Pinnacle Biv on the West Coast
Pinnacle Biv is a small orange mysterious biv located on the edge of Toaroha Range below Genoa Peak. This was possibly my biggest adventure of the year as I’ve been struggling with finding free time…
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Pfeifer Bivvy loop in Arthur’s Pass
This was a trip done by me, Mary Ogburn and Josh Sokolov-PearsonWe started at a wee carpark by Morrison Footbridge across Ōtira River. From there, we followed Te Araroa Trail for about 500m. Once at…
Christmas party with Mr 1 year in Kelly Range
On 24th December, Anna, our 1 year old son and myself decided to escape the Christmas fuzz and we headed up to Kelly Range in Arthur’s Pass Area (technicall the West Coat).Anna was carrying the…
Lake Daniels – Pell Stream Hut – Cannibal Gorge Hut
This was a super last-minute trip. It was actually so last-minute that it can’t get any more last-minute. I and Kupic were basically texting about if and where to go AND quickly packing at the…
Three Passes: The Classic New Zealand Tramp
The Three Passes is one of New Zealand’s iconic multi day tramps. It goes across the Main Divide from Klondyke corner to the Styx River car park, or, more broadly, from Arthur’s Pass to Hokitika. You can walk it in either direction, however, East to West is nicer as going down Browning Pass is a little bit airy.
Kirwans Hut on the West Coast
Kirwans Hut is probably one of the fanciest huts on the West Coast. It’s located in an area that has been extensively mined. Even the track to the hut was originally built for mining purposes! 6 CTC trampers started off with the intention to reach the hut and hope to not get rained on too much. After having some photography fun at Topffer Creek bridge, we followed Topffer Creek on a very obvious and wide track. We soon split into 2 parties – one was fast, the other one was extra fast.
Camping at Mt Brown Hut
Mt Brown Hut is a beautiful wee hut on the Western side of Newton Range, just outside of Hokitika. Kupkin and I started off at the car park by Geologist Creek. The way up is pretty steep. I wouldn’t take my mum here, even though I took her to Mueller Hut. It took us 2:15h to get up but we were pushing it quite a bit to make it to the top before sunset as we started relatively late in the day.
Cedar Flat Hut – Yeats Ridge Hut – Crystal Bivouac – Cedar Flat Hut and back
What can I say about this trip: There are heaps of glowworms on the way to Cedar Flat Hut which can be a magnificent experience if you decide to hike at night as we did. The tracks around Cedar Flat are in TOP condition. Incredibly well marked and cut thanks to volunteers from Permolat.
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”.