Campbell Biv

Maintenance Status
Campbell Biv was designated for removal in the Department of Conservation's 2004 High-Country Review despite still being in remarkably good condition after 30 years of zero maintenance. The Biv had hardly ever been visited over that time and by the early 2000s few people would have known of its existence, let alone how to get there. Strangely enough, and only shortly after making the remove decision, DOC flew some volunteers in to repaint the Biv and wire its piles down. Even though job was fairly cosmetic, it was the first time anything had been done on the Biv since 1974. Then, as a result of some robust outdoor community lobbying, DOC put its removal plans on hold. In 2017 Paul Reid of Permolat used some Back Country Trust funding to commence some more serious maintenance work on the Biv, followed by a more or less complete overhaul in March 2019.
Location
Arahura catchment. Map BV19. Grid Ref: E1465770/ N5249140 (BV19 658 491). Altitude 1105m. The Arahura valley is now part of the Waitaiki Historical Reserve which is overseen by Mawhera Corporation, although the hut and track systems there are still managed by DOC. The Biv is sited on the scrubline of the Campbell Range on the TR of the valley, tucked under a knoll on a spur that divides two large unnamed side-creeks. There are panoramic views out over Styx Saddle, and of the Newton and Browning Ranges. Campbell is and has been one of the least-visited huts on this website. A DOC fly-in hut check in 1994 found a roll of toilet paper that served as a hutbook with only six visits noted since 1974. There was no record of any further visits when I made my first trip there in 2001. An unopened NZFS food-drop under the bunk had its decaying contents wrapped in 1974 editions of the Hokitika Guardian. One tin of sardines was salvable. On my next visit in 2004 the intentions note I had scribbled in 2001 was lying undisturbed on the cooking bench. Once the Biv was profiled on Remote things picked up a bit, and apart from a gap in 2010, visits to it have averaged around three per year. 2017 was an exceptional year with seven visits recorded, before dropping back to the average. In February 2021 during a very dry patch someone started a fire that burned through an extensive area of tussock and scrub around and above the Biv. Some well targeted monsoon drops saved the Biv from certain incineration. After the fire it was left standing on a tiny island of green surrounded by hectares of charred vegetation. The vegetation is growing back but it's very species poor, mostly plants that weren't completely killed off, such as flax, ferns and grasses. The bigger scrub forms a tangle of whitened dead branches sticking out of the green. The deer love the new growth and are abundant in the burnt area.
Access
Campbell Biv can be accessed from the Styx or Arahura road ends. Up until 2017 there wasn't an official track up to it, and access was either via the tops, or by bush bashing up from the side-creeks on either side of the ridge on which the Biv sits. In 2008 I marked a route up a dry gut from the northern creek catchment with a short connecting track from the gut to the tussock. In 2017 Eigill Wahlberg got consent from DOC to put a proper track that goes from the valley floor and connects with the top portion of gut. This portion still isn't marked on NZ Topomaps and the trackline above the gut is incorrectly marked. A track they have marked down into the upriver creek catchment doesn't actually exist.
The Campbell route starts from the Arahura valley track roughly halfway between Styx Saddle and Mudflats Hut. There is wooden sign at E1465512/ N5250689 indicating the start of the track down to the river. The sign is on the left-hand side of the track and can be missed when coming from Mudflats Hut. At normal river flows there is usually a good ford near to where the track hits the riverbed, just opposite to the access creek. Cross and head up the side creek for 2-300m to where a large orange marker on the TL at E1465750/ N5250285 indicates the track start. Don't be confused by the DOC stoat line lower down the creek that is marked with pink markers. The track leads up a broad spur, sidling into a dry gut at around 870m. This is followed up to around 960m where it exits and sidles East through the alpine scrub onto a narrow spur. Cairns lead up the ridge through patchy scrub to the base of a sloping rock face around 1080m. Waratahs lead West off the ridge and sidle across to the bench where the Biv is located. Allow around three hours from Mudflats Hut or 9-10 hours from the Arahura roadend. Note: This is a fine weather route as fording the Arahura should only be attempted when it's at its normal levels. There is a cut, marked stoat line up the TR of the Arahura from Mudflats Hut that can used if the river is high, but this takes longer due to it climbing up and over a terrace. At low flows you can hit the river just below Snowball Creek and boulderhop up to the access creek. This is faster and saves you having to climb back up onto the old bench only to have to drop back off it again.
