We hoped to kick off the start of the summer tramping season with a trip to Brewster Hut, one of the iconic red backcountry huts just outside of Wanaka. Brewster Hut is one of the more popular tramping huts, so we had booked early to ensure we were able to visit over the long weekend in November.
Leading up to the trip the weather had been pretty changeable, with the weather forecast constantly shifting for the days we were meant to be hiking. We made the decision to leave a little later than planned, to hopefully avoid the worst of the weather. Leaving home in the rain, we drove up through some pretty wild weather, but as we came out into the Mackenzie Basin, the storm clouds cleared and we had some beautiful views across Lake Tekapo to Aoraki Mount Cook.
After spending the night in Wanaka, we drove west to the trailhead, stopping for a few snacks at our favourite French bakery along the way. The track to the hut starts with crossing the Haast River, which unfortunately does not have a bridge. After parking the car, we wandered down to the river to take a look at Fantail Falls and get a feel for how difficult the river crossing would be.
Luckily for us, despite the rain earlier in the week, the river levels were relatively low and we felt confident that we would be able to cross the river safely. We returned to the car, finished packing up our rucksacks and made our way to the edge of the river to cross. Although the crossing was safe, it was really cold and not the most pleasant way to start the day of hiking.
The Department of Conservation state on their website that the track to Brewster Hut is “very steep and unformed”, which is always a bad sign. The description was definitely accurate and we spent much of the time climbing up tree roots, often having to pull ourselves up with our hands. The track climbs almost a thousand metres in just under three kilometers, so even as we reached bush line we knew we still had some more climbing ahead of us.
Although the track was incredibly steep, by tramping track standards it was short, so we found ourselves at the hut relatively quickly. After finding a bunk and settling in, I headed out to explore the area around the hut.
There are a few trails from the hut that take you up towards Mount Armstrong, Mount Brewster and the Brewster Glacier. We had hoped to spend an extra day at the hut to fully explore the area, but because of the weather we wouldn’t have time on this trip. Nevertheless, I hiked up above the hut to try and get some additional views.
The views above the hut were stunning and despite the broken cloud the air was beautifully clear making the mountains really dramatic. It was also quite surprising to see just how much snow there was this late in the season.
Although there was a cold wind blowing, I was able to find a sheltered spot to stop and enjoy the views down the Haast Valley towards the West Coast and across to the Brewster Glacier.
In summer it is possible to hike all the way over to the base of the Brewster Glacier, but late snow and some recent cold weather meant that the snow was still quite thick and low. I walked to snow line and then after taking in the views for a while slowly made my way back down to the hut for the evening.
Although the trip was a bit shorter than we were originally planning and the bad weather and low snow made exploring impossible, we really enjoyed our first trip of the season. We were pleasantly surprised by the hike back down to the car which went more smoothly than we were anticipating based on the climbing acrobatics needed to reach the hut. Soon enough, we were back at the car and on our way to Wanaka for a well deserved late lunch and ice cream.