Think your kids are too young to start hut bagging? They’re probably more capable than you realise.
The idea was born: the A-to-Z of New Zealand huts project began with countless bedtime stories that featured the alphabet, and the question: how could we combine our love for the backcountry with our son Herbie’s mastery of letters?
The criteria were simple: we would stay overnight in a hut that started with a certain letter, and each trip had to be an adventure. We hoped to achieve the whole alphabet before Herbie turned five.
The order of the huts wasn’t strict, and weather and logistics played a big part in our selection. Here are some stories from our backcountry nights.
Spurs Hut in Te Kahui Kaupeka Conservation Area in Canterbury was the first one Herbie bagged – as an eight-month-old baby. We didn’t want to share a hut with others, so we embarked on a mid-week, off-season mission to Spurs Hut. I carried Herb in a front pack and my husband, Jon, biked in. The tin hut is situated in a chilly valley, so Jon (the cart horse) carried 15kg of firewood on his bike. Even with the fire going it was -6°C inside, but that was part of the adventure.
We waited for warmer weather before embarking on the next one.
December arrived with higher temperatures and we ventured from the Ahuriri Valley into Top Dingle Burn Hut in Hāwea Conservation Park. The valley was a magical wonderland of alpine flowers, mistletoe and the sound of the small brook.
After that we kept ticking huts off our list. The West Coast became our favourite place – a true backcountry experience away from the crowds. Before long we had ventured to Yeats Ridge Hut, Pinnacle Bivvy, Boo Boo Hut, Gerhard Spur Bivvy and Rocky Creek Bivvy.
But things began to change. At two years old, Herbie wanted to do the walking himself, so we had to get creative. We chose flatter walks and invited some of his little friends along. We explored Upper Nina, Nina and Kōhanga Atawhai huts in the Lewis Pass area, followed by Jims Flat Hut on the Ahaura River, Double Hut and Woolshed Creek Hut in Hakatere Conservation Park, and Edwards Hut in Arthur’s Pass. The walks took noticeably longer now as Herbie mostly made his way there under his own steam.
Getting creative also included biking to huts, which allowed us to travel further and get some extra exercise. Ida Railway Hut in Oteake Conservation Park was a memorable one – who would have thought there would be so much up and down on the top of a range? And how on earth did anyone get the hut up there? Still, it was worth the sweat.
We brought other families on our journeys. One memorable outing with 19 others from Playcentre took us to the Abel Tasman where we stayed at Awaroa and Bark Bay huts. It was a special trip for Herbie, as Grandma (who lives in Wales) joined us.
The standout trip was Veil Biv in the headwaters of the Rangitata River when Herbie was three. We biked to Growler Hut and then over a huge shingle fan to Mistake Flats Hut. We dumped the bikes soon after and Herbie walked the 10km to Veil Biv. The wide river valley full of rocks offered plenty of places for hide and seek (if you didn’t mind lying almost flat with a heavy pack on), and that’s how we got there and back, with many laughs on the way.
We continued ticking off huts, enjoying trips like the Wangapeka and Heaphy tracks.
We finally visited the last hut on our alphabet list: Fern Burn Hut near Wānaka, which we shared with over 20 others, mainly TA hikers. Surrounded by new friends, Herbie, now four-and-a-half, was in his element.
And the more tricky letters? Zacs Hut in Remutaka Forest Park – our only North Island excursion – was an easy walk in and out for a toddler. Xavier College Hut, near Mt Oxford, was just a short bike ride away.
What have we gained from this experience? Visiting these huts has changed my attitude toward the environment and how we live in it and take care of it. I hope I’ve passed that appreciation on to Herbie. Sometimes we’ve shared a hut with others (family, friends and strangers) and often we’ve had a hut to ourselves. Each has been memorable, and we’re incredibly lucky to have them.
Herbie tells me he wants to do more. Great! There is plenty of exploring yet to be done.
Herbie’s A-to-Z of huts
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