Thread: Reminiscing in the Ruahines

Went for a weekend mission up on to the Mokai range via the new/old public access through Mokai station, its a real slog from the carpark up through the farm and then an even steeper climb up onto the mokai range itself but magic place when you get up there.
In my younger days after climbing up there a couple of times i vowed to never go that way again, but here we are 40 odd yrs later and its the 3rd time i've been up there since the access reopened LOL.
Made it up along to the start of the public land on the Bruce ridge where i camped the first night.
I glassed some nice country further along the mokai range but only seen one hind and fawn,


Sat arvo i walked back down the bruce ridge to Otukota hut, which got me thinking of a trip many years ago when our local Taihape heli pilot Brian Goodwin had returned from a short flight in the local cessna , i think to keep his fixed wing licence current , but he and his passengers had seen a few deer out on the mokai range. Now this was not a common thing back in the late 1980s with constant waro shooting , so a trip was planned for the upcoming labour weekend.
Brian dropped us off somewhere on the Bruce ridge (cant do that these days) where we hastily set up a fly camp and set off to look for all these deer that had been seen , but despite a perfect evening no deer were seen and during the night a southery front came in and the weather turned nasty, horizontal rain and bloody cold, i remember my flimsy old tent got ripped to shreds and my two mates were not much better.
I think we spent another night up there with all our gear sleeping bags etc wet through, Brian did fly in to try and pick us up but couldn't get to us , we could hear the helicopter down in the river but he couldn't get up to our campsite. Later when having a beer with Brian he was saying things like /gale force winds/ stall warning buzzers / and low rotor rpm/ .
Anyway with things starting to get serious we abandoned our camp and set off down the ridge to Otukota hut , and what a relief it was to out of the wind and rain at the hut . Brian figuring we would be at the hut picked us up when the weather eased.

Nice one man, one spot on the list im yet to make it too.

Great effort there! There’s no easy way in or out of there on foot.
It’s one place where the map just doesn’t do justice to the steepness of the area.
It’s an awesome spot though and well worth the grind in and out 👍

Is Bruce Hut still there ?

Is Bruce hut on top of the Mokai range? In Rabbiters reserve?

WOW! That's a great storm and an epic recent mission. Fantastic looking country.
In my youth I had a similar experience on the Urchant Track in the Kaimanawahas. The three of us climbed to the bush edge and set up camp. Then the wind came and we spent the night laying in our sleeping bags, each holding the bottom of the tent to stop it flying away. When we emerged at dawn the ridge was covered with a light sprinkling of snow! S we went hunting in the bush and I shot a spiker. Great fun!

Been there once but that climb over that hill never appealed to me at all.
However what are the deer numbers like now say from Lake Colenso through to Ruahine Corner hut

Originally Posted by Murray N

Is Bruce Hut still there ?

You can still see where the hut was but virtually no trace of it.

Originally Posted by Sika 8

Is Bruce hut on top of the Mokai range? In Rabbiters reserve?

i have this old map dated 1977 that has the bruce hut marked on it

Originally Posted by video hunter

Been there once but that climb over that hill never appealed to me at all.
However what are the deer numbers like now say from Lake Colenso through to Ruahine Corner hut

Plenty of animals near Ruahine Corner even though its had a couple of 1080 drops in recent years. They would come in from the nearby private land .
Last time i was at lake colenso would have been ten years ago and we found it a bit lean on animal numbers but there had been some WARO going on we found out later.

Originally Posted by 30late

i have this old map dated 1977 that has the bruce hut marked on itAttachment 244744

Thanks for that!
Still the hut I am talking about is on DOC land surrounded by private….

Green is DOC land (public)
Not green is private….







I remember reading a Philip Holden book as a young fella and it mentioning a rabitors hut on route to his block, always wondered if this was it? It’s in what’s called “Rabitors cottage reserve”

Had wondered if that was Bruce hut, obviously not….. the mystery continues!

Originally Posted by 30late

Plenty of animals near Ruahine Corner even though its had a couple of 1080 drops in recent years. They would come in from the nearby private land .
Last time i was at lake colenso would have been ten years ago and we found it a bit lean on animal numbers but there had been some WARO going on we found out later.

The Colenso area has quite a bit of limestone in it. Which makes the base of any slip VERY fertile. Was always good pickings if you knew the areas to hunt. Shot my first 8 pointer in there on the shores of Lake Colenso. Carried all the meat out. 55 kg pack for 7 hours if my knees remember right. The stupid things we did in our 20's.

Originally Posted by Murray N

Is Bruce Hut still there ?

No gone by 1975.

The hut on the photo in the Rabbiters Reserve is managed by Mokai Station who have developed it for their own use and is part of ongoing discussions with DOC. The access through Mokai has just been re-instated after a long drawn out negotiation with the owners who wished to revoke the agreement made years ago by the original station owner when he was able to freehold the land. There is an unformed legal road traversing the main range to the Ruahine Forest Park that goes past the Rabbiters Hut which gives access to Wakelings and Crow huts which is able to be walked anytime. Just be aware that the land either side is private until you reach the RFP boundary. The access over the Mokai Range is to Otukota hut only and the track from the range down to Ironbark hut is still on private land without agreement to use, so you have to go to Otukota first to get to Ironbark hut. Plenty of deer in there, due to access restrictions over the last 5 years hunting pressure has been very low. Still good numbers around Lake Colenso, I was there last spring and shot a couple not far from the hut.
Cheers Ruger7mm