher you get the better to open up glassing country.Dont get tempted to wonder down the road or drop onto the worked up terraces- the stn has their run well cameraed up & dont have a sence of humour.Stick to your permitted DOC BLK

Thanks team! Good tips. I read that the backcountry trust went in there before the lockdown last year and replaced the old bunks and added mattresses. The good buggers even built a helipad.
I'll post some photos and a debrief

The "helipad" is simply an adjacent red tussock swamp that was heavily infested with old man broom.They gave it a tickle up with a power saw. The issue with the hut deterioration is encroachment of beech regen blocking air flow, nth sunlight.Hence the rotten t&g flooring and canvas bunks,walls weeping dank condensation.This a result of zero DOC maintenance in the last 2 decades. Since you're flying in, howz about doing some long overdue aggressive scrub clearance to create some airflow & light into the hut.Couple of tanks of gas should do it & you,ll generate a cord of f/wood.Hell you wont even need a candle burning inside @ midday.
I've got happy snaps of the hut siting on its maintained cleared site from the swamp down to the water creek without a scerret of regen within 2 chain of the site.Hard to believe now!

We pulled pin unfortunately. Sounds like a good project at some stage. Looks like a place that doesn't get too much attention. Probably means there's the odd old boy hiding in there

Nothing gets to grow old bones when youre within 5mins flight time of Halo's hanger- well not on DOC land anyrate