Camp Creek Hut

Activity Date: 5 July 2020
Updated: 11 November 2024
People: Finn, Jen

Day 1: To Camp Creek Hut

It’s winter, lockdown has ended and Jen and I are off on a South Island West-Coast roadtrip! First stop, Moana township which sits on the edge of Lake Brunner (Moana). After a gentle run in the town the night before we are off to hike up to Camp Creek which we heard has a bath (with fire) outside!

It’s winter, it’s the West Coast, it’s raining. No problem, the track isn’t very long - although it is steep! Crack out the rain jacket, the pack cover and brave the river crossings. Nothing dangerous, just a bit wet. We took our time but arrived at the hut after walking in the rain most of the way. The track climbs quite steeply at times but is all very manageable in the end.

The hut is in really nice condition, it’s got six beds and it’s free and there was a bath outside like promised! There is a huge woodshed but unfortunately it was rather empty as prior trampers had not made much of an effort to keep it stocked up. The sun came out so Jen and I spent two hours foraging around the hut for wood. Most of it was damp, but we left a sizable stack in the shed to dry.

It took a couple of hours but I managed to get the fire going under the bath, and we had a nice hot bath in the dark. Just wonderful.

Day 2: Out the Same Way

The trek out was quick and straightforward. It descends quite steeply back the way you came and we found it a little slippery, especially as it had started raining again. Nevertheless, we made it out in good spirits and were ready to continue our holiday roadtrip!