Huts might fly—and they do!

The other week when I ventured to Lodestone, I arrived at Flora to find that half of the carpark was cordoned off. A crime scene? Highly unlikely. There, on a trailer behind a DOC ute, sat a wee backcountry hut. A couple of guys wearing hi-vis vests were looking skyward, patiently waiting for something to happen. What was it, I wondered.

Flora Carpark taped off.

While I put on my boots and readied myself for my tramp to Lodestone, I heard the crackling noises of radio calls going back and forth. Seeing the ropes draped over the hut, I quickly realised that I was about to witness an aerial hut relocation.

Sure enough, after further radio calls, one of the guys wearing a hard hat asked me to stay behind the line, as a chopper was coming in shortly. Suddenly the peace and quiet was swallowed up by the deep, beating noise of helicopter rotor blades.

Here she comes, straight in over Flora Saddle.

A quick shot before turning the camera away from the dispersing dust.

Lining up for pick-up.

ZK-HEX, an Aérospatiale AS350BA operated by Reid Heslop Helicopters Ltd.

Set, ready…

…and liftoff!

There you have it: huts do fly!

Within seconds she’s gone.

And where was the hut off to? I found out that it was destined for Deep Creek as a DOC staff hut for pest control. (Deep Creek starts at Lake Peel and flows into the Takaka River between Upper Junction and Lower Junction.)

I couldn’t help but wonder how amazing it would be to fly into the wilderness in a hut! Just like in the brilliant movie Up, by Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Pictures.

Perhaps I should start stockpiling balloons…

Possibly related articles:

• Thousand Acre Plateau—and still counting…
• Matiri Valley—gateway to spectacular landscapes
• Richmond Saddle Hut—aircraft wreckage & an armchair
• Stag Flat Shelter—replaced and relocated
• Belltown Manunui Hut—a prospectors’ camp a century on