LOST in a LOOP

In this video, Sam heads back into the Roding River Reserve for a day tramp up Mt Malita, then south along the ridgeline to Mt Meares before navigating down to the Champion Mine and looping back along the Roding River.
This area is accessed from the end of Aniseed Valley Road near Richmond (South Island, New Zealand).
The tramp starts at the Roding River Reserve car park and iinitally follows a forestry road up toward Mt Malita. After leaving the forestry road, the track continues uphill to the peak of Mt Malita. Not far along the bush line Mt Malita Hut can be found and explored.
From Mt Malita, a rough track is taken south along toward Mt Meares. After taking a wrong turn down the wrong ridgeline, the mistake was corrected and things were back on track. Once Mt Meares was reached, the task of making his way down to the Champion Mine was underway. There is no clear track or marker at this location so caution is required and it is a matter of just carefully picking a path from Mt Meares down to the Champion Mine.
The Champion Mine area also contains interesting relics and a number of deep mine shafts can also be viewed. Again, please be very careful around the mine shafts which are not fenced and are very deep.
Overall, this is a facinating area and adventurous loop that can be completed in around 6 hours.
Please be advised that large sections of this loop are untracked and require navigation. In addition, there are very limited water sources until reaching Champion Mine.

[@jrosealmendras88]

Great hike
Lost
In the Loop

[@gjcoop5625]

That hut was originally built to service an astronomy observatory that opened in 1964. You passed a small concrete pad that housed a shed for the telescope just before getting to the hut, maybe 100 m to the north, in the open where you still look down into the Roding catchment. Seems there was too much light from Richmond, and clouds, so they transferred the operation to Mt John near Tekapo after about a year.

[@samandkevsoutdooradventures]

Thanks. I did actually research that before I did the hike and I actually filmed the concrete plinth and talked about it but I removed it from the final edit as I thought I was talking too much through the video haha. I often think that about my videos but maybe I should have left this neat little bit of history in. Lesson for next time. Thanks for the comment.

[@outthere9370]

Gosh, how interesting. Thanks for the story!

[@gjcoop5625]

@@samandkevsoutdooradventures No worries, we all know you do a lot of work with these videos, both before you shoot and after. However, it's a pretty strange place for a hut, like Asbestos Cottage. We don't mind some story and you generally do make it interesting. RUclips is all about the story, of course. I really enjoy your insights.

[@ReviloNZwalks]

Nice mission Sam. Good to see you back after enjoying your previous trip in this area. Cheers

[@samandkevsoutdooradventures]

Cheers. Always fun being out even when I lose track of where I am going for a bit.

[@OutdoorsmanDave]

You’re a legend and the way you predicted the terrain ahead of you… “hopefully it will be gnarly” or did you say “hopefully it will NOT”? 🙃

[@samandkevsoutdooradventures]

Cheers Dave. Haha I said hopefully NOT too gnarly. It was a little bit rough in places to be honest but in hindsight I’m not convinced I took the best route down to the mine. Probably should have stuck to the ridge a bit more. Still feel like a novice sometimes.

[@OutdoorsmanDave]

@@samandkevsoutdooradventures Nah, you did well, made sensible and calm decisions under duress 👏👏👏

[@outthere9370]

Remember its not the destination thats important but the journey itself & the connected stories. Thanks!

[@samandkevsoutdooradventures]

Agreed. Thanks for the comment.

[@davidneal6920]

Love that old school hut!!! Nicely tucked away out of the wind

[@samandkevsoutdooradventures]

Yes I am guessing that’s why they went with that location i.e. shelter from weather exposure.