Bottom Misery made more comfy

With a brand new porch and woodburner, sandfly-proof mesh over the windows and newly built bunks, the Bottom Misery Hut has never looked so flash.

One of south Marlborough's older huts, the four-bunk Branch River 1950s abode has been given a makeover that all Department of Conservation huts in the area get every 10 years.

Given its isolated position in the Leatham Conservation Area, all materials and tools for the upgrade had to be flown in and out by helicopter.

Three south Marlborough Department of Conservation rangers spent 10 days working most of the daylight hours to get the job done.

While waving away persistent sandflies and wasps, carpenter and DOC ranger Kevin Maitland said one of the most challenging parts of the job was making sure everything they needed was brought in by the helicopter because if they forgot something, it was not a case of popping to the nearest shop to get it. The nearest road is a five-hour walk away, to Greigs Hut.

But as work sites go, the Bottom Misery Hut was not a bad one, Mr Maitland said.

"Look at that view," he said, surveying the scenery from the hut window across the Branch River to the mountains beyond.

The hut sports a new Tage woodburner, which Mr Maitland said was easier to use, produced less smoke in the hut and had a longer lifespan than the old potbelly stoves that all older DOC huts had.

The old hearth was recycled as a new step outside the new porch and inside new bunks were built. Originally the hut had four beds but during the years a fifth was added and now it has six.

Importantly, a route into the hut frequented by rats via the old porch has disappeared. "It's a heck of an improvement," Mr Maitland said.

He and fellow rangers Matt Flynn and Bill Warner used an entire large can of fly spray in an attempt to fight the clouds of sandflies which is why DOC South Marlborough project manager Jim Herdman decided to trial insect nets on the windows.

But Mr Warner, 64, has had plenty of experience with sandflies during a career that spans from the days of the Forest Service to his retirement that will mark his 65th birthday in May.

Mr Warner said that since a heart valve replacement eight years ago he preferred to leave the real physical work like track work to his younger colleagues but he still enjoyed the work. After his retirement he hoped to volunteer for DOC and maybe work on a few projects.

Mr Herdman said Bottom Misery Hut had about 200 visitors a year, mostly deer and goat hunters, making it a lesser-used hut in the region. While the hut had been added to and worked on in the past, this upgrade was a particularly thorough one, he said.

All the department's huts are serviced regularly with minor upgrades that include cleaning the mattresses, a paint job and track work and every decade they are given a major overhaul.

- The Marlborough Express