Adopting a hut

Talk to doc they will point you in the right direction. I'm sure Honora will have all the info you need . But that ofcourse is her call.

Permolat have a good overview of whats happening in the Canterbury / Westland area. As has the Backcountry Trust. Feel free to get in touch.

This link on the remote huts website will instruct you how to join Permolat. http://remotehuts.co.nz/groups/permolat/ Once you've joined you can put your interest out there and people will respond. They can either do it publicly via the Permolat community or contact you privately so everyone else doesn't get your emails in their inboxes. You may have a preference for size of hut or how remote it is. Boundary Peak Hut in the northern Buller sounds like it needs some TLC! All the best and hope you enjoy yourself with it.

Thanks everyone, I'll start here and see how we get on.

I've just visited Jervois Hut which is not in too bad nick but it needs some sealing around the door from sandflies and draughts. Not sure if anyone in Permolat has put their hand up for that one. Paul Reid would know probably.

Somebody has already put their 'hand up' for Jervois Hut. A hut in Canterbury that needs some minor work is Stony Stream Biv in the mid Waiau catchment. It needs new ridge capping (the lead has broken away), a chimney cap, a coat of paint (it's currently rescue orange), the door fixed (it's warped at the base), & the broom cut back from around the hut & heli-pad. I cut the broom back that was within a metre radius of the hut in Dec. 2016. Apart from that the hut appears sound. The interior paper is intact, the walls are lined with ply, & I don't recall seeing any rotten timber, or holes in the flat iron or corrugated iron roof. I took lots of photos which I'm happy to pass on. Funding is available from the Backcountry Trust (High Country Consortium).

The Outdoor Recreational Consortium has some great resources including spreadsheets etc. Just wondering if there is further info on what huts (beyond the Remote Huts regions) are soon-to-be or being currently repaired/maintained and by whom?

I got in touch with DOC who have been really helpful with the process so far. We are going to look at options closer to Christchurch as DOC felt there was more need for some of the higher use huts closer to home being given some TLC. Not as extreme as some of the Remote Hut options but nice to be able to make a difference to our immediate community. I'll let you know which hut we end up confirming and how we get on with the project.

I’m pleased DOC have been helpful with the process this far but I am disappointed with DOC’s reported response that they feel more ‘high use’ huts closer to home would benefit from some TLC. In recent years there has been a shift by DOC away from maintaining ‘low use’ huts, & these huts have gradually been ‘picked up’ by volunteers, so as to ensure they are retained. I’m ok with that, but i’m dissatisfied with DOC now suggesting to volunteers they undertake some maintenance on ‘high use’ huts. Is this not part of the role of DOC staff within their ‘recreation historic’ teams?