Newton Creek Hut
Maintenance Status
Newton Creek Hut and its access tracks and routes were designated as fully maintain by the Department of Conservation in 2003. Up until then it had done very little with the place since taking over from the New Zealand Forest Service in 1987. It did a bit of basic maintenance in 2004 but by 2017 the Hut had become very run-down and had a serious rat infestation. In February 2017, with DOC support and some Outdoor Recreation Consortium and Permolat funding, a team led by Rob Brown did a near-rebuild of the Hut.
DOC have been maintaining the access tracks over Newton Saddle to the Taipo fairly regularly and volunteers did the last cut of the section from the Arahura valley up to the Hut in 2018. It appears that Back Country Trust may be doing the next cut of the circuit, scheduled for 2026.
Location
Arahura catchment. Map BV19. Grid Ref: E1467495/ N5255620 (BV19 675 556). Altitude 725m. Newton Creek Hut is located at the lower end of the Newton Creek basin, one of the bigger side-catchments in the Arahura valley. The Creek drops steeply from the basin in a series of cataracts down to the main River. The basin is narrow and shady and is ringed by the peaks of the Campbell and Tara Tama ranges. The Hut is a reasonably popular stopover on the Newton Saddle circuit which links the Arahura and Taipo valleys, getting 10-20 visits per year currently. Newton Creek is untracked upstream of the Hut and is rough and bouldery initially. Above the bushline the valley opens out into fairly gentle tussock expanses, which provide good tops access to several other remote huts and bivs in the area.
During the 1980's and 90's Newton Creek Hut received minimal attention from DOC, but was kept clean and well provisioned by Alan Reith, a blue duck enthusiast from Hokitika. In 2004 during a DOC purge aimed at, "encouraging greater self-sufficiency in the high-country," the Hut was stripped of its NZFS provisions and Alan's gear, including an interesting and quite comprehensive hut library. By pure coincidence I was passing by around this time and noticed a slingload of "rubbish" destined for the Hokitika dump sitting outside the Hut. I found a perfectly good camp oven and some billies in it and stowed them back in the Hut.
Access
The main Arahura valley tracks are maintained regularly by DOC and are in good condition currently. The track from Lower Arahura Hut follows an old dozer trail for 20 minutes to a large unnamed side-creek and heads up this for 10 minutes or so to connect with the old Browning Pass bench track. This is followed for around an hour and a half as it climb/ sidles at a gentle gradient along the bush faces of the Arahura. The Newton Creek turnoff is marked by a routered sign a short distance before Third Gorge Creek. The track drops steeply down to the river and over a swingbridge to the TR. The river is followed upstream for around 10 minutes to a track entrance just downstream from a small side-creek. The track follows the TR of the creek a short distance, then veers North and steepens considerably, climbing the bush faces of Pt 754m. It levels off at the 700m contour and crosses a low ridge into Newton Creek Basin, then follows the TL of Newton Creek for 15 minutes to the Hut. The track from the main valley turnoff to Newton Creek Hut was retrimmed in 2018 and is still good to follow, although the regen is starting to come back in the more open places and toi toi has started crowding the section along the basin. Allow around four hours for the journey from Lower Arahura Hut, or 7-8 hours from the Arahura roadend.
For those accessing Newton Creek Hut downriver from Mudflats Hut there are a couple of options. An old NZFS track on the TR of the Third Gorge has been recut in a rudimentary fashion by DOC as a stoat line, however the benched and slightly longer main valley track on the TL is probably quicker and more user-friendly. Allow two hours for the journey from Mudflats to Newton.
