Cone Creek Hut
(Cone Creek Hut: Photo Glenn Johnston 2010: Double click to get larger image)
Maintenance Status
Cone Creek Hut has been designated as minimal maintenance.
A well marked, but very overgrown track up the
TL of Cone Creek from the Haupiri junction to the Hut is not officially maintained, nor is it
marked on the topo map. The page for Cone Creek on the DOC website
states that there is no track.
Location
Haupiri catchment. Map BU21. Grid Ref:
E1496210/ N5273690. Altitude
700m. Cone Creek Hut is located in the montane zone on the TL
of Cone Creek, a large tributary of the Haupiri River. It is a rugged, remote, low-use
high-country setting backing onto the Lake Morgan tops.
It is a picturesque setting with large Toii (mountain cabbage trees),
around the clearing. The forest surrounds are rata, kamahi, pahautea (mountain cedar), Hall's Totara, and
quintinia. Kiwi can be heard calling at night from the Hut,
and there are weka, bush robins, kea and whio in the vicinity.
The Hut averages around two visits a year currently.
Access
Direct access to Cone Creek is via a rough 2WD road that
turns off Gloriavale Christian
Community land on the Haupiri River's South Bank, and permission is required to cross
There is 2WD access as far as O’Shanessy Creek and a high-axle 4WD would get you another kilometre upvalley.
Continue upriver from the end of the old 4WD track crossing and recrossing
where convenient. It is easy walking on grassy flats and a few short sections of boulderhopping to
the Cone Creek confluence. There is a concreted-in hot pool 50m up the Haupiri track from
the confluence. Allow 1.5 hours from O’Shannessy Creek to the Cone Creek confluence.
The track up Cone Creek is well marked but very overgrown in places. It
sidles around a gorge in the Creek's lower reaches.
Upstream of the gorge between the river flat
sections there is a significant amount of windthrow and snow damage.
A recent slip above the Cone Creek flats where the track drops down to the river
may require a bush detour, as the slip is a little trecherous to descend.
Upriver the route passes under some shingle banks before the track re-enters the bush.
There are two narrow washed out guts around 15 and 30 minutes below the Hut. In the Elizabeth Hutbook
there are reports of folk having
difficulty with the Cone Creek track, including ssome deciding to turn back.
Walking time from the Haupiri Junction to Cone Creek Hut is 3.5-4 hours for a fit, experienced party.
Type
Cone Creek Hut is a standard NZFS
six-bunk design with open fire.
Condition
Cone Creek Hut is in good condition, although the fireplace smokes a bit, possibly due to
the rather impractical looking cap DOC have put on the chimney. A possum got into the Hut in 2010
and made a mess on the mattresses.
Routes
The route onto the Lake Morgan Tops is up
a large scree just downriver from the Hut. A short section of track leads from the top of the
scree to the
bushline and has recently been trimmed. Tops travel from
here over to Lake Morgan
is straightforward in good conditions, although some folk have found
it difficult to locate the top of the track when coming from the other direction.
There are numerous good campsites at the Lake.
The route to Lake Morgan Hut is down the TR of the
Lake's outlet creek. Cross to the TR just below a small set of waterfalls onto a flat bench with
tarns. The Hut is visible from here in clear conditions. Continue down the creek,
crossing to the TR around the 1120m contour line and sidle from here around to the Hut.
Allow 3-4 hours
for the crossing from Cone Creek Hut to Lake Morgan Hut.
A number of tops routes are possible from Cone Creek, including a really nice
three-day circuit via Lake
Morgan, Mt O'Shannesy and Bryan O'Lynn back to the Haupiri roadend.
There is a good route to Top Crooked Hut and the Crooked valley
over the Lake Morgan tops.
There is a track down into the head of the Crooked
that starts in a band
of jumbled rocks on the tussock line around E1492580/ N5271950. The track drops steeply down the
bush faces, emerging on the river flat about 200m downstream from Top Crooked Hut. It is also possible to drop
directly from the Morgan tops into the upper TR branch
of the Crooked River and follow this down to The Hut.
Repairs needed
The Hut mattresses could do with a clean.
Provisions On Site
Unknown