The Styx valley route has suffered greatly from a series of extreme weather events in recent times and the old Browning Pass bench track on the TR has been taken out in a number of places. DOC is advising trampers to go via the Mid Styx Hut route on the TL, adding a good hour to the trip however it is still possible to go all the way up the TL to Grassy Flat using the old bench track where it is still intact and boulderhopping the other bits. A short, gnarly bush bash over some bluffs that the river has cut against is necessary just above Tyndall Creek. Once over this, the track remnants or riverbed are pretty good travel, with more of the old bench useable as you get further up the valley. If you are familiar with this route and a bit of rough travel, it is a much quicker way of getting to Campbell Biv than via the Arahura. Allow around four hours from Grassy Flat Hut, or 8-9 hours from the Styx roadend.
There is an open patch next to the tarn by the Campbell Biv for helicopter access.
Type
Campbell Biv is a New Zealand Forest Service B49 design with flat iron roof and walls, and a single Perspex window at the end. It was built by R.J. Courtney of Te Puke and K.W. (Stiffy) Fisher of Nelson Creek on June the 5th and 6th 1958. Campbell was retrofitted with two sleeping benches in November 1974 by Tony Newton, G. Stuart, and L. Bennett of the NZFS Hokitika. A single mattress was dropped in during a DOC hut inspection. Water has a real issue at the Biv. Historically it had been provided by a small mossy tarn 50m away, but this is getting increasingly scummy and borderline as a source. During longer fine periods it is reduced to a slimy green brine which is undrinkable. In February James Morris and Anna Pilbrow set up a small 20L water gathering system fed from a small flashing attached to the cladding. A small four litre bucket has also been left next to the Biv to supplement this. Something better may need to be sorted in the longer term. There is no toilet.
Condition
Campbell Biv was still reasonably intact when I visited in 2001 despite having received no maintenance between 1974 and 2004. This is a tribute to the simple, effective B49 bivouac design. There were the ubiquitous leaking issues however and semi-permanent dampness by 2017 had created significant areas of rot in the frame, floor and sub-floor which is all untreated rimu. Paul Reid and Alan Jemison did some work on it in April 2017, replacing as much of the rotten bits as they could, but ran short of timber to do all that was required. In March 2019 Paul, Alan, Wade Phelps and Andre Winkelman returned and did a virtual rebuild. The iron cladding was removed at the entire frame lifted off. New piles were put in and new joists, bearers, installed atop them. The original tongue and groove floor had its rotten bits replaced and reinstalled. New wall framing was constructed, and the old roof frame set atop using as many of the original bits as possible. The frame was enclosed in building wrap and iron cladding reattached. Silicone was applied to the laps, which were secured with hex-head screws. Flashings were made for the door and window, and the door was strengthened. A frame was made for the window sash with its Perspex glazing and fitted into the Biv. The iron cladding was rust-proofed, primed and painted. The cooking bench and bunks were reinstalled, and a concrete step was poured. Some waratahs were placed on the sidle across the tussock faces from the top end of the track. The Biv was in great condition until the fire which blistered the paint on the SW wall and melted some of the building paper inside. James and Anna got started on repainting the damaged bits in February and got them primed. Rain prevented them getting the topcoat of paint on the biv but they did manage to get the door repainted and its bottom flashing re-fixed.
Campbell Biv was designated for removal in the Department of Conservation's 2004 High-Country Review despite still being in remarkably good condition after 30 years of zero maintenance. The Biv had hardly ever been visited over that time and by the early 2000s few people would have known of its existence, let alone how to get there. Strangely enough, and only shortly after making the remove decision, DOC flew some volunteers in to repaint the Biv and wire its piles down. Even though job was fairly cosmetic, it was the first time anything had been done on the Biv since 1974. Then, as a result of some robust outdoor community lobbying, DOC put its removal plans on hold. In 2017 Paul Reid of Permolat used some Back Country Trust funding to commence some more serious maintenance work on the Biv, followed by a more or less complete overhaul in March 2019.