Access to Newton Creek from the Taipo valley is via Newton Saddle and Dunns Hut. The route goes up the TR branch of Dunns Creek and is tracked around the rougher, more bouldery bits. Snow-poles mark the route from the head of the creek up some steep tussock faces to the Saddle. The route drops from here down a gut into a small creek, which is followed all the way to Newton Creek. The boulders in the creek are often icy in winter. The upper bits of the crossing can be snow covered and sometimes icy in winter and ice axes may be necessary. A fit experienced party should allow 4-5 five hours for the crossing although soft snow may slow things in the colder months. Many parties are taking much longer than this and the Dunns hutbook is full of moans about how tough the route, and how shitty the track is. In my estimation this crossing is no more difficult than similar alpine saddles in the area and the comments are more a reflection of a lack of fitness and experience and the unrealistic expectations of those doing it. DOC recut the tracked sections from Newton to Dunns in January 2021. The scrub detours on the Dunns side are getting a bit scrappy and need a good trim in places. BCT has this work in its sights for 2026.
Newton Creek Hut and its access tracks and routes were designated as fully maintain by the Department of Conservation in 2003. Up until then it had done very little with the place since taking over from the New Zealand Forest Service in 1987. It did a bit of basic maintenance in 2004 but by 2017 the Hut had become very run-down and had a serious rat infestation. In February 2017, with DOC support and some Outdoor Recreation Consortium and Permolat funding, a team led by Rob Brown did a near-rebuild of the Hut.
DOC have been maintaining the access tracks over Newton Saddle to the Taipo fairly regularly and volunteers did the last cut of the section from the Arahura valley up to the Hut in 2018. It appears that Back Country Trust may be doing the next cut of the circuit, scheduled for 2026.
Location
Arahura catchment. Map BV19. Grid Ref: E1467495/ N5255620 (BV19 675 556). Altitude 725m. Newton Creek Hut is located at the lower end of the Newton Creek basin, one of the bigger side-catchments in the Arahura valley. The Creek drops steeply from the basin in a series of cataracts down to the main River. The basin is narrow and shady and is ringed by the peaks of the Campbell and Tara Tama ranges. The Hut is a reasonably popular stopover on the Newton Saddle circuit which links the Arahura and Taipo valleys, getting 10-20 visits per year currently. Newton Creek is untracked upstream of the Hut and is rough and bouldery initially. Above the bushline the valley opens out into fairly gentle tussock expanses, which provide good tops access to several other remote huts and bivs in the area.
During the 1980's and 90's Newton Creek Hut received minimal attention from DOC, but was kept clean and well provisioned by Alan Reith, a blue duck enthusiast from Hokitika. In 2004 during a DOC purge aimed at, "encouraging greater self-sufficiency in the high-country," the Hut was stripped of its NZFS provisions and Alan's gear, including an interesting and quite comprehensive hut library. By pure coincidence I was passing by around this time and noticed a slingload of "rubbish" destined for the Hokitika dump sitting outside the Hut. I found a perfectly good camp oven and some billies in it and stowed them back in the Hut.
Access
The main Arahura valley tracks are maintained regularly by DOC and are in good condition currently. The track from Lower Arahura Hut follows an old dozer trail for 20 minutes to a large unnamed side-creek and heads up this for 10 minutes or so to connect with the old Browning Pass bench track. This is followed for around an hour and a half as it climb/ sidles at a gentle gradient along the bush faces of the Arahura. The Newton Creek turnoff is marked by a routered sign a short distance before Third Gorge Creek. The track drops steeply down to the river and over a swingbridge to the TR. The river is followed upstream for around 10 minutes to a track entrance just downstream from a small side-creek. The track follows the TR of the creek a short distance, then veers North and steepens considerably, climbing the bush faces of Pt 754m. It levels off at the 700m contour and crosses a low ridge into Newton Creek Basin, then follows the TL of Newton Creek for 15 minutes to the Hut. The track from the main valley turnoff to Newton Creek Hut was retrimmed in 2018 and is still good to follow, although the regen is starting to come back in the more open places and toi toi has started crowding the section along the basin. Allow around four hours for the journey from Lower Arahura Hut, or 7-8 hours from the Arahura roadend.
For those accessing Newton Creek Hut downriver from Mudflats Hut there are a couple of options. An old NZFS track on the TR of the Third Gorge has been recut in a rudimentary fashion by DOC as a stoat line, however the benched and slightly longer main valley track on the TL is probably quicker and more user-friendly. Allow two hours for the journey from Mudflats to Newton.
