Hut-bagger!

[taswegian]

Huts sure have a fascination. It started my early days of walking as a young tacker when big brother took me with him.

Following are some old huts and remains I have recently scanned from slides. I've got others but have misplaced my digital ones!!

hut in bush

Moina, Lea River vicinity

Borradaile Plains

remains McCoys - east end Pelion Plains complete with barbed wire

When I track down the others I'll post some more.

Last edited by taswegian on Sat 20 Nov, 2010 7:10 am, edited 1 time in total.

[Liamy77]

beaut!

[flyfisher]

Thanks for those taswegian, love them. Any more would be very welcome.
ff

[rogo]

Sightly off topic, but here I go. My walking partner and I have decided that there are three distinct times zones in Tasmania. When we were walking the Ot last Jan we saw hours to walk signs. Over here in the west, we have maps and markers not times to the next hut. Well, you guys in the little isle can walk three times the speed of me. We saw a sign saying, eg, 3 hours walking and it would take us all day to get there. I spoke to a guide who said this time was for tourists and he could walk it faster than the time stated. So I guess I am a snail but I am a happy snail.
And on the subject of huts, the Bib is relatively new and most huts are the same. But mostly formed by the local prisons and constructed on site, so maybe the huts I sleep in had the hands of some famous inmates..who knows. If only the walls could talk!

[Luuk Veltkamp]

Attached are some photos of the Olga Hydro hut at Sunshine Gorge on the Gordon River, which i took last week on a Denison River rafting trip.

Its quite ugly, The Hydro should probably remove it from the WHA!

Luuk

Attachments

[corvus]

Looks as good if not better than some Rental Properties I have seen in my time Leave it as is is at least it wont get trashed like most abandoned dwellings.
c
P.S. great pics

[wumps]

Nice pictures Luuk. I spent nearly 3 years working with Hydro Tas during the Basslink Study and visited evey remaining hut except for Splits. Sad to see Able Rapids collapsed - when I was there it was as if it had just been vacated - posters on the wall, radio instuctions - even mouldy linen on the bed! I re-opened the heli pads at Denison Hut and Olga - you will notice in your picture of Olga in the bottom right the roof of the detached hut is slightly darker - we painted it with "heritage rust" (!!) paint and applied waterproofing material as it was the only structure with a concrete floor - it contains emergency supplies for teams working in the area. There are a lot of huts still standing that are not easily found - including Gordon A/B Franklin (Angel Cliffs), Gordon B/L Frankling (not Sir Jon Falls - closer to the confluence of the Frankin) and Jane River (well not much left) The pictures you have added from the archives are from the same portfolio I have been working on in providing updated captions - it is apparent some have still not been corrected! The Gordon Rv has some great locations including the Bill Neison Cave, Devil's Tea Pot and Trap and Snares - can't wait to get back down there one day soon!

[Nick]

I came across this thread by Googling "Lake Rufus" and was amazed to see that the old hut on Lake Rufus was still standing, at least in 2009. It was built by some friends of mine in the 1970s and I used to stay there in the early 1980s. Sad to see it looking so forlorn. Does anyone know if it's still there? If anyone is interested I can post some photos of it in the early 1980s. Nick.

[stu]

Having been 'blizzarded' off the range & not selecting the best route of descent, this (Lake Rufus hut) little hut was a more than welcome sight, particularly the pot bellied stove which warmed us all up nicely; it was a good little camp site, some stayed in the hut others in tents (we had a large group).

I have heard there are other huts hidden at lakes along this range, Lake Stuart rings a bell, anyone know of any others besides this one at Lake Rufus?

Love to see some earlier pics Nick

[Nick]

I'll scan some photos of the Lake Rufus hut from the 1980s and post them next week. The guys who built it in the 1970s are scattered around the world but I'll track them down and get the story of how/exactly when it was built. My recollection is that they floated the materials from Butlers Gorge Dam over Lake King William then used a thing called a "bombadier" to drag the materials up Rufus Rivulet to Lake Rufus, where it was built. Hence, we used to walk along the "Bombadier Track" to Lake Rufus in the early 1980s. It was our great escape from the boredom of Hobart...

The pot belly stove was always a blessing but the flue used to rust out as the rain came down it...we carried a new flue in once, as well as a perspex window.

I was last there in January 1988 and the front wall (facing the lake) was so rotted that you could have pushed it out. Can't believe the old kayak is still there as well! Must also be unseaworthy!

There used to be a great bush dunny overlooking the lake - probably long gone now...

Nick

[flyfisher]

The Rufus hut has had some recent attention and is in reasonable condition.

[ILUVSWTAS]

A guy I know in the HWC helped build a hut at Lake Stuart also.

I think PW tried to have them removed some years ago, but thankfully they wernt successful

[norts]

Here are a couple of shots of the Hydro Hut east of Windermere

Roger

[corvus]

G'day Roger,
How old is that photograph of the Hydro Hut ? looks to be in excellent condition and is on my "to do list"
corvus

[norts]

It was taken Mar this year.
It was a pleasant surprise. It was in better condition than I was expecting.

