D40- Howlets hut to Longveiw hut.

The winds howling and the huts living up to its name. It was actually named after William Howlet who built the first hut here in the 1890's. Its a shorter day today so i wait for conditions to improve, they don't.
A sign outside marks Longveiw 4hrs and 2 mins later another sighn Longveiw 3.5hrs- good progress. Its all on broad tussock ridges again so at least i won't go off the edge, tho its hard to stand up at times. Being lower altitude, it more knee height scrub than tussock, but theres a well worn foot trail through. Think fog envelopes the higher sections.
It starts with a gentle climb to Taumataua (1431), before crossing a low saddle east to climb Otomore (1519). From here it drops across another saddle to reach Longveiw hut. The wind is at least in my favour climbing up from the saddles and its an effortless climb, riding the wind. The rain kicks in halfway through and makes the day quite unpleasant. It was a scheduled half day today due to hut positions, a good thing tho as the storm gets worse as i reach the hut.
Longveiw hut sits at 1200m at the point where the main devide drops below the tree line, it marks the end of open tops travel for the Ruahines. Despite being sheltered by a higher range to the west, the hut still seems to cop the burnt of a lot a bad weather here. Like most eastern Ruahine huts its easy access from the road and gets a lot of use. There's 12 bunks and a woodburner. Its supposively a serviced hut, tho the wood sheds completely empty and according to the book has been for a while. Chopping a log into lenths with a blunt axe occupies a good chunk of the afternoon.
That done, its time for my next tresure hunt. The holes full of water with all the recent rain but luckily the bucket hasn't risen. Apon opening i find waters seeped into the bucket, while most things are ok, a bag of rice bursts and requires carefully drying on newspaper. Longveiw hut lives up to its reputation not its name, with nothing but mist to been seen. The storm intensifies throughout the afternoon.