Access to Newton Creek from the Taipo valley is via Newton Saddle and Dunns Hut. The route goes up the TR branch of Dunns Creek and is tracked around the rougher, more bouldery bits. Snow-poles mark the route from the head of the creek up some steep tussock faces to the Saddle. The route drops from here down a gut into a small creek, which is followed all the way to Newton Creek. The boulders in the creek are often icy in winter. The upper bits of the crossing can be snow covered and sometimes icy in winter and ice axes may be necessary. A fit experienced party should allow 4-5 five hours for the crossing although soft snow may slow things in the colder months. Many parties are taking much longer than this and the Dunns hutbook is full of moans about how tough the route, and how shitty the track is. In my estimation this crossing is no more difficult than similar alpine saddles in the area and the comments are more a reflection of a lack of fitness and experience and the unrealistic expectations of those doing it. DOC recut the tracked sections from Newton to Dunns in January 2021. The scrub detours on the Dunns side are getting a bit scrappy and need a good trim in places. BCT has this work in its sights for 2026.
Original Newton Creek Hut - Phot Glenn Johnston 1975
Type
Newton Creek Hut is a standard NZFS S81, 4-bunk design. It was built in 1962 to replace an old internal affairs hut already on the site. Newton had an open fire initially, and this was removed in the late 1970's and replaced with a wood burner. The Hut interior was lined at some point. Water is from the Creek, and there is a toilet. A woodshed was added in 2017. The Hut site is fairly shady, and damp, and doesn't get much sun in the winter. Finding dry firewood can be an issue and folk don't always replace what they use. It can take a bit of time and energy fossicking dead standing wood from the bush surrounds, or the odd bit of driftwood from the creekbed.
Condition
Newton Creek Hut was repainted inside and out and resealed by DOC in 2004. A fairly severe rat infestation developed around 2012, and the stench was overpowering with piles of shit accumulating in various pockets. This seemed to have had a flow-on effect on human visitors, who began to leave their own trash behind. A fair amount of the framing, floor abutting the walls, and some of the sub-floor and piles, were rotting. The roof and woodshed also needed replacing. Rob and his crew, comprising Eric Saggers, Peter Mortlock, and John Charles, stripped the Hut back to its frame and rebuilt and relining it. A layer of ply was laid on the floor and a new roof added.
Newton Creek Hut is a standard NZFS S81, 4-bunk design. It was built in 1962 to replace an old internal affairs hut already on the site. Newton had an open fire initially, and this was removed in the late 1970's and replaced with a wood burner. The Hut interior was lined at some point. Water is from the Creek, and there is a toilet. A woodshed was added in 2017. The Hut site is fairly shady, and damp, and doesn't get much sun in the winter. Finding dry firewood can be an issue and folk don't always replace what they use. It can take a bit of time and energy fossicking dead standing wood from the bush surrounds, or the odd bit of driftwood from the creekbed.
Condition
Newton Creek Hut was repainted inside and out and resealed by DOC in 2004. A fairly severe rat infestation developed around 2012, and the stench was overpowering with piles of shit accumulating in various pockets. This seemed to have had a flow-on effect on human visitors, who began to leave their own trash behind. A fair amount of the framing, floor abutting the walls, and some of the sub-floor and piles, were rotting. The roof and woodshed also needed replacing. Rob and his crew, comprising Eric Saggers, Peter Mortlock, and John Charles, stripped the Hut back to its frame and rebuilt and relining it. A layer of ply was laid on the floor and a new roof added.
Refurbished Hut interior 2017
The work was done to a much higher standard than the original build. Malthoid was used as a moisture barrier between piles, floor and bottom plates, and corner flashings were added. Some new piles were added to increase strength. The team worked against the weather and didn't get the roof painting finished or the flue back in. DOC kindly went in there in March and did the remaining work. The wood burner's hearth was poured directly onto the floor way back when DOC installed it. This leaves the floor underneath it permanently damp. Because it can't dry out properly it will probably rot over time and need attending to. A new woodshed was constructed by the work crew. The toi toi on the track on the sections in the basin was cut back by volunteers who were helping the ORC team. Unfortunately, they've all grown back.
