D47- Burton's Whare site to Mangahao flats hut.

I can't say im enjoying the Tararua's so far, tho today was worse than the last 2 combined. It's not actually raining in the morning tho it looks like it wants to. By 10-30 it gets it's wish. From the Whare site, the track continues south as a benched pack track.  It soon leaves the podocarp forest and enters scrub and grass. There's a rotting tin shelter here that could be used if you had to tho it'd be pretty grim. After 2 hours it turns into a muddy 4wd track which leads to the
Tokomaro road end. Its about a km to the Mangahao road which siddles the Mangahao river passing dams #3, #2 and #1, repectively. Dam #3 looks almost empty. From here the TA turns right down a tramping track but i continue to the road end which takes forever. Dam#2 is full to the brim, creating a long fingerlake, its hard to judge the river level between dams but it looks worringly high. The road ends at dam #1, the river level can't be seen beyond the resivour.
Crossing the levy wall i find my penultimate food drop after 40mins digging through mud and rocks in the pissing rain. Im ahead of progress and still have surplus food from Woodville, the result a very heavy pack but enough food for 2-3 days rest. Given the Tararua weather it may be worth the wait/weight.
Recrossing the dam, a track siddles on the true left. There's no sighn, and with my phone flat after 4 days of no sun, ive no idear of distance. What i do know is its now 3pm and with my headlight also flat i won't be walking after dark. I assumed it would be a riverbed route above the dam, however the siddle track continues to the hut. The muds in a different league, usually above the knees. A swing bridge crossesthe river a third of the way up, the rivers already in flood and fast becoming uncrossable. The next time i see it, it's a monster, a raging torrent carrying logs, rolling bolders downstream.  Waterfall spring from every surface, even out of the trees. The track itself becomes a river. A sign indicates a river route or high route, is obvious which i take.
Another bridge crosses the river and it seems to have dropped, until i realise it's a mere side stream. Finally upon dusk, the hut clearing comes into veiw, along with a final obstacle- an unbridged stream. It turns out to be only waist deep but theres no way of telling through the muddy flow.
Mangahao hut's pretty flash, tho anything would of been after that day. There's 16 bunks, a woodburner and a plumbed in sink, there's even enough dry wood for a fire.