Ideas?

The hut idea seems great Matthew, as for the peaks, too old and inexperienced for that! A little off track, but you mentioned the busiest times of the year. We plan to go back to the southern part of the South island again next year, for about 5 weeks, using a car, doing 1 to 5 night tramps, day walks, etc. This will run into your school holidays and Easter. Is this a busy time with the locals out tramping? We would be in the area around Arthur's Pass, etc by then. Thinking more about accommodation in backpackers, etc, and the huts. Thanks for any thoughts.

I wonder if it could also be used to find people who go to similar places as each other, or places that are related to each other somehow according to having similar groups of people visit them. It might not be quite the same correlation as people who simply live in the same area. It's more curiosity than a request for me at this point as I'm not sure if I'd use such a feature, but it could possibly be helpful for people looking for tramping partners... or just interesting. Also, if I know that person A visits largely similar places to myself (same region, same fitness, near rivers, etc etc), and see that person A has visited somewhere I haven't been to, it might help me to formulate an idea to go there some day which I hadn't considered beforehand.

Right you hut baggers, you can now track the huts you've bagged. You can't yet compare with others, but that won't be far away. Note the new menu options above under "Tracks" and "Explore" (they might get moved as they're a little hidden at the moment). Peter, Easter does tend to be busy in Arthur's Pass with the Christchurch trampers heading out for their last long tramp for the warmer months. I'd expect the huts to be reasonably busy but probably not overflowing. Anybody know? I doubt it would put pressure on the backpackers though. Most locals will head home or camp.

Is there a way to get around the requirement of the date the hut was visited. I have no idea when I visited many of them.

You can put just the year. ie, All the following work: 26 3 2009 3 2009 2009 I have looked at a few places that I have visited way back and can make an association with what I was doing at the time. I remember my first trip on the Routeburn, 1968 with my parents. Then I visited Leaning Lodge many times in the 1970s but I can confirm 1975 because that was the year I owned a motorbike and I rode it to the hut in the snow once. But I don't think you need to worry too much about the accuracy, it is only for your own info anyway.

Interesting idea the memory fades so a general year does for me

Yippee, thanks Matt

Sorry, never tramped in Northland but i see on my database of huts that there is a DOC hut called Peach Cove Hut near Bream Head. See http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-stay/backcountry-huts-by-region/northland/whangarei-area/peach-cove-hut/ on the DOC web site

sorry, another quick question .... Ive looked on a map but cant figure it out ... pmcke you're a wealth of knowledge and might know ... there is a hut at Whangarei Heads (Bream Head?). Many years ago, we climbed up from what I think might be Urquharts Bay for about an hour or two, sidled along the ridge and then dropped down to a hut in a bay. Next day we climbed back up and over down in to what I think was Ocean Beach. Does anyone have any idea's on what that hut is called? Also Matt, do you have any hut info on the Pinnacles Hut, Kauaeranga Valley, Coromandel? I can only find info on the Pinnacles Hut at Mt Somers? Thanks :o)

Perfect, thank you! Thats it!