Roger

[corvus]

Many thanks Roger it has just gone up one on my list.
corvus

[Phil]

Anyone got some pics (inside mainly I suppose) of Scott Kilvert they can post? Looking at wandering in there with my 6 year old next week and wondering what the hut offers.

Thanks

Phil

[whynotwalk]

Hi Phil - I can't find any of my own, but a quick search of Google images will give you some idea. http://www.google.com.au/search?q=Scott-Kilvert+Hut&hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-au:IE-SearchBox&rlz=1I7GGLJ_en-GB&prmd=ivns&source=lnms&tbm=isch&ei=DO-sTdKIHqvWiALH5r2-DA&sa=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&cd=2&ved=0CBIQ_AUoAQ&biw=1900&bih=1010

Unfortunately there's only one pic of the inside (the other is actually the staff hut at Windermere!) As you can see it's a two-storey A-frame building. Most people sleep upstairs. IMHO it's a great place to take a 6 year old, with lots of (for a child) dauntingly high mountains nearby, and the fagus has turned, so that will be lovely too.

Have a great walk,

cheers

Peter

[Phil]

Hi Phil - I can't find any of my own, but a quick search of Google images will give you some idea.
Unfortunately there's only one pic of the inside (the other is actually the staff hut at Windermere!) As you can see it's a two-storey A-frame building. Most people sleep upstairs. IMHO it's a great place to take a 6 year old, with lots of (for a child) dauntingly high mountains nearby, and the fagus has turned, so that will be lovely too.

Have a great walk,

cheers

Peter

Thanks Peter. Yeah I saw some of those pics via a google search, as you said, nothing of the inside though. Not too fussed but if someone had a few pics then that'd be great, thanks for replying!!

Phil

[Son of a Beach]

I don't have any pics, but essentially, upstairs is for sleeping, but there are no bunks. It's just a large room with no furniture at all, so everyone just sleeps on the floor upstairs.

Downstairs there's a coal heater at the back, with a small area around it which can fit a couple of the bench seats if nobody needs them at the table. There's a single large table with a few bench seats on one side of the room downstairs.

Sorry, not as good as a picture, but gives you some idea.

The stairs are moderately steep.

[tas-man]

Okay...I have to come out of the closet. For sometime now I've wondered what were the things that excite me on a walk & I've come to the conclusion that, aside from the gorgeous scenery & remoteness, it's the discovery of...huts!!

I'm a Hut-bagger!!!

Yes, I know, a bit sad, but it really gives me a buzz to see that a place has a bit of intriguing history about it. Who knew we had so many? Who built them, who restored them, what was there purpose, etc?
<SNIP>
lyndoor

Here's a site for you to drool over then
http://www.kosciuszkohuts.org.au/hutslist%20Tas.htm

Here's an update to the new Koscuiszko Huts Association's Tasmanian Huts website, as the above link no longer works.
http://khuts.org/index.php?option=com_c ... Itemid=110

[stepbystep]

That site might need some updating, last time I was there this hut wasn't!
http://khuts.org/index.php?option=com_c ... t&catid=65

[tas-man]

That site might need some updating, last time I was there this hut wasn't!
http://khuts.org/index.php?option=com_c ... t&catid=65

Feel free stepbystep to email the Koscuiszko Huts Assoc webmaster <[email protected]> with any updated information they can use to keep their Tassie listings up to date.

[ofuros]

Lost.....but not forgotten.
Temple hut, The Walls.

Many a cramped, cold & draughty night, spent on the summit.
Usually, a first nights stopover on a week to two week long winter adventure, back in my late teens.
Sadly missed.

[mjdalessa]

Anyone know if any of the Raglan Range area huts still exist? (In the vicinity of Madge and Maud)

[tastrax]

There is certainly one on the Raglan Range (not near Madge and Maud though) - it was another of Terry Reid's projects with Queenstown school kids and Venturers

[mjdalessa]

Where abouts? Near Madge and Maud I can see two objects that may be huts on Google Earth, quality's too bad to tell. Used to be a bit of a highway i think when Hydro was investigating Fincham crossing.

[eggs]

Mixing up lines of thought here.
Just noticed the request from April 2011 re Scott Kilvert.
So here are some pics

Entry door and stairs to upper level

Cooking and eating area

Upper floor for sleeping

[seagullhike]

That top photo is really nice

[tastrax]

Where abouts? Near Madge and Maud I can see two objects that may be huts on Google Earth, quality's too bad to tell. Used to be a bit of a highway i think when Hydro was investigating Fincham crossing.

There is still a hut at Finchams but no others that I know of on the old fincham track - the other area may well be the helipad - there used to be one near the hut and there is now another by the river.

http://bushwalk.com/blog/blog/2012/03/1 ... -crossing/