Potts Hut, located in Hakatere Conservation Park, exudes history from every metal panel and nail. Once upon a time, this hut was part of Hakatere Station and used by the annual musterers. Scan the walls for long enough and you begin to feel the history come alive, the earliest names date back to 1906.

This trip was going to be a mix of driving from the Potts River up to Curtis Memorial Hut, then a return walk up to St Winifreds Hut. As it was also well into the roar, we were expecting a full valley and equally full huts, so we were prepared to be tenting out for the night.

After an uncharacteristically last minute organisation, a wild Waitangi weekend was had on the Lewis Pass Tops. By last minute, I mean we planned it on Thursday and left Ashburton after work on Friday heading for Hanmer Springs for the night. With spirits high and eager anticipation for the trip ahead, we arrived in Hanmer about 8pm and set about repacking and getting the final few supplies.

October is a funny time of year here in Canterbury, it's getting warmer, the nor' westers are dying out but the weather is still very much up and down. So it was with my planned weekend trip that ended up being Plan D. But it's always a good idea to be flexible, be prepared to change according to the weather and sometimes accept defeat.