Kapakapnui Circuit and Thornhills Hut

A day trip into the sunny Tararua's with Jessie doing the Kapakapanui circuit and bagging Thornhills Hut while we where at it. We got to the trig and it was cold and claggy with no views. Headed back down to the 900m contour to bag Thornhills Hut, by the time we got there it was sunny.
Thornhills Hut
Then back up to the top and on to Kapakapanui Hut for a bite to eat, then a quick blast back down to the car.
View from the top
Map

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Trip Times
0906 Left road end
1118 At the trig
1304 Left trig
1342 At Kapakapanui Hut
1411 Left Kapakapanui Hut
1513 Road end

loving the bible free Tararua's

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

So that's what that hut is called.... handy spot to get more water in summer.

I'm also a Bible uplifter (along with more extreme pornography) in the Tararuas and Ruahines, would be interesting to know just how many people take out and how many put in.

mrpurple said...

Based on your Waiotauru Circuit posts, we're looking at doing the same but linking in Kapakapanui Hut rather than Waiotauru. Looks like there would be great views on a good day. Slightly to the east of Kapakapanui hut is a ridgeline running north. Older maps show a track along this ridge joining up to Pukeatua track, but in newer maps this link has been removed. I wonder how clear the old track still is?

Robert said...

I did the ridge along to Pukeatua in September 2018 with friends and teenagers after coming around to Kapakapanui from the Akatarawara summit/Odlins Road (Waiotauru Road) to Maymorn Junction.
The ridge was easy to follow with pink tape in places. It's fairly open with a patch of windfall on the Western side at one point offering nice views over the coast. The windfall wasn't on the ridge so progress is fairly quick. It does get a little broad a few times, particularly towards Pukeatua where it drops a little before climbing onto the track. Just follow your nose and head more or less North/NNE.
We back tracked a few hundred meters up the track after spending the night in the hut to get on the ridge, then turned hard left/North. If I recall, there may even have been a larger triangle on the tree there.