When "Bullers" were the norm.
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[QUOTE=Sidetrack;1352626]Anyone know if this hut in the Stafford still exists. Flew in around forty years ago and I think, from memory, it had a notice of destruction on it back then. Shot my first deer there and picked up a fawn so bit of a special memory for me.
No its been gone for a few years now, replaced by a flash doc hut... Have fond memories of that ole hut, so dark inside had to burn mossie coils for mossies 24hrs a day there....
Seeing this is about huts , do any of you gentlemen have any photos of shark tooth rock bivi up the Douglas River and
the rock bivi lower Horace Walker , thanks ,
Greetings @NIMROD,
What fine young gentlemen, no prizes for who the middle one is, I am reasonably sure who the one on the right is but the one on the left has me stumped. Looks familiar but?
Regards Grandpamac.
Reading throught this is really neat and got me thinking about old huts I'd been to. First to come to mind is Cone hut in the tararuas, shot my first deer on the way there in 93 or 94. Spooked my first deer in the dark that trip to, scared the shit out of me. Dad sent me down river to check the flats in the evening by myself, would of been 13-14. Nothing seen but stumbling back in the dark walked straight in to a deer. Will never forget that trip.
Quick Google says the hut is still there in its original totara slab construction.
Cone hut. Pinched from Google.
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Like Sayers it had a totara shingle roof, leaks came with the territory. Both have a history that can't be matched by the huts built today.
Greetings All,
A few years ago I wrote a story for the NZ Guns and Hunting on an early walk into the now gone Lawrence Hut. In it I mentioned the Black Whare which we passed on the way in. I had not been able to find a photo of the hut until a friend gave me a slide showing it which was likely taken around 1960.
Lester Masters gives some info into its early history. It was built in the last two decades of the 1800's by a couple of men who were pit sawing timber in an adjacent patch of bush. They used timber sawn on site ant the interor was lined as you can see on the photo. Later the whare was used by staff on Waiwhare Station. During this time one of the staff was asked to turn out a mob of sheep into the Quarry padock. The gentleman, whose name was Hapi, so tasked heard Quarry as Whare and set out on what was a significant drive returning after dark to the relief of others who were organising a search party. Thereafter the whare was known as Happy Valley Hut for a time and the valley where it sits is known as Happy Valley. More recently some have called the hut Back Whare and the road close to its location is so named. I have looked for the hut recently but could find no trace. It was visible from the road up until the felling of the first rotation of pines around 2000.
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Regards Grandpamac.
One from the past.... how things were.
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the year i left school , the next year i was up there on my way to the Horace Walker bivy
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My first ever trip into the Tararuas back in 64, a couple of guys took a group of us from Wairarapa College for a weekend, leaving from the top of Norfolk Road.
Took us all day to get in.
The flying fox was memorable from the rocks thrown at you while you crossed.
In those days, I probably wore sand shoes or gum boots, I remember blisters on blisters.
Hut was painted as in this photo and there was a smaller locked storage shed next to it
Start of a lifestyle when I was younger.
Ask Bruce Bates.
Ruahine hut accommadation from the 70s to those in the know who can identify them.
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In the photo the "flash hut" on the left is from the Southern Ruahines. The "dog box bivy" on the right is from the Northern Ruahines.
By memory the "flash hut" was in the Makaretu River and also by memory the other picture is of the Taruarau bivouac.
What's all that stuff inside the dog box? Is it all tucker??
Black Hut
Totara valley in behind Ross on the West Coast
It's getting pretty rough because you can drive to it in a very long rough road.
But it gets you into some good country with four tracks in different directions in there and some great alpine hunting.
Wasn't sure why it was called Black Hut until the sun came out one afternoon I was there.
Black equals Mosquitoes
Millions of them
Had to pitch a tent inside the hut to sleep
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A combination of photos from the past.... :P
Charliehorse, you mentioned tucker. I supose it is.
I went to one bivy years ago and there was a wall of tucker when I opened the door. Perhaps I might put the photo up here?
Old_School, you mention the primus 535.... I can't remember I just use the thing it obviously worked alright.
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The helicopter was a relic from the past (Army surplus maybe?) commonly doing what was described by the NZ Forest Service as a "food drop".
By memory it was trying to get up to Howletts Hut in the Ruahine Ranges, but the wind was to strong for it and it had to make another attempt but it did the job.
