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Monday, 17 February 2014

Mount Wellington Huts and Ruins

Monday 17th February 2014

Luckmans Hut
Today was to be just a short walk on Mount Wellington to look at some of the huts and ruins around the Big Bend area.
I started the walk at the lower end of the Panorama track which I walked up for a short distance and then headed mostly off track to find Luckmans Hut, which is in a fairly good state of repair. After a good look around I continued on to locate the site where the Wellington Ski Club Hut was originally located. All that remains now is the base and a few concrete slabs. From here I walked out to Pinnacle Road and uphill for a short distance to find the remains of the skating rink. It is just a cement slab with a lip around the edge which apparently filled with water and then froze to form the skating surface. It is quite small, really.
Skating Rink
From here it was back to Pinnacle Road and downhill to Big Bend and on to the Big Bend Trail, which I walked along for a couple of hundred metres before turning off and walking in the direction of the Scout Hut. I soon located it and had a look around. This hut also is in reasonable condition. After a bite to eat I then walked back to Big Bend and took the Lost World track.
After about 150 metres I headed in a westerly direction sometimes following a track and sometimes not. I was trying to find the Sama Hut but could not locate it as the weather closed in and it became a whiteout. I did not have any coordinates for it, so I probably walked right past it. Anyway, it was quite pleasant walking around on the top of Mount Arthur and I walked over to a point where I could see the Scout Hut.
Scout Hut
I walked a slightly different route back to the Lost World track but still had no luck finding the hut.
Another day! After getting back to the Lost World track, I followed this down to Lost World - alas still no views as the place remained in cloud. From here it was a steep climb down the "Yellow Dot Track" to eventually meet up with the Old Hobartians Track, then up the Hunters Track to Pinnacle Road and uphill to the car.
This was an enjoyable walk which offered different sights to a normal bush walk and was quite short in time and distance, only requiring half a day.

Distance: 8.1 kms.
Time: 4'54"
Ascent: 510 metres
Please Note - I have removed the Map and GPX download facility from this post due to a complaint about providing sensitive information on Wellington Park. If anyone wants further info please email me via the Contact Form on the Home Page.

Inside Luckman Hut

Remains of Wellington Ski Club Hut

Skating Rink

Inside Scout Hut




6 comments :

  1. Very interesting post. I went up to the Lost World today, from Old Hobartians track, then went looking for a two level public use hut that I saw years ago following a track that from memory wasn't far from the Lost World track near the Big Bend. I could not find it but following vague tracks from the Big Bend Trail just up from the Big Bend, I found two other huts. One was your elusive Sama hut.The other was further north set in among big rocks. Maybe it was the Scout Hut that I saw years ago. I couldn't find it today.

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    1. Thanks for that. I know the location of Sama Hut now but have not been there yet. It sounds like the other hut you saw was the Scout Hut.

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  2. Spent last night in sama and headed out around 11.30 towards Collins bonnet today, abandoning the original plan for Tom thumb.. With huts on My mind, I was fooled a couple of times by holders near the top of Mt connection. I took a stroll out to the more North eastern lookout of connection and spotted what seemed surely to be a Hut around level with myself and tucked in, I think under the lower ridges on the north side of the ascending fire trail to the bonnet. I headed for the spot I thought one might see a cairn, passing the sign at the dip noting the mertyl gully? Hut in that direction. I had seen a Hut noted on my map but was not convinced it was the right location and was a bit short on food anyway and happy for any Hut. It was a bit cold and windy but not wet and I had ample warm gear and water.. I got, say about 2/3 up the fire tral and spotted what could have or couldn't have been a cairn but no real pad leading from it and I was pushing my time to explore more or head to the marked one. It was around quarter to 2 and I had to be back at big Bend by 4 for work. So I followed my footsteps back with the haste of shadowfax and to my surprise eventually got back at about 3.30. Consulting my map I think more likely than not the Hut was the marked one but that doesn't make it unpleasant just not secret. :D ate a whopping bag of chips before work.. will head back another long day and have another look and enjoy the bonnet and cap.. Any light to be shed on Said Hut? Cheers, Matt

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    1. I think the hut you refer to is located just off the East West Trail at UTM 55G 512296 5252769 WGS 84. It is about halfway between the Collins Bonnet ascent track and the track that comes up from Myrtle Forest.

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  3. Went to Scout Hut yesterday, the interior looks a lot different! Someone has decorated it, brought in colourful blankets and pillows, and many other items. Watch from 6:18 in this video to see what it looks like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_6cyDHGSU4

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