Mt. Brown Hut
(Mt. Brown Hut looking South: Photo Andrew Buglass 2010: Double click to get larger image)
Maintenance Status
Mt. Brown Hut and its access tracks are maintained by the
Mt. Brown Hut Community Project Team from Hokitka. The Hut began its life as Lower Arahura Hut,
which was a standard NZFS four-bunker with open fire built in the 1960's.
The old Hut was being replaced by a new structure in 2010 and
Eddie Newman and Julia Bradshaw of Kokatahi managed to convince DOC to allow them to use the old structure
and relocate it on Mt. Brown. Sections of the old Hut were lifted out of the Arahura,
reworked by volunteers, and flow by DOC to the new site. The rework turned into rebuild once
all the new building codes and safety standards were taken into account. A considerable amount
of community and volunteer input and donations (including from the Permolat group) made it possible for
the project to reach fruition. The modified sections
were reassembled on site and the Hut was opened for public use
in November 2010. It received 175 visits in its first six months, including 80 overnighters, and made a
a debut in Wilderness Magazine and on outdoor calendars. The traffic shows no sign of abating and the Hut is likely to
remain a popular destination.
I'd encourage those using the firebox in the
Hut to give a small koha to Eddie or Julia to cover the cost of
coal and flying it up there, particularly given the unexpectedly high level of use the Hut's been getting.
Links
www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-Kaniere-New-Zealand/Mt-Brown-hut/349616583077
and www.flickr.com/photos/mtbrownhut/.
Location
Styx catchment.
Map BV19. Grid Ref: E1452950/ N5252150. Altitude 1120m.
Mt. Brown Hut is located above the bushline
on the West ridge of Mt. Brown. There are stunning, expansive
views of the Alps,
Lake Kaniere
and the coastal plains from the Hut which is easily accessible
in a day via tracks from Geologist Creek on the Lake Kaniere Road, and the Lower Styx valley.
Access
The most direct access
to Mt. Brown Hut is from the Lake Kaniere Ring Road, starting at a gravelled parking area 50m
South of the Geologist Creek bridge.
The track has been recut and marked
by volunteers. It was last cut in 2012 and is in good condition.
The first section cuts across the foot of the hill,
linking with an old NZFS track up onto
the main southern spur
of Mt. Brown. The trail crosses a small creek and follows up its TL for a bit,
then heads up some steep bush faces onto the spur. From here it flattens a bit, climbing
in a series
of steps through the montane and sub alpine zones to the tussock. There are a few
small tarns on the scrub boundary and snow poles lead from here up onto a tussock
bench and around to the Hut. Allow 2.5-4 hours
from the car park up to the Hut depending on fitness.
The route onto Mt. Brown from the Styx valley is slightly longer, less steep, and starts
at a large unnamed side creek known locally as Mt. Brown Creek. This
crosses the Styx valley track 10 minutes up the from the bluffs at the end of the farm access
trail. The Styx River is currently cutting in against the bluffs making it a fine-weather-only option.
The entrance to the Mt. Brown track is at the foot
of the spur on the TL of the creek. The track crosses a bush terrace at 300m,
then climbs a broad face onto the Southern Spur of
Mt. Brown. The spur flattens around 800m and the track passes the site of the
old Mt. Brown Hut removed by DOC in 2006. It
continues up the ridge to around the 920m mark, drops briefly into a sub-alpine gully.
then up through the scrub onto a better-defined section of spur.
Snow poles lead up the last portion of the spur through scattered scrub
onto a flat tussock bench
with a small tarn just below the Hut. The track was last cut and marked by Permolat volunteers in 2011
and is in good condition.
Allow around
four hours currently from the bluffs at the Styx roadend to Mt. Brown Hut. The
Geologist Creek - Mt. Brown Creek circuit can be done as a day trip or overnighter.
It's a three kilometre walk from car park to car park.
Type
Lower Arahura Hut
was a standard
4-bunk NZFS design with open fire, built in 1962. Considerable modifications
were required to the frame to meet
building codes and DOC safety standards. An alcove
replaced the chimney and a small coal-burning stove was installed. The original louvre windows
were replaced with double-glazed
panes, and an extra side window added. The bunks were modified from stand-alone units into single
upper and lower platforms. Aluminium roof flashing was added to protect kea from lead poisoning,
although it hasn't stopped them picking away at it. A porch, deck, roof-fed water tank, and outside sink bench
were added.
A toilet erected near the Hut has retained its classic NZFS design.
Those with risk aversion syndrome can take heart from the fact that
the Hut has been strengthened to withstand 250kmph winds without tie-downs
(250kmph is the national record for recorded wind speed
at Mt. John in Canterbury in 1970). There are 4.5 tons of concrete in the foundations and
the hold-down fastenings are in excess of safety requirements. The Hut is lined with 12mm plywood and the floors are
10mm ply on top of the old rimu tongue and groove. The ceiling lining covers a 300 x 100mm ridge fastened
by 16mm bolts at each end. The framing is all fastened with hold-down straps and the wall studs are at 400mm
centres with 25x1x400mm hold-down straps on each, top and bottom. Hurricane clips had to be added to the clearlight
on the porch after six months because it was flexing and tearing around the nails in the high winds.
Condition
Mt. Brown Hut is in very good condition currently.
Routes
It is possible to traverse the Newton Range from Mt. Brown to Newton Biv,
however this is recommended for fit experienced parties, used to off-piste travel.
A section of the Newton Range East of Mt. Brown dips into the alpine
scrub zone, with lots of ups and downs, for around one kilometre. A rough trail of sorts allows
a reasonable passage through the scrub from the 1140m contour on Mt. Brown to the low point East
of point 1154m, around E1455138/ N5252122.
After this the ridge climbs steeply and the scrub is very thick and difficult to get through.
From point 1240m onward it is mostly open tussock and travel is
generally easy in good conditions. There are some interesting, isolated outcrops of
ultramafic rock along here for the geologically inclined.
Newton Biv is incorrectly marked on the Topo Map, its actual location is 300m further East against a bank
at the western
edge of a flat, peaty bench with tarns (around E1458757/ N5251170). It is easy to walk past it if it's clagged in.
Not many are attempting this route currently. The last party to do the traverse from the Newton Biv end took
seven hours to reach Mt. Brown Hut.
Repairs needed
None currently. The Geologist Creek access track needs a little more permolat
on the bush faces heading down. A bit more trimming back of the leatherwood in the sub-alpine zone would go astray.
Provisions on site
A kettle, two coal buckets with shovels, a hearth brush, a poker, a broom and an axe. Under the Hut, along with
the coal supply, there is a pile of
old rimu frame timber from the original Hut that can be cut up and burned. There is
a hand saw, a small jar of flathead nails,
an aluminium ladder, a wooden roof ladder, a litre of black forest (dark grey-green)
acrylic paint, and four paint brushes in a plastic bag.
