Hut life at Kohanga Atawai/Manson Nichols Hut

..an overnight stay at Manson Nichols Hut...

Back in May I went for the first of my 2022 Winter series of tramps. I walked up to Lake Daniell in the Lewis Pass National Reserve on Sunday morning and spent an afternoon and evening at the hut. The weather was less than optimal so I ended up having the whole 20 bunk hut to myself for the night. 

Manson Nichols hut in the Lewis Pass National Reserve

Lake Daniell from the side porch of the hut

I thought we might take some time to look at the typical activities you will encounter at a backcountry hut here in New Zealand. I call this hut life...

A look at backcountry hut life...

The hut at Lake Daniell known as Manson Nichols Hut was built back in 2020 after the previous 40 year old hut was deemed uneconomic to repair. It is a real beauty and very typical of the type of huts the Department of Conservation are building in front country locations. It is super popular with West Coasters/Cantabrians and you will find it full to the brim most weekends and over the holidays. 

Side entrance to Manson Nichols Hut

Fancy composting toilets at Manson Nichols Hut

View from the throne room at Manson Nichols Hut

Manson Nichols Hut is a 20 bunker with two bunk rooms with different configurations and a large central dining-living area. It has that classic plywood look inside which I actually find very attractive to live in. It has all the mod cons like inside solar lighting, water taps, plenty of bench space and multiple tables to sit at.

Hey...what more do you need in a backcountry hut!!!

Manson Nichols Hut: the mud room at the hut

This hut is on the DOC booking system so you know you will have a bunk to sleep on which is one reason it is so popular with families, social groups, schools and tramping clubs. I looked before setting off from the car and there were three of us booked for the Sunday night. The other two people never turned up so I had the hut completely to myself which was nice after how busy everywhere  has been over the last summer.

Manson Nichols Hut: Interior living area

Manson Nichols Hut: the cooking benches

There are two bunkrooms in this hut; one with eight individual bunks and the other with two sleeping platforms which hold 12 additional visitors. I stayed in the room with the platforms as this allowed me to make a mattress mountain with four mattresses stacked next to each other for greater comfort. 

Manson Nichols Hut: the bunkroom I used

When you arrive at a hut the first thing you should do is work through a list of hut chores...this is best done when you arrive so you can get cleaned up afterward and enjoy your stay. Some of the hut chores I usually do are:

Gathering/Chopping firewood and bringing a ready supply inside

Removing and hanging up my wet clothing

Setting up my sleeping area

Claiming a spot for my cooking gear on the bench

Sweeping the floors through the hut and depositing the dust outside

Wiping down the tables and cooking benches

General tidying and cleaning around the hut

Boiling water for that first cup of tea at the hut

The previous occupants had done quite a good job so these tasks only took me about 30 minutes to complete.

Water tanks at Manson Nichols Hut

There was next to no wood at the hut and the forest was wet as it had been raining for 2-3 days. I chopped up what wood I could find and dragged a pile of tree branches and damp logs into the empty wood shed so it could dry out for the next people. 

I had just enough wood for a fire that night...

The woodburner inside Manson Nichols Hut

Once I had the hut ready to go I boiled some water for a brew and some lunch...I was eating freeze dried meals on this trip as I have a stack that are approaching their best before date. For lunch I had a Backcountry Cooked Breakfast and it was damn fine. They have changed the recipe of this meal and it is much more palatable than it used to be...recommend!!!

Preparing lunch at Manson Nichols Hut

I had Manson Nichols Hut to myself

Backcountry Cuisine Cooked Breakfast for lunch

After lunch and cleaning up my cooking gear I spent a couple of hours doing some vlogging work in the hut. I filmed the hut, the food I was carrying and some other subjects as well. Meanwhile I had a couple of hot brews and enjoyed the snacks I had not eaten on the short walk in to the hut.

Jon does some vlogging at Manson Nichols Hut

I went outside in a lull in the rain and filmed around the outside of the hut...on the veranda, out the back of the hut and at the nearby campsite cooking shelter. If the weather had been better I would have gone for a walk along the lake shoreline but the clear windows lasted for only minutes at a time.

Lake Daniell from the veranda at Manson Nichols Hut

Manson Nichols Hut veranda...picnic table and benches

The campsite cooking shelter at Lake Daniell

Rain rolls in over Lake Daniell, Lewis Pass National Reserve

Because I had so little dry wood I had to forgo lighting the fire until later in the evening but I did prepare it so I could light it as soon as it started to get dark outside. I used my typical fire setting method and left it until around 5 pm when I started the fire to warm the hut up a bit. Here is a vlog I made about using the woodburner you will find in most DOC huts...

I prepare the woodburner...Manson Nichols Hut

...classic cross hatch stack of kindling....

