Stan's Hut
The line I took up to Stan's Hut in 2022
Maintenance Status
Stan's Hut is designated for public use, overseen by the Department of Conservation, but owned and maintained by the NZ Chapter of the Safari Club Inc. It was built as a private hunting hut in 1985 by the late Stan Peterson of Hokitika who gifted it to the Club in the early 2000s. Stan probably built the hut to house his hunting clients after a New Zealand Forest Service Hut located on the next ridge up the valley blew off its piles sometime in the 1970s. Stan's Hut has pretty much always been the exclusive province of fly-in hunters. There are currently no maintained routes or tracks providing direct access to it and the rare foot visits have been by parties traversing the Price Range. The Permolat group explored the option of putting a track in from the Whataroa/ Perth junction but decided there is more magic in leaving this one for the birds. Stan's Hut has a $5 per night fee for non-members which can be paid to the Safari Club NZ: 02-0636-0099560-00. The contact for bookings is 021-328-197.
Location
Whataroa catchment. Map BW16. GPS Ref: E1389518/ N5196435. Altitude 1056m. Stan's Hut is located on a tussock bench in the alpine scrub zone on the Price Range. The views out over the Whataroa and up the Perth valleys are breathtaking and the open tops behind the Hut easily accessed by means of a short section of track through the alpine scrub. Chamois and deer are the main attraction for the hunters who average around seven fly-ins per year. When I bashed my way up through the scrub in 2022, there were only two walk-in visits noted in the hutbook (which went back to 2007), the being in 2012. James Thornton and Nina Dickerhof have since smashed all previous records by making two trips, the first in late '22 and the second in August '24. That makes a total five walk-ins in 17 years.
Access
Getting to Stan's Hut on foot is not simple or easy. Three NZFS tracks once provided access to the Price Range from the Whataroa valley and were serviced by swingbridges at Harry Creek, Jack Creek, and Butler Junction. The first two of these are long gone and the track up from the Butler Junction swingbridge has been "closed" by DOC due to severe erosion at the top end. The Harry Creek bridge would have provided the most direct route to a track starting at the Gunn River confluence and going up the ridge on its TL. This led to the long derelict Gunn River Hut which was located on the first ridge south of the one on which Stan's is located. The river is not fordable here currently which makes reinstating this route impractical. In 2022 I bush bashed from the swingbridge above the Perth confluence through the mid-section of Reynolds Creek and up the bush faces to point 990m just below the Hut. It's rough going with bluffs, a gorge section in Reynolds Creek, and dense alpine scrub from the 900m contour. It took a good 8-9 hours to come in this way from the road end and is not a route I would enthusiastically recommend.
A possible alternative is via a track cut by locals up from Big Creek that used to start around the 140m contour. This bit is now heavily eroded and impassable, and someone has started flagging a new route at river level from the toe of the TR terrace (approx. E1390774/ N5200908). This eventually rejoin the old trackline which at 400 metres crosses to the TL of a small creek. The tape stays on the TR of the gully and dead ends in some very steep terrain. It's probably better to try and stay on the old track but this also gets unfollowable in thick scrub above 900m. Then track's top entrance is on the saddle to the west of 1106m. Sidle from here into the head of Alf Creek and follow it up to the 1250m contour before climbing out onto the ridge on the Creek's TL. This is followed up to around 1450m where you can veer south onto the benches between Pts. 1555m and 1588m. Continue along the crest sidling East under Gunn Peak, down to Pt. 1606m, and from there down to Stan's. The top entrance to the track down to Stans is at E13893963/ N5196351. Allow a full day in good conditions for this route.
When descending via this route the top entrance of the track is a bit overgrown. It drops 20m initially, then heads sharp right and climbs back up through the scrub for quite a bit towards Pt. 1106m. Once on the spur it starts dropping again.
Stan's Hut is designated for public use, overseen by the Department of Conservation, but owned and maintained by the NZ Chapter of the Safari Club Inc. It was built as a private hunting hut in 1985 by the late Stan Peterson of Hokitika who gifted it to the Club in the early 2000s. Stan probably built the hut to house his hunting clients after a New Zealand Forest Service Hut located on the next ridge up the valley blew off its piles sometime in the 1970s. Stan's Hut has pretty much always been the exclusive province of fly-in hunters. There are currently no maintained routes or tracks providing direct access to it and the rare foot visits have been by parties traversing the Price Range. The Permolat group explored the option of putting a track in from the Whataroa/ Perth junction but decided there is more magic in leaving this one for the birds. Stan's Hut has a $5 per night fee for non-members which can be paid to the Safari Club NZ: 02-0636-0099560-00. The contact for bookings is 021-328-197.
Location
Whataroa catchment. Map BW16. GPS Ref: E1389518/ N5196435. Altitude 1056m. Stan's Hut is located on a tussock bench in the alpine scrub zone on the Price Range. The views out over the Whataroa and up the Perth valleys are breathtaking and the open tops behind the Hut easily accessed by means of a short section of track through the alpine scrub. Chamois and deer are the main attraction for the hunters who average around seven fly-ins per year. When I bashed my way up through the scrub in 2022, there were only two walk-in visits noted in the hutbook (which went back to 2007), the being in 2012. James Thornton and Nina Dickerhof have since smashed all previous records by making two trips, the first in late '22 and the second in August '24. That makes a total five walk-ins in 17 years.