Location
Arahura catchment. Map BV19. Grid Ref: E1465770/ N5249140 (BV19 658 491). Altitude 1105m. The Arahura valley is now part of the Waitaiki Historical Reserve which is overseen by Mawhera Corporation, although the hut and track systems there are still managed by DOC. The Biv is sited on the scrubline of the Campbell Range on the TR of the valley, tucked under a knoll on a spur that divides two large unnamed side-creeks. There are panoramic views out over Styx Saddle, and of the Newton and Browning Ranges. Campbell is and has been one of the least-visited huts on this website. A DOC fly-in hut check in 1994 found a roll of toilet paper that served as a hutbook with only six visits noted since 1974. There was no record of any further visits when I made my first trip there in 2001. An unopened NZFS food-drop under the bunk had its decaying contents wrapped in 1974 editions of the Hokitika Guardian. One tin of sardines was salvable. On my next visit in 2004 the intentions note I had scribbled in 2001 was lying undisturbed on the cooking bench. Once the Biv was profiled on Remote things picked up a bit, and apart from a gap in 2010, visits to it have averaged around three per year. 2017 was an exceptional year with seven visits recorded, before dropping back to the average. In February 2021 during a very dry patch someone started a fire that burned through an extensive area of tussock and scrub around and above the Biv. Some well targeted monsoon drops saved the Biv from certain incineration. After the fire it was left standing on a tiny island of green surrounded by hectares of charred vegetation. The vegetation is growing back but it's very species poor, mostly plants that weren't completely killed off, such as flax, ferns and grasses. The bigger scrub forms a tangle of whitened dead branches sticking out of the green. The deer love the new growth and are abundant in the burnt area.
Access
Campbell Biv can be accessed from the Styx or Arahura road ends. Up until 2017 there wasn't an official track up to it, and access was either via the tops, or by bush bashing up from the side-creeks on either side of the ridge on which the Biv sits. In 2008 I marked a route up a dry gut from the northern creek catchment with a short connecting track from the gut to the tussock. In 2017 Eigill Wahlberg got consent from DOC to put a proper track that goes from the valley floor and connects with the top portion of gut. This portion still isn't marked on NZ Topomaps and the trackline above the gut is incorrectly marked. A track they have marked down into the upriver creek catchment doesn't actually exist.
The Campbell route starts from the Arahura valley track roughly halfway between Styx Saddle and Mudflats Hut. There is wooden sign at E1465512/ N5250689 indicating the start of the track down to the river. The sign is on the left-hand side of the track and can be missed when coming from Mudflats Hut. At normal river flows there is usually a good ford near to where the track hits the riverbed, just opposite to the access creek. Cross and head up the side creek for 2-300m to where a large orange marker on the TL at E1465750/ N5250285 indicates the track start. Don't be confused by the DOC stoat line lower down the creek that is marked with pink markers. The track leads up a broad spur, sidling into a dry gut at around 870m. This is followed up to around 960m where it exits and sidles East through the alpine scrub onto a narrow spur. Cairns lead up the ridge through patchy scrub to the base of a sloping rock face around 1080m. Waratahs lead West off the ridge and sidle across to the bench where the Biv is located. Allow around three hours from Mudflats Hut or 9-10 hours from the Arahura roadend. Note: This is a fine weather route as fording the Arahura should only be attempted when it's at its normal levels. There is a cut, marked stoat line up the TR of the Arahura from Mudflats Hut that can used if the river is high, but this takes longer due to it climbing up and over a terrace. At low flows you can hit the river just below Snowball Creek and boulderhop up to the access creek. This is faster and saves you having to climb back up onto the old bench only to have to drop back off it again.
The Styx valley route has suffered greatly from a series of extreme weather events in recent times and the old Browning Pass bench track on the TR has been taken out in a number of places. DOC is advising trampers to go via the Mid Styx Hut route on the TL, adding a good hour to the trip however it is still possible to go all the way up the TL to Grassy Flat using the old bench track where it is still intact and boulderhopping the other bits. A short, gnarly bush bash over some bluffs that the river has cut against is necessary just above Tyndall Creek. Once over this, the track remnants or riverbed are pretty good travel, with more of the old bench useable as you get further up the valley. If you are familiar with this route and a bit of rough travel, it is a much quicker way of getting to Campbell Biv than via the Arahura. Allow around four hours from Grassy Flat Hut, or 8-9 hours from the Styx roadend.
There is an open patch next to the tarn by the Campbell Biv for helicopter access.
Type
Campbell Biv is a New Zealand Forest Service B49 design with flat iron roof and walls, and a single Perspex window at the end. It was built by R.J. Courtney of Te Puke and K.W. (Stiffy) Fisher of Nelson Creek on June the 5th and 6th 1958. Campbell was retrofitted with two sleeping benches in November 1974 by Tony Newton, G. Stuart, and L. Bennett of the NZFS Hokitika. A single mattress was dropped in during a DOC hut inspection. Water has a real issue at the Biv. Historically it had been provided by a small mossy tarn 50m away, but this is getting increasingly scummy and borderline as a source. During longer fine periods it is reduced to a slimy green brine which is undrinkable. In February James Morris and Anna Pilbrow set up a small 20L water gathering system fed from a small flashing attached to the cladding. A small four litre bucket has also been left next to the Biv to supplement this. Something better may need to be sorted in the longer term. There is no toilet.