Dunns Saddle routes
Routes
Dunns Saddle lies only a kilometre North of Newton Saddle but is not a practical alternative as a crossing. The approach from the Dunns side up the TL branch of the Creek is fairly easy (with some avalanche risk from the Tara Tama side after heavy snowfalls), but the Newton Creek side it is very steep and bluffy with access up or down a single steep rock gut. Travel down Newton Creek from here is through untracked sub-alpine and montane forest. A cascade with large boulders just upstream of the Newton Saddle turnoff can be skirted on the TR. Those who want to have a look at Dunns Saddle can access it directly from the Dunns side and then do an easy traverse Mt Edelweiss back over to Newton Saddle. This wouldn't add that much extra time to the standard crossing.
A number of high-level routes are possible from the head of Newton Creek via the Tara Tama Range. The bouldery section of the Creek just upstream from the Hut can be skirted through the bush on the TR. Further up it is mostly boulderhopping with the odd detour into the scrub to reach the open tussock in the headwaters.
Top Olderog Biv can be accessed over Mt Olson via the bush faces directly opposite Newton Creek Hut. Deer are keeping the understory open, and travel is pretty easy. There is a good trail through the scrub belt higher up and some shallow tarns at the scrub-edge have been turned into wallows. It should take little over an hour to get from the hut to the tussock. Head over the summit of Olson to the col between it and point 1566m. From here it would seem logical to continue along the ridge dividing the Olderog and Wainihinihi catchments however there are some exposed, vertical sections further along and it is easier and safer to drop down the gut from the col into the head of Olderog Creek. Travel down Olderog Creek is straightforward with a couple of small cascades to skirt further down. Exit the main Creek up a side-creek that comes in at E1464732/ N5257156. Climb to around the 1240m contour, exit the side-creek, and sidle over to the bench where the Biv is located. Allow around five hours for the crossing from Newton Hut to Top Olderog Biv.
Griffin Creek Hut has historically been accessed from the head of Newton Creek basin. by dropping from the unnamed saddle 200m South of Scottys Saddle, which has a large boulder with a cairn on top of it. A steep scree leads into the unnamed creek below, and this is followed down into the Griffin. A waterfall in the alpine scrub zone can be skirted on the TR. At around the 1000m contour there is another set of waterfalls which up until recently could be downclimbed. Changes to the streambed have mad this impossible leaving the choice of using a rope or climbing out of the creek on the TL onto a steep side-ridge with very thick alpine scrub and dropping down this. Once back in the creek the gradient lessens and the going becomes easier as you get further down. The Rocky Creek track crosses the creek 400m above its confluence with the Griffin. Follow the track down the TL of the creek down to where it intersects the main valley track. Griffin Creek Hut is around 15 minutes upriver from here.
Scottys Biv can also be accessed along the crest of the Tara Tama Range as far as Scottys Saddle. It is a 20-minute descent from here in an ESE direction down a series of tussock with shattered rock outcrops. The Biv is clearly visible in good weather from point 1516m onwards.
At around 675m on the Lower Olderog Biv track an old NZFS track branches off and drops down into the mid-section of Olderog Creek. This was part of an old trackline that went along The Trench to Newton Creek but hasn't been maintained for 50 years. The Trench itself is relatively easy creek travel, but the tracked sections down into Olderog Creek and from the head of The Trench to Newton Creek have vanished, and it's a real grovel. There has been a bit of interest expressed in the past about reopening the Trench to link Lower Olderog Biv and Newton Creek Hut, but that seems to have flagged. It'd be a fairly major project any case.
Repairs Needed
None that we are aware of. The toi toi on the sections of track along the basin needs cutting back.
Provisions On Site
An axe, a handsaw and spare blade, a camp oven, a stainless-steel bucket, an aluminium bucket, one billy, a Forest Service food bin, two hand brushes and a broom. Two 'Departure Lounge' vermin bait stations. One underneath the southeast end of the hut and one inside under a bunk. There is a wooden ladder, a spare 4x2 and other bits of timber under the Hut.