Access
Getting to Stan's Hut on foot is not simple or easy. Three NZFS tracks once provided access to the Price Range from the Whataroa valley and were serviced by swingbridges at Harry Creek, Jack Creek, and Butler Junction. The first two of these are long gone and the track up from the Butler Junction swingbridge has been "closed" by DOC due to severe erosion at the top end. The Harry Creek bridge would have provided the most direct route to a track starting at the Gunn River confluence and going up the ridge on its TL. This led to the long derelict Gunn River Hut which was located on the first ridge south of the one on which Stan's is located. The river is not fordable here currently which makes reinstating this route impractical. In 2022 I bush bashed from the swingbridge above the Perth confluence through the mid-section of Reynolds Creek and up the bush faces to point 990m just below the Hut. It's rough going with bluffs, a gorge section in Reynolds Creek, and dense alpine scrub from the 900m contour. It took a good 8-9 hours to come in this way from the road end and is not a route I would enthusiastically recommend.
A possible alternative is via a track cut by locals up from Big Creek that used to start around the 140m contour. This bit is now heavily eroded and impassable, and someone has started flagging a new route at river level from the toe of the TR terrace (approx. E1390774/ N5200908). This eventually rejoin the old trackline which at 400 metres crosses to the TL of a small creek. The tape stays on the TR of the gully and dead ends in some very steep terrain. It's probably better to try and stay on the old track but this also gets unfollowable in thick scrub above 900m. Then track's top entrance is on the saddle to the west of 1106m. Sidle from here into the head of Alf Creek and follow it up to the 1250m contour before climbing out onto the ridge on the Creek's TL. This is followed up to around 1450m where you can veer south onto the benches between Pts. 1555m and 1588m. Continue along the crest sidling East under Gunn Peak, down to Pt. 1606m, and from there down to Stan's. The top entrance to the track down to Stans is at E13893963/ N5196351. Allow a full day in good conditions for this route.
When descending via this route the top entrance of the track is a bit overgrown. It drops 20m initially, then heads sharp right and climbs back up through the scrub for quite a bit towards Pt. 1106m. Once on the spur it starts dropping again.
Stans Hut prior to modifications
Type
Stan's Hut is a unique design, not having been constructed by a government agency. Stan initially had a tent camp at the site from where he operated his hunting safaris and in 1985 got permission from the NZFS to build a hut there. This was your standard shed-type structure with four bunks and a side and front window. It was a basic wooden frame with flat iron cladding walls and roof. A few years after it was gifted it began to leak badly and DOC were going to pull it down so in 2007 custodian Garry Mullings took a team in to affix a new steel tray roof and new trusses. The material from the old roof was used to build an enclosed porch and the main door was shifted out into this. The hut roof interior was lined at the same time. In 2022 a solar panel and battery was fitted along with internal and porch LED lights, and USB ports. There is a toilet with great views and water is from a small creek 20 metres from the Hut.
Condition
Stan's Hut is in good condition currently. In 2022 a joint NZDA/ SCI project led by David Keen and funded by BCT carried out a complete external paint (with paint supplied by Dulux), fitted new stainless tie-downs and anchors that were re-dug and concreted. The solar system was installed along with various other minor weatherproofing and drainage tasks. The toilet also benefited from new tie-downs, and a repainted door. The Hut has a hardly noticeable downhill lean and Gary thinks it could do with levelling at some point.
Stan's Hut is a unique design, not having been constructed by a government agency. Stan initially had a tent camp at the site from where he operated his hunting safaris and in 1985 got permission from the NZFS to build a hut there. This was your standard shed-type structure with four bunks and a side and front window. It was a basic wooden frame with flat iron cladding walls and roof. A few years after it was gifted it began to leak badly and DOC were going to pull it down so in 2007 custodian Garry Mullings took a team in to affix a new steel tray roof and new trusses. The material from the old roof was used to build an enclosed porch and the main door was shifted out into this. The hut roof interior was lined at the same time. In 2022 a solar panel and battery was fitted along with internal and porch LED lights, and USB ports. There is a toilet with great views and water is from a small creek 20 metres from the Hut.
Condition
Stan's Hut is in good condition currently. In 2022 a joint NZDA/ SCI project led by David Keen and funded by BCT carried out a complete external paint (with paint supplied by Dulux), fitted new stainless tie-downs and anchors that were re-dug and concreted. The solar system was installed along with various other minor weatherproofing and drainage tasks. The toilet also benefited from new tie-downs, and a repainted door. The Hut has a hardly noticeable downhill lean and Gary thinks it could do with levelling at some point.
