Meikles hut Moonlight track
This historic hut is derelict. Some people still use it as a place to stop for a boil up using the open fireplace despite a DOC sign saying "Building unsafe. No Entry"
Meikles hut is located just above the Moonlight track in the upper reaches of the Right Branch of Moonlight Creek. [This is the West Coast Moonlight in this instance. The area is named after the same gold prospector Moonlight of Central Otago & Murchison area fame]
The hut appears to date from the 1930's but may be older? There was once quartz mining undertaken across the creek upstream from the hut. The remains of an old stamper battery are beside/in the creek above where the track crosses. I've taken the hut co-ords listed here from the Topo 50 map but my instincts suggest that the hut is actually a bit further upstream.
The Moonlight track connects with the better known Croesus track from Blackball to Barrytown via a a poled route heading SW along the crest of the Paparoa Range.
Owner
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Owner: DOC |
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Category
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Basic Hut/Bivvy |
Sleeps
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Sleeps 2
2
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Facilities
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Open fireplace |
Water supply
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No water |
Getting there
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1/Up the Moonlight road & then the track from the currently closed bridge or from Anderson's Flat carpark if you drive across the ford & continue to the carpark. It took us exactly 2.5 hrs from the ford to the hut including stops to look at old hut sites & take a few photos. 2/Off the Croesus track along the Paparoa tops & down to the hut. (The turnoffs on the tops are signposted) |
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Unlocked
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This hut is unlocked and open to access. |
Bookings
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No bookings — open access
No — open access
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Altitude
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580m |
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Mobile phone coverage
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No coverage |
Maps
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NZTopo50-BT20
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