Cow Creek hut in the Tararua Forest Park has had a facelift, and return to the original interior and exterior colours that were used when the hut was built in 1960 by the NZ Forest Service. The hut is now managed by the Hutt Valley branch of NZDA who have a management agreement with DOC for the upkeep of the hut.
Cow Creek is a standard S70 type 6 bunk hut typical of the 400 or so built in the New Zealand backcountry to support the deer culling campaigns of the NZFS. Over the years, most have been modified and few remain in the original design of these huts. The orange deer cullers huts and associated bridges and tracks were an important part of the development of the backcountry and we believe retaining these icon huts allows trampers and hunters appreciate the deer culling heritage.
Read more about the Cow Creek repaint
Thanks for all the good work on these projects. Thanks, too, for the neat new website to keep us informed about them. I especially like the masthead photo of Maungahuka Hut and the tarn. Maungahuka and Andersons stand out in my memories as the most beautiful places in the Tararua Range to spend a clear night.