Living in New Zealand: An Overnight Tramp to Spurs Hut Near Fairlie in Canterbury
An easy overnight hike to Spurs hut in Canterbury. This DOC hut is basic and you need to take water and possibly firewood.
Opuha River looking pristine
The boyf and I don’t like hiking in bad weather, or the dark, so we took the opportunity to do an overnight tramp in Canterbury before the days get too short, or rainy. It’s just over 3 hours in our 1975 land rover to the start of the trail to Spurs Hut, near Fairlie.
The track isn’t very demanding, except for having to pick your way over streams that have been peppered with cow shit (unfortunately the cattle are able to walk through the tributaries and the Opuha River itself. There’s no way I’d swim in Opuha lake knowing this. See earlier post).
Hiking beside the Opuha River looking for trout and not finding any
With our stopping to take pictures and look at the river (no trout), it took about 3 hours to get to the hut. It was a sweet little hut with 4 bunks and a wood burner (but no wood and no rainwater collection).
Spurs Hut in Canterbury (Click to see options for using the image)
A long drop toilet near the DOC Spurs hut
We woke to find ice inside the hut and on our washing up
Spurs Hut seems to be used a lot by hunters and some of the idiots who use it think it’s fine to leave their rubbish. I packed some of it out, but didn’t have room for it all.
Bogan evidence bag
It was pretty walking out in the frost.
It only took an hour and 45 minutes to hike back out, which left us plenty of time to stop for a great coffee in the Farm Barn and a bit of lunch and second hand shopping in Methven before we drove though the Canterbury Plains and home.
New Zealand Garden Diary: Happy Trees, Including Fred the Fig
Growing figs, feijoas and olives in New Zealand
Fred the Fig is doing well - Click to see options for using the image
A long, hot summer with regular watering and use of mulch has meant happy trees up in the back section. I can’t believe Fred the Fig and Fiona the Feijoa each produced two fruits in the first year. I’ve cleared the weeds and put on more mulch (the ground is already wet from rain). Hopefully we’ll get more next year.
No olives on Olive yet, but lots of growth
Fiona the feijoa
New Zealand Garden Diary: Brassicas and Pests
Keeping cabbage whites off the brassicas - Click to see options for using the image
It is cooling off now in Lyttelton, New Zealand and that means NO MORE CABBAGE WHITE BUTTERFLIES! Hooray!
And a gardening program I watch (Gardening Australia) suggested using vegemite in snail traps. Apparently it is the yeasty smell they are attacted to in beer traps. I hate using good beer in traps, so I’m trying a sugary yeast solution. We’ll see if it works.
Living in New Zealand: Names of Ships That Visit Lyttelton
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