Cone Creek Hut
Hut interior
Maintenance Status
Cone Creek Hut is designated as minimal maintenance. The track up the TL of Cone Creek to the Hut from the Haupiri valley is community maintained was recut by Jack Grinstead some years back using Back Country Trust funding. He and his party also did some initial work on the tracked sections of the route from the Hut up onto the Lake Morgan tops. I did some more retrimming and marking on the tops route in 2020. In January 2022 the BCT made use of Kaimahi for Nature funding to re-roof and re-pile the Hut and replace the louvre windows. Michal Klajban and his Christchurch Tramping Club friends are planning to do some work on the route this at some point.
Location
Haupiri catchment. Map BU21. GPS Ref: E1496202/ N5273673 (BU21 962 737). Altitude 700m. Cone Creek Hut is located in the Haupiri catchment on the TL of Cone Creek in a remote, beautiful, rugged and not particularly well-known section of the central Southern Alps. The high-altitude forest around the Hut comprises rata, kamahi, pahautea (mountain cedar), Hall's Totara, quintinia, and toii (mountain cabbage tree). Kiwi can be heard calling at night from the Hut and there are weka, toutouwai (bush robin), kea and whio (blue duck) in the vicinity. The Lake Morgan tops are within close reach and accessed by a route just downstream from the Hut. The Hut averages around 20 visits a year currently.
Access
Access to Cone Creek commences at the O’Shanessy Creek car park on the TL of the Haupiri valley. The road to the park is on Gloriavale Christian Community land and permission from the Community is required for access. There is a DOC parking area at E1495872/ N5281765 (BU21 959 818) and Gloriavale is not keen on allowing cars to continue further along the farm track to O'Shanessy Creek (a 20-minute walk). This last section is fairly rough with numerous small fords not great for 2WD. A high stud 4WD might get you another kilometre up from O'Shanessy Creek through some pine plantations but has numerous major boggy patches. It eventually hits the River at E1498986/ N5279310 (BU21 990 793). Foot travellers can cross here and make a beeline upvalley, crossing back to the TL one kilometre further up, or just continue up the TL along a rough trail over a low terrace to the next river flat. From here it is an easy amble over grassy flats on the TL with a five-minute section of marked track just before the Cone Creek confluence. It takes a good two hours to get to here from the DOC car park. There is a concreted-in hot pool on the Elizabeth Hut track on the TR of the Haupiri 50m above the Cone Creek confluence, although the pools are not that hot.
The Cone Creek track starts at the confluence and goes up the TL of the Creek, climbs and sidles around a small gorge before dropping back to river level at a sharp bend. This section has a heap of windrow on it currently and some bits require a bit of scouting to get back on line. The track eventually drops back into the Creek and there follows a kilometre of fairly easy river travel. At normal flows a TR channel of the Creek can be crossed a couple of points to get a better line. If the Creek was running high, you'd need to stay on the TL and take the odd small bush detour. A track exits at the end of this section and climbs vertically up the side of the hill for about 10 minutes, then levels and sidles up-valley crossing a large side creek before dropping back to the river. A short section of boulder travel follows before the track re-enters the bush and sidles for an hour or so to the Hut. This last section is stony and rough underfoot. A lot of the tracked bits on this route are getting overgrown and need a good trim. This is a fine weather route and should be avoided if heavy rain is forecast. The big side-creek draining Mt O'Shanessy would not be crossable if it was running high. A fit, experienced party should be able to make the journey from the Haupiri roadend to Cone Creek Hut in 5-6 hours.
There is a chopper pad right next to the Hut. Some of the regenerating bush surrounding it is getting higher and will need cutting back pretty soon.
Type
Cone Creek Hut is an NZFS S70 six-bunk design with open fire. The Hut was built by D. Green and R.L. Sherwood of the NZFS in March 1965. Their names and the date were penciled on one of the cross braces in the roof until some over-zealous person painted over them. The Hut has a toilet. Water is from creeks on either side of the Hut.
Condition
Cone Creek Hut is in good condition currently. In 2012 DOC Greymouth did some chimney repairs, replaced the ridging, clearlight, and some roofing iron. In January 2022 a Kaimahi for Nature group led by Ollie Clifton replaced the outer piles (adding a brace system), replaced the louver windows, built a new woodshed, re-roofed the Hut, replaced the open fire insert, painted the Hut, and gave the toilet a good spruce up. The rest of the team comprised Al Ritchie, Andrew Riley, Pete Sinclair and Pete Braggins.
Routes
The route to the Lake Morgan Tops is up a large steep scree five minutes downriver from the Hut. The scree is loose and active in places. Cairns mark the exit point on the TR around 900m (GPS Ref: E1496013/ N5273908) and from here a rough track leads up through the sub-alpine forest and a boulder-filled gut to a small saddle between a rock outcrop and the hillside. It sidles from here through patchy alpine scrub and tussock into the basin of a small side-creek. The sidle section is unkempt and poorly marked currently but stays roughly level until it hits the basin. Cross the basin between the two forks of the creek and head up the prominent ridge between the two. At around the 1100m contour you can sidle NW off the spur into a second basin with a small creek. Continue up the faces from here onto the side-spur that runs east towards Pt 1368m. Head west onto the main ridge and drop down the other side to Lake Morgan. The descent is straightforward in good conditions and there are numerous good campsites around the Lake. The tracked portion of the route above the scree needs more trimming and marking, and the sidle section into the basin needs of a good tidy-up.
