“On a Mish” #243 A Wet Night at Homer Hut (Part Three). Upper Hollyford / Gertrude Valley. Fiordland National Park. 21.12.2015. The rain falling in Fiordland is an impressive sight. When you think the rain has reached its maximum fall rate, it turns things up a notch or two. To say the visuals seen are incredible is an understatement, but what’s also amazing is how quickly the water levels drop once the rain has stopped falling…
Our team at Homer Hut were getting anxious about leveling. They had a date with Tititea Mt Aspiring, and waiting wasn’t an option. After one rather adventurous journey to the public phone attached to the Chapel, we returned with the news that the rain was going to ease. Because this didn’t involve the crew leaving, we were sent back to order a tow truck that was tall enough to drive through the huge waist deep puddle at the entrance to the car park where their vehicles were.
Another wet wander was needed and after getting hold of the towing company again, we told them we had a group that was willing to pay ‘whatever’ to escape the car park. By this time the rain had completely stopped, but the water was still flowing.
As time went on, we set up a rope across the shallowest point of the stream. This meant everyone could get their stuff across to their cars. As the team waited the water began to rapidly drop. At one point the leader of the pack decided he would try to get around the massive puddle. After some scratches on his car’s paint work, he managed to get through. The others followed suit and with that they were on the other side of the puddle.
We were now very worried about them leaving before the tow truck showed up. Thankfully they were some outstanding individuals, and they waited and paid for the truck even though they didn’t need it. After waving goodbye / bon voyage to new friends we finally had a moment to take a breath and take in what had just happened.
After lunch we decided it was time for a walk to clear our minds. We attempted to get up the Gertrude Valley, but the water was too deep, so we turned our attention to William Homer’s mighty saddle. As much as I love the Gertrude Valley trek, the hike up to Homer Saddle is right up there with my favorite adventures to do in Fiordland.
After a cloudy affair with Homer Saddle, we returned to Homer Hut to prepare ourselves for the next guests. By now the river outside the hut had completely disappeared, and it was mind-blowing to think that only a few hours back there was a nearly uncrossable stream. If only we had a way to show our new friends how low the water was now!
Our stay at the hut had one more watery twist waiting, not for us but for some unfortunate Aussie’s. Although the water had now completely subsided, the puddle at the entrance to the car park remained. At about 11pm that night we heard the commotion of humans at the hut, and when we went out to welcome them in, they told us they had a problem.
Unfortunately, they had tried to drive through the puddle at speed and it had drowned their car. Their rental car which they hadn’t paid for. Not only did they have the issue of their car being stuck in water, but they also now had a large bill hanging over their heads. The next morning, we were on the phone to the tow truck company again, who were probably loving all of the work that the Gertrude / Homer Hut car park was providing!
Thankfully this was the last unusual event during our stay, and what a week it had been. Of course we didn’t have to help our stuck friends, as our role was to take care of the hut and collect the cash off the people who showed up to stay. But doing nothing isn’t in our blood, and when help is needed, we are the type to do what we can to accommodate the needs of people who need it. We were glad we could help the first group with continuing with their Aotearoa adventures, but unfortunately for our Aussie mates, we could do much about their dead car and the fact that they hadn’t bothered paying for insurance. A tough lesson was taught in one of the most stunning locations on the planet. At least they had some excellent scenery to look at while they waited for the tow truck!