Photos taken late 1974 period.
hiller I believe...Korean war era if the M*A*S*H tv show was half correct with what they used/showed
Cattle Creek....... Ruahine's
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Bell 47.Pre dated the Hillers
Yeah I instantly recognized that stove because I've got one myself, I collect the things and have a bunch of various vintage stoves and lanterns.
They work better than alot of butane stoves that many of us use, only disadvantages are the weight if you are carrying in your pack and the time to prime and heat up the stove, bit they work very well in cold climate.
just like the wee timnoxed primus and coleman white spirit ones...must replace the rubber seal on tank of mine and use it again....got lazy with a penny meths cooker for last few years,and now jetboil knock offs are $80 at kmart...well the good Mrs bought me one....
yes we used one a bit in Gisborne - American chap flying it - ex Vietnam pilot - sadly killed back of Gisborne in it - an old Ruahine culler told me the first time they used one it was driven up to Mangaweka on back of truck from Wellington - otherwise very slow expensive flight up ahh - pilot stuck the blades on and did the job - back onto truck and home again - Hiller 12E was a marked improvement quite a bit more grunt - and then there was the Llama -first time I saw one used could not get over what they could lift - man they were slow but very grunty - dont quote me but was something like ( just pilot low fuel ) Bell 47 450 lb -Hiller 12E 600 lb Llama 900 lb - One Gisborne pilot had a Hiller 12e that had been fitted with a turbine instead of the flat six Lycoming -used to go and load for him on weekends and he would let me fly it home with the duals in - but feck spraying scrub back of Gisborne bloody drums of yup 245T
Bell47 G engine was turbocharged 435ci Lycoming.
Hiller 12E twin carb 540ci Lycoming.
12E Turbine conversion was Soloy conversion, installed an Allison 250 C-20 ( Jetranger / Hughes500 C/D) in place of the VO540. Lighter engine and better ISA+ performance.
Fond memories….fading
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Soloy in for hot end inspection.
B
Yeah, we (NZDF) ran them for decades. Purchased first ones in 1965 from memory and used them right through till 2012, when all the other operators had rightly consigned them to Museums. Used them quite a bit in Waiouru to do reconnaissance, but even on a calm day they were always operating at the limit of their envelope.
Flying hut materials into the Tararuas mid 1970's, we caught a ride into the hut on dark clutching onto the side litters. Eyes wide open and fricken cold!!!
Was the pilot Polish ?. Rex Nawalaniec ?
From memory that’s the transmission oil cooler on top of the engine mount with the duct attached to the exhaust pipe. They tried to draw fresh air through the cooler augmented by the fast moved exhaust gases in lieu of ram air.
Because of the extra power of the Allison, the limiting factor was the torque the transmission could absorb, hence the overheating.
No power controls, hence the cyclic shake. Keeping the head and blades in dynamic track and balance was an art. Made easier when the Chadwick Helmuth gear came along.
B
yes helicopters - have they not come a long way from that Bell 47 - I worked out I have been lucky enough to fly in 12 different makes and models - favourite McDonnel Douglas 500E - most impressed by Kawasaki Bolkoff twin turbine - bloody piece of kit - fun factor Hughs 300 C- scary Robbie R22 on a windy day
Just been reading up on the French retirement of the Alouette III.
I'm sure I saw one of these here in the 80s. Maybe Helicopters NZ?
Anyone run into the Alouette?
I love this one.
Written in charcoal on the inside of the Burn Creek hut door.
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Anyone know D. Trafford????
Des Trafford.Still alive n kickin.He's not a stretch as it goes.Average build 5'9".Knocked knees and deaf as a post.But then all of them are
I think you will find the Bolkoff is a Messerschmidt product. A mate of mine owned one for a few years. Yes, bloody impressive bit of kit. Entire rotor head is made from one piece of titanium. Fleet wide they have logged something like 13 million hours in the air with not a single rotor head failure.
yes likely like a lot of machinery ya dont realize what's underneath - or from where - we had a Finnish Valtra 390 hp tractor on demo was a Massey Fergusson in disguise - our Clause tractors John Deere engine Massey Fergusson trans - helicopters likely the same - our big rig helicopters here are Augusta Westlands Augusta is Italian -Westland is I think English - Aussie have a chopper in the outback - looks like an old Bell 47 but is I believe a Kawasaki