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This story was originally published on RNZ.co.nz and republished with permission.
The estimated construction cost for a new cabin along the Milford Track in Fiordland has nearly doubled to more than $ 3 million since work began on the initial design.
The 40-bed Mintaro Hut will replace the existing one in a potential rockfall area.
The work was initially expected to be complete by last summer’s hiking season.
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The hut is nestled among the trees almost hidden from view and so far the frame is raised and there is a deck, but there are no walls and no roof yet.
RNZ
The new 40-bed Mintaro cabin.
Builder John Henderson said: “We have finally seen some progress. It took a long time to get off the ground. It was a very wet spring, it rained a lot. We went out on a Sunday and by the following Thursday there had been a meter of rain in the place, so we probably weren’t here. “
His team of seven or eight people started working before Covid-19, but they were blocked and then winter took hold of them.
“I’ve made quite a few cabins, but this one is a little different. It has large portals in the main rooms so you have a lot of free space, lots of tanalized wood everywhere, very well insulated in this one focus on the air flow in the rooms to keep rooms dry. Hopefully it will all come together and work well, “Henderson said.
Logistics is a great challenge.
“When the weather is nice we use the barge on the lake and two helicopters to empty it. We have flown things from Knob’s Flat, we have had some things from Milford and it all depends on the weather, like it’s cloudy, you can’t get past the passes.
“It’s easy enough to go up to the lake on a barge every day, but sometimes you can’t even get here because of the mist and fog.”
RNZ
Construction costs for a new cabin along the Milford Track in FIordland have nearly doubled to more than $ 3 million since work began on the initial design.
Official 2018 documents show that the starting price was $ 1.8 million, which included 15 percent contingency, design, planning and construction.
Department of Conservation chief ranger Grant Tremain said the new estimate of $ 3.4 million reflects the remoteness of the site and rising costs.
“The real price is when you get a half dozen or 10 different people to price the construction and labor, and that’s where that went back up again: the additional labor costs, the transportation costs, and the component here. It’s a really difficult calculation to do – how much would it cost to blow everything up or break in? How do you do it? “
He acknowledged the construction delays and said it had taken longer to manage the project and assess the site’s risks.
“There is a really testing environment up here. This would be a substantial construction in the city, let alone in the middle in the heart of Fiordland, in a really difficult and rugged environment and topography. Yes, getting here shows that it is can done then [it’s] pretty cool to see, “Tremain said.
RNZ
Mintaro Hut is about two miles from the old one.
Mintaro Hut is about two miles from the old one.
The current cabin is over 30 years old and GNS rockfall advice meant it was necessary to close it and build the new one.
Tremain said the new construction was far superior and out of the way of known rockfalls.
It also has a specially designed septic tank that only needs to be emptied every two to three years instead of annually.
The cabin will also be warmer: it is sunnier and has double glazing.
Destination Fiordland General Manager Madeleine Peacock said being able to stay in a quality cabin would encourage more people to consider walking the Milford Track.
“People want to be able to be semi-comfortable when they walk these trails. You know that one day of stomping in the rain, it is good to know that in the end, you are going to get to a warm place, in a safe place, where you can rest and recover for the next day, dry your boots and some comforts of home, “said Peacock.
The new Mintaro cabin is on track to open in March of next year.
This story was originally published on RNZ.co.nz and republished with permission.
