I discovered additional compelling evidence of a hut that existed before the 1930s.
Today’s original plan was to explore two intriguing spots I noticed during my last expedition, recorded in bush bash 21, 22, and 23. These treks, all completed in a single day, led me to the locations of all four huts that once existed in Reservoir Valley. While two hut locations were already known, I was particularly interested in the other two, and indeed I found strong evidence supporting their existence.
During this trek however, I spotted two additional sites across the river that seemed worth investigating. The first was seen while trekking between Ultimate and Swing Bridge pools, where I noticed a low stone wall on the Reservoir Road side of the river’s edge . The second site, behind the chlorine building on Reservoir Road, piqued my interest because I suspected an old track I found might extend over the other side of the Wainuiomata River. I theorised that this old track marked the end of the original Sledge Track, where logs were hauled out, transported across the river behind the chlorine building (which didn’t exist back then), to then be placed on a tramway or railway where the road is now, amd then to be taken to the mill near today’s Whitcher Grove.
However, two days before setting off, a friend informed me that he had explored behind the chlorine building and found a few remnants from decades past. He didn’t see any evidence of a track from the river to the road / tramway, so I decided against visiting that site today, but thought I would do this at in the future, when I didn’t have much time up my sleeve. Instead, I decided to revisit the site where I believe two undocumented huts once stood, that likely disappeared by the 1930s, since I had already made significant progress in proving their existence.
I began my exploration at Hine Road Recreation Reserve, heading toward Mackay Cottage on Gums Loop Walk, passing Pearson/Scout Hut via Sledge Track. I then crossed Sledge Track Creek into native bush where the two huts likely existed. The first site, with the base of a chimney, was easy to find and, to me, a chimney confirms the presence of a hut. However, I struggled once again to locate the second site, which had eluded me during my last expedition as well. This proved fortunate, as it led me to several new finds.
First, I discovered a stone that appeared to be either a brick or a cut stone, though not particularly interesting on its own, but suggesting human activity. It got better. Next I found a piece of cast iron resembling a grill, likely part of the cast iron stove I’d previously discovered. Then, I came across two spots with numerous bricks scattered on the forest floor. One spot revealed what looked like an old concrete platform or floor, partially covered in soil and debris. I lifted a little bit of it up and it broke, so I left it alone. However, the visible edge itself confirmed it was man-made. Later, I found a concrete tile nearby that was hard to spot because of moss growing all over it. But easy to see once I flipped it over. Then I found the cast iron stove from my previous trip. This combination of discoveries provided strong proof of an old hut that once existed here.
During my previous trip, the cast iron stove pieces were the only clue I had to identify the location of one of the huts. A skeptic might argue that the stove could have been discarded there which seems unlikely as carrying it to this remote location doesn’t make much sense. However, its proximity to a concrete floor suggested a more permanent site pointing to a hut. Further out from the site, but in the general area, I also saw a piece of fence wire embedded in a tree, indicating that a fence had once stood here. The fact that the tree had grown significantly around the wire demonstrated that a considerable amount of time had passed since this was originally wrapped around the trunk and used as a fence.
Pleased with today’s findings, I retraced my steps along Sledge Track, crossed the swing bridge to Reservoir Road, to try and locate the the stone wall on the river’s edge that I had noticed in an earlier trip. I did find some rocks and thought I had located it and was underwhelmed, but comparing photos later on, it became clear that I had not located that wall at all. So will look for that on a later trip.
Climbing back up to Reservoir Road, I still had time to visit an old scour pipe, the concrete hut, and Coleman’s Tunnel before heading back to Hine Road Recreation Reserve and finally home. Pleased with today’s adventure and the exercise I got from it, I concluded another successful outing.
