Pell Stream Hut

(Pell Stream Hut: Photo Mayer Levy 2010: Double click to get larger image)

Maintenance Status

Pell Stream Hut is designated as minimal maintenance. A marked route up Pell Stream from the Alfred River is not officially maintained.

Location

Maruia River catchment. Map Lewis Pass BT23. Grid Ref: NZTM E1545456/ N5313947. Altitude 720m. Pell Stream Hut is located on the edge of an open river flat on the TR of Pell Stream. There is an open view of the Mueller Range above and the area is rich in biodiversity. Whio, kaka, kakariki, long tailed bats, and many other species are present. Old gold workings are evident in the lower sections of Pell Stream including several deep vertical shafts beside the track. The hut is a moderate day’s walk and although not far from some high-use routes, only gets around six visits a year.

Access

Parking is available for 2WD at the Marble Hill car-park. For 4W drivers with off-road skills, the Maruia River can be forded and a 4WD track followed up the TL of the Alfred River. Otherwise, cross at the nearby sluice box footbridge and ford the Alfred River to gain the vehicle track. The Pell Stream track is sign posted shortly before the 4WD track drops into Pell Stream. It is initially well marked, formed and benched, and windfalls have been chainsawed up to and around Gilchrist Creek. From here various detours and sidle enable access up the TL of the Pell if the Stream itself is too high. These involve some scrambling and could prove time consuming and arduous for some. At normal flows much time will be saved by staying in the Stream bed and fording where required. Above the large unnamed side creek on the TL of the Pell (approximately E15423340 / N5313246) a marked route climbs around a gorged section, dropping back into the Stream 2kms below the Hut. Continue up the open, regenerating river flats on the TL to the Hut. The marking on the route is ample and eclectic and includes permolat, cruise tape, dazzle, blazing, cairns and orange triangles. There has been some volunteer work done on the Pell track during recent years by a tramping club, that attempts to retain the wilderness aspect of the valley by not marking too heavily. It is currently pretty good to follow. Allow 5-7 hours from the Marble Hill car-park at normal river flows using the streambed rather than the bush detours. Using the various flood routes will increase the travel time.

Type

Pell Hut was built in May 1961 by G. Coombs and R. Osman of the NZFS in Reefton DOC Greymouth now manages the valley. The Hut has four bunks and mattresses and is of standard NZFS six-bunk dimensions. A gun rack and bench fills the space between the bunks. Heating is provided by an open fire which smokes a little without the window open. Water is from the Stream nearby. There is a long drop toilet with no seat.

Condition

Pell Stream Hut is in excellent condition. It was upgraded in 2004, painted inside and out, provided with new mattresses, and had the bench steel-lined. Red beech were felled by DOC around the hut site, providing ample fire wood. The hut is in a sunlight poor location and is reputed to be incredibly cold in winter.

Routes

The Lake Daniels Track may be used if one is averse to walking the 4WD tracks. Drop off the track at the sign pointing to Pell Stream, cut down a gentle spur and ford the Alfred River below its confluence with Pell Stream. This route is excellent if people wish to visit the surprisingly well maintained gold miners hut on the TR of the lower Pell. The future of this particular hut is uncertain.

For experienced parties there is a route over the saddle at the head of Pell Stream. Cannibal Gorge Hut on the St. James Track seems a popular destination from here. The Pell streambed from the Hut up to the tops above the Maruia River is easily navigated. There are a few waterfalls and bluffs in the subalpine zone which are not too difficult to negotiate.

Mt. Mueller may be accessed by a number of untracked spurs from Pell Stream. The Freyberg Range can be accessed by two known routes in the Maruia Valley, neither of which are officially maintained by DOC. The Mueller Tarn Track Park can be accessed from the layby beside Maruia Springs thermal resort. Ford the Maruia to the TR where cairns and a white triangle indicate the beginning of the route (at GR NZTM E1544547 / N5308043), 500m downstream from the Resort's thermal pipe over the Maruia River. The route is marked with red permolat and is easy to follow up to the bushline at Mueller Tarn.

The NW route up Mt. Mueller is marked on NZ260 topo maps. Park beside SH7 at the layby 1km West of the Waterfall Walk, opposite a sign indicating the rest stop 300m away. Head 100 metres up the riverbed and ford the Maruia where it cuts into the bank. A white plastic triangle and red permolat should be visible from here. The route leads up onto river terrace at GR NZTM E1538150 / N5310621 and is well marked with red and white permolat from here on.

Repairs

None evident in 2010. A toilet seat would make some activities more comfortable.

Provisions on Site

There is a range of pots and pans, a camp oven, an axe, a saw, and a plastic hearth brush and shovel.