Condition
Campbell Biv was still reasonably intact when I visited in 2001 despite having received no maintenance between 1974 and 2004. This is a tribute to the simple, effective B49 bivouac design. There were the ubiquitous leaking issues however and semi-permanent dampness by 2017 had created significant areas of rot in the frame, floor and sub-floor which is all untreated rimu. Paul Reid and Alan Jemison did some work on it in April 2017, replacing as much of the rotten bits as they could, but ran short of timber to do all that was required. In March 2019 Paul, Alan, Wade Phelps and Andre Winkelman returned and did a virtual rebuild. The iron cladding was removed at the entire frame lifted off. New piles were put in and new joists, bearers, installed atop them. The original tongue and groove floor had its rotten bits replaced and reinstalled. New wall framing was constructed, and the old roof frame set atop using as many of the original bits as possible. The frame was enclosed in building wrap and iron cladding reattached. Silicone was applied to the laps, which were secured with hex-head screws. Flashings were made for the door and window, and the door was strengthened. A frame was made for the window sash with its Perspex glazing and fitted into the Biv. The iron cladding was rust-proofed, primed and painted. The cooking bench and bunks were reinstalled, and a concrete step was poured. Some waratahs were placed on the sidle across the tussock faces from the top end of the track. The Biv was in great condition until the fire which blistered the paint on the SW wall and melted some of the building paper inside. James and Anna got started on repainting the damaged bits in February and got them primed. Rain prevented them getting the topcoat of paint on the biv but they did manage to get the door repainted and its bottom flashing re-fixed.

Routes
There is a reasonably good high-level route to Campbell Biv from Harman Hut in the head of the Arahura. Head up the Browning Pass track from Harman Hut and drop into the Arahura at the first open side-creek. Cross the River and climb up a small side-creek that comes in on the TL at E1463625/ N5246428 (BV19 636 464). The creek is a natural staircase, a series of small cataracts. Exit the creek up a gut on its TR about 2/3 of the way up and climb onto the tussock bench above. Sidle from here up and around to the upper basin of Sphinx Creek taking care to stay above the large waterfall at its lip. Exit the basin up a small side-creek that enters on the TR just below where the main creek forks. Climb out of the side-creek and up a dry gut on the TR near its top. This provides access onto a side-spur that leads to the main spur dividing Sphinx Creek and the unnamed creek catchment South of the Biv. Drop into the upper basin of this creek and sidle across some scree slopes onto the Biv ridge. The Biv doesn't come into view until you are about 100m above it. Allow 4-5 hours from Harman Hut to Campbell Biv in good conditions.
The Campbell Range NE of the Biv can be accessed directly up the spur behind the Biv to where an obvious tussock gully leads down into the creek below. Sidle up the sloping tussock benches above the stream to around the 1250m mark where it is possible to drop into the creek bed and cross to the TR. Climb up the slopes from here onto a bench with shallow tarns, sheltering rocks, and good camp sites at 1430m. From here a climb of 130 vertical metres gets you onto a bench system which is a mix of open tussock and boulder fields that runs NE under the crest of the Range. There is an exposed sidle across a couple of guts between points 1782 and 1673m that requires a bit of up-climbing, but the rest is pretty easy going.
Old Julia Hut in the Taipo valley can be accessed from the low point between points 1673m and 1682m on the Campbell Range. Drop from here onto the flat area at 1450m above the TL fork of Dexter Creek and then SE from here down a steep shingle scree between some bluffs into the unnamed side-creek below. Follow this down to Julia Creek, ford to the TR and continue down the track for 20 minutes to the huts. Julia Creek can be tricky to ford after rain, so this is a fine-weather-only route. The Julia Creek track was given a trim by Eigill Wahlberg in 2022 but is overgrowing in some of the more open bits.
From point 1673m there is an easy descent to the tarn marked on the map and there are good campsites by some unmarked tarns just below this. The top end of an old NZFS track down to Mudflats Hut can be located further down at the bush-edge (around E1477643/ N5250946 (BV19 676 509)). This was recut and marked by Bruce McClelland et al in 2017.
The low peak of Mt Axis is a fairly easy rock scramble in late summer and autumn and the views from the top are very worthwhile.
