Arete Forks Hut in Tararua Forest Park has been restored to its original NZ Forest Service design.

Volunteers from the group exNZFS – Paul Gush, Steve Elgar, Grant Timlin and Derrick Field – flew into the upper Waingawa Valley to work on the standard six-bunk hut in June. They spent six days restoring the hut, replacing the fireplace with a wood-burning stove, modifying the ceiling, and repainting the hut in the classic orange of NZFS huts.

Arete Forks Hut is one of eight huts in the Tararuas being restored by the exNZFS, a group of 20 ex-Forest Service deer cullers.

The hut can be accessed from Kiriwhakapapa Road end via Blue Range and Cow Creek huts. It’s generally a two-day walk in from the road end.

Read more about the work of the exNZFS crew here: All part of the service.