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Hunts Creek Track
Added Rough travel to a small, tidy hut. Better walked as part of a circuit.
| Begins | Kelly's Creek Shelter, SH73, north of Otira |
|---|---|
| Return | Return via same track |
| Grade |
What does this mean?
MediumClick for warnings and more detail! Easy: Unusually smooth, well-marked track, easy gradients. Up to about 4 hours per day. |
| Length | 17.0 km (10.6 mi) |
| Time | 10 hr (2 dqays) |
| Altitude |
350m
(1,148.3 ft)
– 920m
(3,018.4 ft)
Δ 570m
(1,870ft)
|
| Huts |
Hunts Creek Hut
Standard Hut (DOC). Capacity: 4.
|
| Map sheets |
NZMS260-K33
|
Notes
The time indicated is from Kelly Shelter to Hunts Hut and return.
From the car park, a marked track begins and splits from the track to Carroll Hut but soon turns out onto the riverbed. Soon, a steep track commences on the true left and climbs high above a gorged section of river, crossing two creeks. Beyond here, the track mostly follows the riverbed, with occasional brief sections of track that are obviously not well used.
Eventually (roughly 3hr) a track commences properly to lead through light forest up to Hunts Saddle. The saddle is hard to navigate, being muddy and covered with head-high tussocks. Look for marker poles and watch out for deep holes. A very rough track continues to sidle in forest above Hunts Creek, climbing and falling regularly. The forest here is dominated by handsome (and in some cases very large) mountain nei nei. The track crosses the first of two large screes 20 minutes before the hut. Time from the saddle to the hut is about 1 hr 30 min. The hut is located at the edge of a tussock clearing.
Beyond the hut, a track leads to a boulder field and the open upper reaches of the valley. Several routes lead out of the valley over Bijleveld Col, Waimakariri Col, or Dry Creek.
Popular tags
"Also you can go out over Mt Barron and down one of the tracks shown on the map if you are clever enough to follow them! Travel on the track from Hunts Creek hut that goes to Hunt Saddle but ascend the second scree to the summit of Mt Barron. I did this about 14 years ago and it was straight forward. Can't say the same for finding the track on the other side that goes down to the reservoir though. It needs locating and recutting and marking badly.
Hokitika DoC are working on the Rolleston end of the Mt Barron Loop tracks currently as of June 2010. Unfortunately they have relocated the upper end of the old pack track."
— Honora 23 May 201023 May
"We consulted with a local on the easiest way to drop down from the Kelly Tops to Hunt Saddle. I thought I published that route somewhere on this site!
Anyway, it involved going down a short, narrow bouldery section to the dreaded Nei Nei then sidling for about 50m and following a small stream down. There was no grief or scratchy scrub doing it this way.
I need to do it again and GPS it and do some marking as it was a good way. We came out downstream of Hunt Saddle on the Kelly Creek side."
— Honora 23 May 201023 May
"Not that fit, I took a solid 6 hours on the Kelly Creek section. Spent 2 nights at Hunts Creek Hut to lick my wounds. 3 hunters were in residence, so I got that last bunk.
Then I teamed up with Hutt Valley Tramping Club to locate the tricky gut above Hunt Saddle. The bushwhacking bit took 2 sweaty hours to gain Kelly Range, only a distance of several hundred metres. BEST TO TRAMP THIS CIRCUIT THE OTHER WAY!!
Once out in the open, we danced along the tussock tops to Carroll Hut, no sweat. Plenty of tarns to camp beside."
— ledge 25 October 200825 October 2008
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