Repairs needed.
DOC have a hygiene thing with galvanized iron tops on the cooking benches, and would love us to replace Campbell's with a stainless steel one, but who has died or become ill over the last 60 years as a direct result of this? The window frame and the SW wall still need repainting and James an Anna are planning this in March, although anyone who wants to, is welcome to do it before then. Just let us know. There should be enough paint, primer, brushes, etc., on site. You'd need to bring a screwdriver to get into the tins, and a scraper and a cutting-in brush would make the job quicker. An inside latch on the door would be a help.
Provisions on Site
Two billies (the big one has a lid), a frypan, a 5-litre plastic paint bucket, an antique first aid kit, an aluminium wash basin, scissors, a small quantity of permolat, a flax knife, a broom, a spade, and a hand brush and shovel. There is a still useable camp stretcher under the bunk and a sleeping mat. There is a heap of timber off-cuts and odds and sods, and old piles under the Biv.
There is a reasonably good high-level route to Campbell Biv from Harman Hut in the head of the Arahura. Head up the Browning Pass track from Harman Hut and drop into the Arahura at the first open side-creek. Cross the River and climb up a small side-creek that comes in on the TL at E1463625/ N5246428 (BV19 636 464). The creek is a natural staircase, a series of small cataracts. Exit the creek up a gut on its TR about 2/3 of the way up and climb onto the tussock bench above. Sidle from here up and around to the upper basin of Sphinx Creek taking care to stay above the large waterfall at its lip. Exit the basin up a small side-creek that enters on the TR just below where the main creek forks. Climb out of the side-creek and up a dry gut on the TR near its top. This provides access onto a side-spur that leads to the main spur dividing Sphinx Creek and the unnamed creek catchment South of the Biv. Drop into the upper basin of this creek and sidle across some scree slopes onto the Biv ridge. The Biv doesn't come into view until you are about 100m above it. Allow 4-5 hours from Harman Hut to Campbell Biv in good conditions.
The Campbell Range NE of the Biv can be accessed directly up the spur behind the Biv to where an obvious tussock gully leads down into the creek below. Sidle up the sloping tussock benches above the stream to around the 1250m mark where it is possible to drop into the creek bed and cross to the TR. Climb up the slopes from here onto a bench with shallow tarns, sheltering rocks, and good camp sites at 1430m. From here a climb of 130 vertical metres gets you onto a bench system which is a mix of open tussock and boulder fields that runs NE under the crest of the Range. There is an exposed sidle across a couple of guts between points 1782 and 1673m that requires a bit of up-climbing, but the rest is pretty easy going.
Old Julia Hut in the Taipo valley can be accessed from the low point between points 1673m and 1682m on the Campbell Range. Drop from here onto the flat area at 1450m above the TL fork of Dexter Creek and then SE from here down a steep shingle scree between some bluffs into the unnamed side-creek below. Follow this down to Julia Creek, ford to the TR and continue down the track for 20 minutes to the huts. Julia Creek can be tricky to ford after rain, so this is a fine-weather-only route. The Julia Creek track was given a trim by Eigill Wahlberg in 2022 but is overgrowing in some of the more open bits.
From point 1673m there is an easy descent to the tarn marked on the map and there are good campsites by some unmarked tarns just below this. The top end of an old NZFS track down to Mudflats Hut can be located further down at the bush-edge (around E1477643/ N5250946 (BV19 676 509)). This was recut and marked by Bruce McClelland et al in 2017.
The low peak of Mt Axis is a fairly easy rock scramble in late summer and autumn and the views from the top are very worthwhile.
Repairs needed.
DOC have a hygiene thing with galvanized iron tops on the cooking benches, and would love us to replace Campbell's with a stainless steel one, but who has died or become ill over the last 60 years as a direct result of this? The window frame and the SW wall still need repainting and James an Anna are planning this in March, although anyone who wants to, is welcome to do it before then. Just let us know. There should be enough paint, primer, brushes, etc., on site. You'd need to bring a screwdriver to get into the tins, and a scraper and a cutting-in brush would make the job quicker. An inside latch on the door would be a help.
Provisions on Site
Two billies (the big one has a lid), a frypan, a 5-litre plastic paint bucket, an antique first aid kit, an aluminium wash basin, scissors, a small quantity of permolat, a flax knife, a broom, a spade, and a hand brush and shovel. There is a still useable camp stretcher under the bunk and a sleeping mat. There is a heap of timber off-cuts and odds and sods, and old piles under the Biv.