Mikonui Flat Hut to Dickie Spur Hut
Ross · West Coast · Point to Point
This walk was suggested by the community and checked against the authority quoted above before it was published. The route line comes from official track data. DOC’s own wording: “Dogs with a DOC permit only. Contact closest DOC office to get a permit. Other pets on conservation land rules. (DOC, Mikonui Catchment - Dickie Ridge/Upper Tuke River Route page; the permits for this valley come from the Hokitika or Franz Josef DOC offices, and DOC's track records list the permit here as the hunting-dog kind.)”. Evidence: the rule-setter’s own published wording. How we check dog rules.
Good to know
A DOC dog permit is required before any dog walks here. DOC codes this land for the hunting-dog permit, so it is not a casual dog walk. Ask the DOC office before planning to bring a dog.
About Mikonui Flat Hut to Dickie Spur Hut
Mikonui Flat Hut to Dickie Spur Hut is a point-to-point of 6.3 km, near Ross in West Coast.
The second leg of the Mikonui catchment circuit, climbing from the valley floor to the tops: DOC calls Mikonui Flats to Dickie Spur Hut 5 to 6 hours, which is exactly what Dre, who sent this one in with Hazel, reckons too. From the hut door the markers lead up the valley through grassy flats and scattered scrub, skirt the bush edge for about 200 m, then find the start of the Dickie Ridge track proper. The track climbs over a high point to avoid a short gorge in the lower Tuke, drops steeply to cross the swing bridge at the top of the gorge, then follows the riverbed on the true left before the marked climb to the ridge. At about 1200 m a marker pole shows the turn-off to Dickie Spur Hut, a basic four bunk hut with no heating, and DOC warns the markers to the hut are hard to see in mist. The dog rule is DOC's permit rule for the whole catchment: dogs with a DOC permit only, the hunting-dog kind, arranged with the Hokitika or Franz Josef office before you go. This is DOC-graded expert country for fit, well equipped and experienced backcountry trampers, and winter travel beyond Dickie Spur Hut needs ice axe and crampons.
Graded expert, it climbs about 1,160 m overall, and takes about 3 hr 11 min to walk.
A DOC dog permit is required before any dog walks here. Arrange it with the managing DOC office ahead of your trip. This walk is on the map because Dre & Hazel suggested it, and we checked it against the source above.