Lewis Pass

Brass Monkey Bivouac from Lucretia Valley and down via Duchess Stream

Brass Monkey Bivouac is a highly elevated bivvy precisely settled on the tops of the Lewis Pass ranges. There is no direct route to it. There is an article in Wilderness Magazine “5 ways to Brass Monkey Bivouac” that briefly describes 5 ways to get up there. As this was only my second trip as a leader of the Christchurch Tramping Club trip, I opted for a relatively easy route up via Lucretia Stream. For the way down I chose the route via Duchess Stream which was a bit more… ehm – let’s stick with the word “adventurous”.


St James Walkway in the winter

The St James Walkway is a 66 km multi-day hike in the Lewis Pass, New Zealand. You can often read that it’s suitable for beginners or even families with kids. Well, it truly is if you are well prepared. Though, it’s still a long hike through New Zealand wilderness and it could be really demanding especially when the weather goes wrong.