Nestled deep in rugged Snowy River country is a small hut so remote hikers have to scramble over rocks or bash through dense bush to reach the “spartan” sanctuary.
More expensive to build per square foot than the national icon that inspired its name, Opera House Hut is one of dozens of similar structures dotting Australia’s rooftop and often erected by graziers and miners between federation and the 1960s.
Experts believe Opera House is where hiker Hadi Nazari sought shelter and stumbled upon life-saving food during the 13 days he went missing in remote Kosciuszko National Park before he was miraculously discovered by fellow hikers on Wednesday.
Police say the Melbourne medical student and experienced bushwalker survived by eating two muesli bars and foraged berries, and drinking running creek water.
Klaus Hueneke, author of the seminal text Huts of the High Country, marvels at Mr Nazari’s survival skills, saying it’s hard to believe he was able to withstand such circumstances and discover the refuge that helped save his life.
“The guy deserves a medal or two,” Mr Hueneke told AAP.
“He actually had a lot of innate bush sense and saved himself, (he’s) amazing.”
There’s been no official confirmation on which hut he visited but sources close to the search effort have revealed it was almost certainly Opera House based on a triangulation of where belongings, including his walking poles and a camera, were earlier found.
“If you draw a line from the bottom of Hannels Spur Track … and Carruthers Saddle (where he was ultimately found), Opera House is the only hut in the vicinity,” they said.
“He was found climbing up from the tree line on the western side of the Main Range.
“Stumbling onto Opera House from the direction he came, with no knowledge of the hut’s existence is real ‘needle in a haystack’ stuff.”
Mr Hueneke agrees with the assertion.
He says there are about 80 structures in the park, mainly built for fire-watching purposes by stockmen, farmers, fishermen, skiers and the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority.
“(They are) mostly one room, fairly spartan,” he said.
“About the size of a large garage with some bunks, a fireplace or stove, some furniture, a window or two and maybe a long drop-dunny up the back.”
Now beloved by bushwalkers on multi-day expeditions, they can be found along well-used tracks with caretakers charged with maintaining the heritage-protected structures.
They were built to last but not immune to unforgiving surrounds, with the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires claiming dozens of culturally-significant dwellings including the last remaining complete quintessential miner’s hut on the old Kiandra goldfields, Four Mile Hut.
Rough terrain at the park has been at the centre of a political fight in recent years over a cull of wild brumbies and is known for its danger, with search and rescue operations not uncommon.
Canadian hiker Prabhdeep Srawn went missing there in 2013 while skier Stephen Crean, brother of former federal cabinet minister Simon Crean, disappeared in 1985 before his remains were found 18 months later.
It’s not clear whether rescuers searched Opera Hut in an effort to find Mr Nazari, who disappeared on Boxing Day, or whether they did so before he arrived.
It’s very fortunate he found the hut, according to search and rescue specialist Paul Luckin.
“It’s possible that when he was higher up the ridge, he looked down and saw the hut … that is pure conjecture,” he says.
Bushcraft Survival Australia senior instructor and Alone Australia consultant Gordon Deadman cautions anyone on relying on remote huts for safety.
“People going into the outback (and) these mountainous areas need to have good map and compass skills, they need to have knowledge of how to make a shelter, even out of a tarp or something,” he says.
He says similar huts can be also be found in New Zealand and parts of Sweden.
Travellers there often leave a match outside a matchbox in case anyone on the verge of hypothermia who comes across the structure tries to light a fire but doesn’t have full use of their fingers, he says.
“It’s all about people in those cabins leaving them in a state for the next person for a possible emergency, so it’s thinking ahead and knowing that,” Mr Deadman says.
“Our environment can be just as dangerous in the cold areas, in the summer water is our main concern.
“You need to have a level of skill to go into these areas so if something does happen you know how to be found and you can take care of yourself.
“Just really glad he (Mr Nazari) was found safely.”
