The West Matukituki Valley in Mount Aspiring National Park is one of my favourite places for hiking, so it was an easy choice to head out there for our late summer hiking trip. After a relaxing drive up through the Waitaki Valley and a nice overnight in Wānaka visiting our favourite restaurants, we fueled up with a tasty breakfast before heading out to Raspberry Creek.
With the weather forecast not looking great for an overnight trip and with Eric finding he had left some of his hiking stuff behind, we decided that the best plan would be to do a day hike up to Liverpool Hut. Perched on a plateau high above the valley, this iconic hut is actually just across the valley from French Ridge Hut that we visited previously.
The first part of the track is an easy walk alongside the West Matukituki River, and is a nice, easy warm up for the rest of the hike. After rounding the curve in the valley, with a bit of careful scanning of the terrain, it was possible to pick out Liverpool Hut (the tiny red dot, two-thirds of the way to the right of the photo above, on the lower of the grassy plateaus on the far mountain).
Although the hut appeared to be some distance away, the relatively flat track and ever changing scenery made the first part of the hike go by pretty quickly. Passing landmarks we recognised from earlier trips into the valley was also reassuring as it made it easier to monitor our progress.
Just like the track to French Ridge, upon arriving at the head of the valley, the trail takes a sharp turn into the bush-covered hillside and then heads up, straight up! As with the French Ridge Track, you end up literally climbing up tree roots in order to ascend the steep valley sides.
Luckily the climb to Liverpool Hut is much shorter that the trek to French Ridge Hut and climbing over 700 metres in under a kilometer results in some stunning views as soon as you reach bush-line. Although as you come out of the trees, it is somewhat disheartening to see that you are actually on a knoll far above the hut!
The final section of the trail down to the hut is actually relatively short and easy, and with the views across the valley and back down to the trailhead to distract you, it doesn’t take long to reach the hut.
The hut is another candidate for the loo-with-a-view competition, with the long-drop perched out towards the edge of the plateau. Although it doesn’t really detract from the stunning views from the deck of the hut.
After spending a while enjoying the views and sunshine on the deck of the hut, it was time to retrace our steps back to the trailhead. Just before we dropped back down below the bush line we had a great view across to French Ridge Hut (perched on the upper grassy terraces immediately above the orange trail marker).