PTC - 2026KellyRange

Kelly Range

Matariki 10th – 12th July 2026

Four winter-ready trampers set off from Kellys car-park, late morning, and made the steep climb through west coast forest, to the alpine zone for lunch and on to Carroll Hut. Our four and the two young women at the 10-bed hut were later joined by more groups, so some had to sleep on the floor and two tented 100m down from the hut. The crowded hut was no surprise on this three-day Matariki weekend. The surprise came on day two.

Danny was chief cook and his pasta and salami meal was enjoyed by the team. Eating the pasta meal lightened his load minimally. We were amazed at the heavy stuff that emerged from his pack over the three days—an SLR camera, bag of mandarins, and probably the heaviest Swiss-army knife you can buy, were some of his luggage. Our group needed good sleeping-bags for this trip as Carroll Hut has no wood-burner. One guy sleeping on an inflatable mat and with two sleeping bags said he was cold all night.

Photos by DL. Mt Tara Tama in the background

9am on a very frosty Saturday, we were heading to the Kelly Saddle tarns, then on to the bigger tarns of Kelly Range. These-days the track is well marked with waratahs and fibre-glass poles. Kyungsang learned about ice in Korea and correctly evaluated a small tarn to walk across. Kevin took the movie while we watched waiting for cracks to appear. One tarn had drained 50cm since its ice formed and had collapsed into a mass of icy shards. A long 220m descent got us to the awkward scrub zone, but near the forest zone we stopped at an excellent, clear spot for lunch in perfect weather.

Photos by KM.

The forest track follows a sharp spur above Seven Mile Creek and is well-made but has some big steps. The 1100m drop seemed interminable but we reached the creek with its gorse and tutu, then the Taipo vehicle track to the old Dillon homestead and on 300m to Dillon Hut. This was our big surprise. At 3:15 we were the only ones there and so it remained—only four to share the hut and its very effective wood and coal burner. Stoking coal was a problem as there was no fire shovel. We improvised with a heavy-duty pot and soon we decided to stop feeding the flames to let the hut cool.

Dinner was a beef curry dehy meal supplemented with rice and a few secret ingredients. The medium-grain rice made the mix a bit stodgy but it got eaten. The usual custard followed. Bed-time and no one could get into their winter sleeping bags. Later, they were needed and we awoke to a heavy frost with the water tap frozen, which became a problem when we had to wash our breakfast dishes.

We had another 9am start for a second look into the old hut where we saw two fire-shovels—weird. Soon we were sizing up the creek for minimal immersion and got across with almost dry socks. From the creek outwash, we walked onto a groomed field where gold tailings had been levelled and sown in grass—appreciated by ten canada geese and a small flock of sheep. On the Taipo flats we passed diggers and other mining equipment. All down the Taipo there is evidence of mechinised activity and the track itself is wide enough for big diggers to move. Just before the track heads over to SH73 a side creek gave us a proper sock-wash. Kevin, our driver, showed a turn of speed and reached the highway aiming to hitch the twenty-five km to the car. Danny disappeared, west along the highway and to our delight arrived in a car to collect Kevin for a ride to Kellys. Both Kevin and Kerry had tried to hail a ride without success. Kev still had his wet boots on and nobly waited till the reunion at our exit point to change. This excellent trip was enjoyed by: Kevin Hughes, Kyungsang Lee, Danny Lee and Kerry Moore. KM

Looking down the Taipo Valley. Photo by KM.

Photo by KH.

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