Dunns Saddle lies only a kilometre North of Newton Saddle but is not a practical alternative as a crossing. The approach from the Dunns side up the TL branch of the Creek is fairly easy (with some avalanche risk from the Tara Tama side after heavy snowfalls), but the Newton Creek side it is very steep and bluffy with access up or down a single steep rock gut. Travel down Newton Creek from here is through untracked sub-alpine and montane forest. A cascade with large boulders just upstream of the Newton Saddle turnoff can be skirted on the TR. Those who want to have a look at Dunns Saddle can access it directly from the Dunns side and then do an easy traverse Mt Edelweiss back over to Newton Saddle. This wouldn't add that much extra time to the standard crossing.
A number of high-level routes are possible from the head of Newton Creek via the Tara Tama Range. The bouldery section of the Creek just upstream from the Hut can be skirted through the bush on the TR. Further up it is mostly boulderhopping with the odd detour into the scrub to reach the open tussock in the headwaters.
Top Olderog Biv can be accessed over Mt Olson via the bush faces directly opposite Newton Creek Hut. Deer are keeping the understory open, and travel is pretty easy. There is a good trail through the scrub belt higher up and some shallow tarns at the scrub-edge have been turned into wallows. It should take little over an hour to get from the hut to the tussock. Head over the summit of Olson to the col between it and point 1566m. From here it would seem logical to continue along the ridge dividing the Olderog and Wainihinihi catchments however there are some exposed, vertical sections further along and it is easier and safer to drop down the gut from the col into the head of Olderog Creek. Travel down Olderog Creek is straightforward with a couple of small cascades to skirt further down. Exit the main Creek up a side-creek that comes in at E1464732/ N5257156. Climb to around the 1240m contour, exit the side-creek, and sidle over to the bench where the Biv is located. Allow around five hours for the crossing from Newton Hut to Top Olderog Biv.
Griffin Creek Hut has historically been accessed from the head of Newton Creek basin. by dropping from the unnamed saddle 200m South of Scottys Saddle, which has a large boulder with a cairn on top of it. A steep scree leads into the unnamed creek below, and this is followed down into the Griffin. A waterfall in the alpine scrub zone can be skirted on the TR. At around the 1000m contour there is another set of waterfalls which up until recently could be downclimbed. Changes to the streambed have mad this impossible leaving the choice of using a rope or climbing out of the creek on the TL onto a steep side-ridge with very thick alpine scrub and dropping down this. Once back in the creek the gradient lessens and the going becomes easier as you get further down. The Rocky Creek track crosses the creek 400m above its confluence with the Griffin. Follow the track down the TL of the creek down to where it intersects the main valley track. Griffin Creek Hut is around 15 minutes upriver from here.
Scottys Biv can also be accessed along the crest of the Tara Tama Range as far as Scottys Saddle. It is a 20-minute descent from here in an ESE direction down a series of tussock with shattered rock outcrops. The Biv is clearly visible in good weather from point 1516m onwards.
At around 675m on the Lower Olderog Biv track an old NZFS track branches off and drops down into the mid-section of Olderog Creek. This was part of an old trackline that went along The Trench to Newton Creek but hasn't been maintained for 50 years. The Trench itself is relatively easy creek travel, but the tracked sections down into Olderog Creek and from the head of The Trench to Newton Creek have vanished, and it's a real grovel. There has been a bit of interest expressed in the past about reopening the Trench to link Lower Olderog Biv and Newton Creek Hut, but that seems to have flagged. It'd be a fairly major project any case.
Repairs Needed
None that we are aware of. The toi toi on the sections of track along the basin needs cutting back.
Provisions On Site
An axe, a handsaw and spare blade, a camp oven, a stainless-steel bucket, an aluminium bucket, one billy, a Forest Service food bin, two hand brushes and a broom. Two 'Departure Lounge' vermin bait stations. One underneath the southeast end of the hut and one inside under a bunk. There is a wooden ladder, a spare 4x2 and other bits of timber under the Hut.
