Most veteran members of the Wanganui Tramping Club have no idea how many huts they have visited.
They may get out a few maps and make a count, but it will be only an approximate figure. But one member who knows exactly how many huts he has bagged is Graham Sutcliffe, a man who keeps a meticulous record of his tramping activity.
So when he headed into Nelson Lakes National Park in March he knew he was about to hit 300 DoC huts and when he did so at D'Urville Hut his colleagues were happy to photo him with a specially prepared sign. That's a pretty good effort but with just under 1000 active DoC huts, Graham still has plenty of scope to increase his tally.
Hut bagging is quite competitive with some people and some clubs running competitions with more points for remote huts. There is even a website, hutbagger.co.nz which has more than 1700 huts, some private or not very well-known.
Whanganui Tramping Club members have a chance to bag two more huts next month on trips to Dorset Ridge Hut in Tararua Forest Park and Sutherlands Hut in Haurangi Forest Park. Also on the agenda are day trips to the Manawatu Gorge Track, Mangaehuehu Hut and Rangi Hut plus the club's annual quiz night.