If crossing over to Cone Creek from the Lake Morgan side, follow the crest of the range along the side-spur towards Pt 1368m dropping off at around E1494804/ N5274769 (BU21 948 748) into the basin below. Sidle out of the basin at around 1100m onto the spur on the TL and drop down towards where the two branches of the creek meet in the lower basin. The route out of the lower basin starts in the TL fork of the creek (GPS Ref: E1495592/ N5273875) and is marked with a cairn and permolat.
Allow 4-5 hours to for the crossing from Cone Creek Hut to Lake Morgan Hut in good condition, and around three for the reverse trip.
The route to the Lake Morgan Tops is up a large steep scree five minutes downriver from the Hut. The scree is loose and active in places. Cairns mark the exit point on the TR around 900m (GPS Ref: E1496013/ N5273908) and from here a rough track leads up through the sub-alpine forest and a boulder-filled gut to a small saddle between a rock outcrop and the hillside. It sidles from here through patchy alpine scrub and tussock into the basin of a small side-creek. The sidle section is unkempt and poorly marked currently but stays roughly level until it hits the basin. Cross the basin between the two forks of the creek and head up the prominent ridge between the two. At around the 1100m contour you can sidle NW off the spur into a second basin with a small creek. Continue up the faces from here onto the side-spur that runs east towards Pt 1368m. Head west onto the main ridge and drop down the other side to Lake Morgan. The descent is straightforward in good conditions and there are numerous good campsites around the Lake. The tracked portion of the route above the scree needs more trimming and marking, and the sidle section into the basin needs of a good tidy-up.
If crossing over to Cone Creek from the Lake Morgan side, follow the crest of the range along the side-spur towards Pt 1368m dropping off at around E1494804/ N5274769 (BU21 948 748) into the basin below. Sidle out of the basin at around 1100m onto the spur on the TL and drop down towards where the two branches of the creek meet in the lower basin. The route out of the lower basin starts in the TL fork of the creek (GPS Ref: E1495592/ N5273875) and is marked with a cairn and permolat.
Allow 4-5 hours to for the crossing from Cone Creek Hut to Lake Morgan Hut in good condition, and around three for the reverse trip.
Top Crooked Hut and the Crooked valley can be accessed from Cone Creek along the Lake Morgan tops. The crest of the range can be followed in a SW direction until about 1km before point 1539m. The route down into the Crooked starts at a waratah on a ridge just off the main range at around 1420m (E1492850/ N5272930 - BU21 928 730). More waratahs lead from here in a SSW direction down a broad spur to the top entrance of a track which enters the scrub at a band of jumbled rocks around (around E1492715/ N5271960 - BU21 927 719). The track drops steeply down the bush faces to a grassy flat about 200m downstream from Top Crooked Hut. It was recut by DOC in 2021.
An alternative to this crossing involves a sidle around the top basins of the side-creek and over the saddle between points 1489m and 1436m into the upper TR branch of the Crooked River. This is followed down to the Hut. This route is more direct but is likely to be a bit rougher going than following the crest of the range.
Repairs still needed.
It was a 50/50 call to replace the chimney in January '22, but it was decided to limit improvements to the new inner fire surround and outer cladding repairs. There are a few small rust holes appearing lower down and some bigger ones right at the bottom where the chimney joins the hut wall. There is always the option of replacing the open fire with a wood burner at some point. The axe is past its best by date and has a split where the handle joins the head. The tracked sections up to the Hut now need recutting and marking along with significant windthrow clearance down at the Haupiri end.
Provisions On Site
Three billies, an old NZFS storage tin, a broom, an axe, one roll of yellow permolat and one of red, an aluminium wash basin, a plastic bucket, some spare louvre panes, a hearth shovel and brush, and an ash bucket.
An alternative to this crossing involves a sidle around the top basins of the side-creek and over the saddle between points 1489m and 1436m into the upper TR branch of the Crooked River. This is followed down to the Hut. This route is more direct but is likely to be a bit rougher going than following the crest of the range.
Repairs still needed.
It was a 50/50 call to replace the chimney in January '22, but it was decided to limit improvements to the new inner fire surround and outer cladding repairs. There are a few small rust holes appearing lower down and some bigger ones right at the bottom where the chimney joins the hut wall. There is always the option of replacing the open fire with a wood burner at some point. The axe is past its best by date and has a split where the handle joins the head. The tracked sections up to the Hut now need recutting and marking along with significant windthrow clearance down at the Haupiri end.
Provisions On Site
Three billies, an old NZFS storage tin, a broom, an axe, one roll of yellow permolat and one of red, an aluminium wash basin, a plastic bucket, some spare louvre panes, a hearth shovel and brush, and an ash bucket.
