⛰️#28 - RIP Murchison, Brewster Tragedy, Private Hut Dilemmas, & Lots More.

And we are back with the 28th NZ Hiking Newsletter, sent every Thursday/Friday.

I'll let you know what’s going on in the hiking scene in New Zealand, along with other related bits and pieces I find interesting.

Alright, let’s get into it.

🗒️ Track News Etc. - Part One

• R.I.P. Murchison Hut. The hut has been permanently closed since 2017 (geological instability), but it’s just been announced that it has been dismantled and will be removed with no plans to replace it. Initially built in 1952, the hut was replaced in 1977. Lots of work was done again in 2006 to get it back in good nick for visitors. But since 2017 when it was closed after moving 9+ metres off its foundations, it was always thought to be a long shot at being replaced, and now its case closed. Here’s the source mentioning the removal. This 2017 article has some pretty scary photos of the huts movement.

• Stakeholders have talked about the risk involved in the section of track between Brewster Hut (Moun Aspiring National Park) and Brewster Glacier consistently over the last year or so. Unfortunately, a female in their 20’s died on that section of track on Saturday Feb 22nd after falling several metres on tricky terrain. Details will filter out overtime but for now, take care out there.

• Another week of summer means another week of awesome people updating various hus throughout the country. This week, a few of the highlights are:

  • The refurb of Olivine Hut (Fiordland) was completed, with a photo and video montage on YouTube. Shoutout to the Pyke River Preservation Society Inc. for putting in the hard yards.

  • Crawford Junction Hut (West Coast) got a shiny new roof and other work completed, thanks to the DOC Hokitika team.

  • Te Puke Hut (Hawkes Bay) got a great makeover, with a new roof and a new long drop location, among other things.

• I enjoyed the story of the peril of having private huts on DOC land on New Zealand Geographic, from both sides. I couldn’t believe how many private huts exist on DOC land, at least 428. When I started reading the article, I was expecting this to be a effecting a few huts…but with that many huts, it’s easy to see how complicated it gets. And you can see how the arguments on both sides are convincing. That last photo in the article doesn’t sit well with me. Maybe there needs to be some kind of three strikes and you’re out system for the hut owners if they break any public land rules?

😹 Hiking Funny

🗒️ Other Track News Etc. - Part Two

• There’s been no further news on missing hiker Hector Gaston (missing since Feb 6th on the Rob Roy Glacier Track), where rescuers just can’t find the body. It would appear it’s in a deep 7-8 metre pool of water, but they are having no luck. There was an awesome fundraising push early on to get his mother here, which she has and the family are appreciative of the support from Wanaka residents. (source)

• I wasn’t 100% sure if this was clickbait, but the title doesn’t seem to be misleading: “Owners urged not to activate personal locator beacons for their dogs.” Some people do set off a PLB when their dogs needs a rescue. Don’t be that person. (source)

• If you're looking for something cruisey to watch sometime evening, pop the 13-minute film below on. It's about some of the people involved with Permolat Southland, and those who use the huts. Not a waste of your time.

• If you enjoy heading up to summits with interesting names, maybe add Mount Miserable (Otago) to your list. Public access to a carpark via Glencoe Station has been established, and there seems to be a marked route to follow to the summit. For public access queries, this is a great map with various layering options. Shoutout to the FMC newsletter for this info.

• When I think about how we can start to spread the load of hikers out over different trails, one idea that I’ve thought that might work and seems like low effort is posting photos on the reddit.com/r/hiking subreddit page. The post with a handful of photos from Cascade Saddle got 400+ upvotes, and likely 10,000+ views. If we can post quality photos of ‘lesser known’ hikes on that page, maybe we can get some other trails on the radar of people? Maybe I’m dreaming, and this too has pros and cons.

  • You can read about the favourite huts of a few DOC workers on the West Coast in this post on the DOC website.

• The 2025 FMC Photo Competition is now open. Details here.

• Today is the final day for submissions on the proposal to modernize conservation lands. Details here.

🧔‍♂️ What I've Been Up To...

I’m back on the Kapiti Coast for a bit, and while researching last week’s newsletter, I came across one of Kemi & Niko’s side projects, Urban Hut Club. How cool!

Being up (and from) here, I had to go and find Waikanae Hut.

The website is fun, and if you’ve got kids, this is a super easy activity to do with them (short walks from trailheads) and as a nifty little side quest on longer hikes in the area.

Have a great week, hike it up.

As always, reply to this email (or message me on Whatsapp +642041702764) with anything and everything…I’m happy to chat.

Chur,

Jub

p.s. get your friends to sign up to the newsletter: https://nzhikingnewsletter.beehiiv.com/subscribe