Cameron Flats to Fantail Falls - Mt. Brewster Hut

After talking to Jen and Jeroen the night before (and on Gar's recommendation) about Mt. Brewter Hut and Mt. Armstrong, we could not pass up this hike. We got back on our bikes and rode the rest of the way to summit Haast Pass. We were pleasantly surprised how easy it was since we were expectly to be hit with a killer climb. We rolled over it and descended down a bit to the Fantail Falls pullout where the trailhead also started.

We rearranged our gear and packed our backpacks for the climb up. We stashed our bikes and the remainder of our belongings locked to some nearby trees under cover of the forest. Then the climb began...it was very steep, with roots and rocks at every turn. The trail ascended through thick beech forest hung with whispy lichens like an old man's beard from every branch. After a couple hours of the steep onslaught, we broke out of the forest into steep tussock (clump grasses). We climbed another hour and ended on a knife-edge ridge that plunged as a verticle cliff to the left and steep tussock on the right. With knocking knees we made it to the Hut under the cover of clouds. The hut is brand new and was very comfortable. We were only a group of 8 in a 12-bunk hut so we were very comfortable. That night the sunrays shown through the clouds and illuminated the bleached out rock outcrops, glacier slivers and golden tussock. Two Kea birds (NZ parrots - reputed to be the smartest birds in the world) swooped down from the hillsides to play and pry at the hut. They are very beautiful, curious, animated birds but are know for their destructive beaks that they use to pull at anything around, even rubber window seals on cars. We had a nice evening chatting with the other hutmates, including Jen and Jeroen who are on a year-long adventure that includes NZ, Australia, USA and South America.