The previous visitors had huge big chonks of wood stacked up next to the fire so I removed a lot of it and took it outside to chop into smaller pieces. I also gathered a fist full of twigs and chips of wood to stack on top of my tinder. I found just enough to get the fire started with and hauled a pile of thiner tree branches into the wood shed for future visitors to use. 

Looking for twigs in the woodshed at Manson Nichols Hut

...my twig bundle for the fire...

Woodburner is ready to go at Manson Nichols Hut

I sat at one of the tables for an hour or so drinking tea and reading the supply of magazines I found in the hut. I also dropped off a couple of Ian Rankin books I had humped into the hut with me so if you are a Rebus fan there are two of his early books up there...

My cooking equipment at Manson Nichols Hut

The rain stopped for about an hour late in the afternoon and it allowed me to head out and take the obligatory shot of the hut from the boat dock...

Manson Nichols Hut from the Lake Daniell dock

Lake Daniell at Lewis Pass National Reserve

I got the fire going around 5pm and it soon had the hut toasty warm. One of the advantages with new huts are the double glazed windows and insulation...if you light a fire it will retain the warmth and makes for a more comfortable place to stay.

Woodburner blazing away at Manson Nichols Hut

Dinner that night was another Backcountry meal this time a Spaghetti Bolognaise two person serve. I had this with some Chicken Noodle simmer soup that I cooked on top of the woodburner. It is always a good idea to add a soup to your dinner for some added calories and flavor and it is especially nice on a cold winter's night. 

...simmering some soup at Manson Nichols Hut...

The MSR Windburner stove had an outing on this trip and it performed awesomely...it is a fantastic stove and best suited to these shorter in-out trips and over the winter. You will be seeing more of it going forward. I made a vlog clip about using a canister style stove in a backcountry hut while I was there.

I was using my MSR Windburner stove on this trip

Dinner spot selected...Manson Nichols Hut

It was warm enough in the hut to take off my fleece and I sat and ate my dinner while reading old Wilderness magazines from the early 1990's. They were having the same problems back then as we have now. Huts burning down, lack of money for DOC, tourist numbers, climate change, environmental problems etc. The ads for outdoor gear were interesting...lots of local gear and little from overseas but not as much variety as now. 

Chow time for Jon, Manson Nichols Hut

After dinner and cleaning up my gear I stoked up the fire and settled into my pit for a couple of hours of reading and listening to music. I really need some kind of lite weight speaker so I could play music in the huts. I could bother people with my tunes...how about some 80's classics from George Michael, Sting, Phil Collins or even the Smiths..

...I was minding my own business...lifting some lead off...

The roof of the holy name Church...

It was worthwhile living a laughable life...

To set my eyes on the blistering sight...

Of a Vicar in a tutu...he's not strange...

He just wants to live his life that way...

 Every now and then I went and made myself a hot drink or chucked some wood on the fire.

My pit set up at Manson Nichols Hut

 I finally turned off the lights and went to sleep about 9.30 pm and had a long peaceful sleep. I slept more or less solidly from about 10pm to 7am the next morning. It was one of the nicest sleeps I have ever had in a backcountry hut. 

Day two and breakfast...

I was walking out to the carpark on the Monday morning so after I woke up at 7am I started on my morning routine. I boiled some water for my freeze dried meal which was Backcountry Apple Pie. It is a spicy mix of apple filling and some shortbread biscuits to crush over the top of it. It is one of the better Backcountry meals and is good for breakfast or as a dessert. 

Breakfast the next morning at Manson Nichols Hut

After eating breakfast I packed up my gear and tidied up the hut before leaving. The tasks when leaving a hut are much the same as when you get there so things like;

Packing up your gear...don't leave anything behind

Stack the mattresses on their sides

Clean down the benches and tables

Tidy the area around the fireplace/woodburner

Sweep the floors

Check all windows are shut and the fire is closed down and safe

Close all the hut doors and make sure no animals/vermin can get inside

After I completed all these tasks and had a last look around the hut I geared up for the walk out to the road end. 

Dark and gloomy over Lake Daniell

My gear packed and ready at Manson Nichols Hut

On the way to the start of the Lake Daniell Track I walked down to the dock on Lake Daniell for one last look back at the hut. 

Last view of Manson Nichols Hut from the dock

Classic view of Lake Daniell, Lewis Pass National Reserve

It was lightly raining as I left the hut but the Lake Daniell Track is an all weather one so I knew I was going to be able to make it back to my car for the homeward trip. It continued to rain all the way out to the car so I had to wear my jacket for the three hour walk to Marble Hill. 

Farewell to Manson Nichols Hut until next time....

Hopefully that gives you a bit of an idea of the sort of things you do when you are in a backcountry hut. Obviously if anyone else had been there we would probably have chatted and or played some cards. I sometimes take some wine with me on tramps or a cheeky whiskey. Personally I quite like to have the occasional time to myself where you can just sit in quietude and enjoy your own company. It is a good escape from a hectic world...

YouTube: Manson Nichols Hut