Tarn on the Price Range
Routes
The "closed" track from Butler Junction can still be used to access the southern end of the Range if you want to manage your own risks. DOC have removed the markers at the bottom end and the track is hard to find and getting very overgrown. Further up the ridge becomes better defined and the track is OK to follow. The top end is very steep, eroded and exposed, and only marginally doable. Once in the open, it is possible to sidle around the northern flanks of Gunn Ridge into the Gunn River basin. There is a small dry rock in the middle of the basin that can sleep two at a pinch. Mt Cloher can be approached up a tiny side-creek at BW16 856 937 on the TL of the stream draining it, or up the spur at BW16 850 939, then sidling across an upper basin to the peak. The rest of the Range around to Stan's is very easy travel in good conditions but it'd be a very long day from Butler Junction and probably more sensible to take two and camp or bivouac out in Gunn basin.
The Price Range north of Stan's is good travel as far as Fardowner Peak. It is easiest to sidle across the benches east of Gunn Peak to avoid a rough piece of ridge. The main ridge NW of Fardowner Peak is initially steep but traversable, however the section just before Pt. 1522m has guts and rotten rock walls that make further travel along the crest impossible.
There is also an unofficial route up onto the Range from the Waitangitāhuna valley up the spur on the TR of Darnley Creek. The drop-off point is down the creek branch south of Gunn Peak (E1386527/ N5197469 - BW16 865 975). Use the spur on its TL further down to avoid the incised part of the creek. After this it is possible to sidle around through gullies and lush greenery to a side-creek at BW16 851 978, which can be used to access the tussock shelf above. An alternative drop-off that is more direct and involves much less elevation loss is down a gully 300m north of Gunn Peak (E1386147/ N5198164). The gully is good going the whole way, except for one awkward step on steep, eroding rock at the 1400m contour on which a rope is recommended. The track is easy to locate from Point 1273m by following the spur NW from BW16 835 984, initially on tussock, then sparse scrub to a cut permolatted trail. This is easy to follow through the scrub down to 700-800m where it becomes indistinct and hard to follow with diverging deer trails and windfall. The markers are frequent however and with care, one can manage to stay on the line. Some Whataroa locals are planning a recut of the route.
Repairs Needed
The Hut could do with levelling at some point although the lean is hardly noticeable.
Provisions on site
The Hut is well-provisioned with cutlery, crockery, pots and pans. There is also a camp oven, about 10 years supply of toilet paper, and kilos of salt. There is a first aid kit, broom, hearth brush and shovel, two plastic basins, four chairs, four plastic chairs, a shovel. a rake, and two solar showers.
The "closed" track from Butler Junction can still be used to access the southern end of the Range if you want to manage your own risks. DOC have removed the markers at the bottom end and the track is hard to find and getting very overgrown. Further up the ridge becomes better defined and the track is OK to follow. The top end is very steep, eroded and exposed, and only marginally doable. Once in the open, it is possible to sidle around the northern flanks of Gunn Ridge into the Gunn River basin. There is a small dry rock in the middle of the basin that can sleep two at a pinch. Mt Cloher can be approached up a tiny side-creek at BW16 856 937 on the TL of the stream draining it, or up the spur at BW16 850 939, then sidling across an upper basin to the peak. The rest of the Range around to Stan's is very easy travel in good conditions but it'd be a very long day from Butler Junction and probably more sensible to take two and camp or bivouac out in Gunn basin.
The Price Range north of Stan's is good travel as far as Fardowner Peak. It is easiest to sidle across the benches east of Gunn Peak to avoid a rough piece of ridge. The main ridge NW of Fardowner Peak is initially steep but traversable, however the section just before Pt. 1522m has guts and rotten rock walls that make further travel along the crest impossible.
There is also an unofficial route up onto the Range from the Waitangitāhuna valley up the spur on the TR of Darnley Creek. The drop-off point is down the creek branch south of Gunn Peak (E1386527/ N5197469 - BW16 865 975). Use the spur on its TL further down to avoid the incised part of the creek. After this it is possible to sidle around through gullies and lush greenery to a side-creek at BW16 851 978, which can be used to access the tussock shelf above. An alternative drop-off that is more direct and involves much less elevation loss is down a gully 300m north of Gunn Peak (E1386147/ N5198164). The gully is good going the whole way, except for one awkward step on steep, eroding rock at the 1400m contour on which a rope is recommended. The track is easy to locate from Point 1273m by following the spur NW from BW16 835 984, initially on tussock, then sparse scrub to a cut permolatted trail. This is easy to follow through the scrub down to 700-800m where it becomes indistinct and hard to follow with diverging deer trails and windfall. The markers are frequent however and with care, one can manage to stay on the line. Some Whataroa locals are planning a recut of the route.
Repairs Needed
The Hut could do with levelling at some point although the lean is hardly noticeable.
Provisions on site
The Hut is well-provisioned with cutlery, crockery, pots and pans. There is also a camp oven, about 10 years supply of toilet paper, and kilos of salt. There is a first aid kit, broom, hearth brush and shovel, two plastic basins, four chairs, four plastic chairs, a shovel. a rake, and two solar showers.
