4 of us set off from Kaituna Valley with the signpost saying 6-7 hours to the Hut. We climbed up from the valley and had a short break at the newly refurbished Pack Horse Hut, which is now an online booking hut.

We continued on climbing on a rather slippery track, but arrived safely at the Mt Herbert Shelter for a 1 pm sunny lunch stop. After travelling across the top of Mt Herbert, with a cold, keen wind blowing, we reached the Rod Donald Hut around 4.30pm – about 6 hours tramping.

This hut is a very pleasant 9 bunker, situated above the Western Valley Road, with a wonderful view towards Little River. The hut has been totally upgraded and also required online booking. We amicably shared the hut with a family of 3. The next day we woke to a frosty morning, but undeterred we headed on and down towards Pettigrews Rd, where we were to liaise with our car shuffling team. All in all a very pleasant weekend with great company.

We were: Keith McQuillan, Geoff Korver, Mary McKeown, Gavin Chalk, with Tim, Andrea and Mary Korver as the shuffle team. (KM)