"From two-person shelters to a 54-bunk fortress, New Zealand's countryside is scattered with huts that offer weary hikers a safe place to rest. Some huts sit along the popular Milford and Routeburn tracks, others are perched in remote valleys in the wilderness, with views ranging from snowy peaks to flourishing bush. But the publicly owned network is too vast for the government to maintain."
"Most of the huts are accessible only on foot. Trampers carry in food, and take out their rubbish. The smaller huts, with four or fewer bunk beds, are free to use. I love the honesty box payment system in huts, the fact that everyone clears up after themselves and the total strangers that you meet, have dinner, play cards with and chat to, Bell says."
More than 950 huts dot New Zealand's countryside, from two-person shelters to a 54-bunk fortress, located along popular tracks and remote valleys with varied views. Most huts are publicly owned but the network is too vast for government maintenance. Trampers access many huts only on foot, carrying food and removing rubbish; small huts (four or fewer bunks) are free to use and operate an honesty-box payment system. Volunteers join campaigns like Love Our Huts, organized by Federated Mountain Club, to clean and maintain huts. Many huts date from the late 1800s and served mining and surveying before conservation uses.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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