BIG HELLFIRE AND LONG HARRY HUTS

Rakiura National Park – March 2021

long harry hut

​Big Hellfire and Long Harry are huts located on Rakiura’s Northwest Circuit, a week-long plus tramping track around the coastline of this part of Stewart Island.

hellfire hut

​Late in March 2021, BCT contractors Clint Jarvis and Paul Chinn worked with DOC ranger Andrew King and volunteers from the Winton Rotary Club to carry out work on both these huts. The work was funded by a Kaimahi for Nature grant.

​Big Hellfire Hut sits at over 200m, on a forested ridge with some huge sand gullies that stretch down to the coastline far below. Viewpoints near the hut overlook Whenua Hou /Codfish Island to one side, and the extensive wetlands of the Ruggedy Flats to the other.

view towards whenua hou

ruggedy flats

forest near big hellfire

The hut’s old woodburner had rusted through, and the team replaced it with a new Wagener burner.

new Wagener burner at Hellfire

They scrubbed the hut, and gave it fresh coats of paint – the first time in nearly 10 years.

After three days working at Hellfire Pass Hut, the team flew to Long Harry Hut.

replacing chimney flue at Long Harry Hut

​Long Harry Hut sits overlooking a bay of the same name, near the northernmost point of the Northwest Circuit.

old chimney flue

​A team of two volunteers working with DOC ranger Nick Stinson had almost completed painting Long Harry Hut, when the Big Hellfire team joined them. They replaced the rusted-out flue of the woodburner and also carried out some minor repairs on the steps.

the team at Long Harry hut after a job well done

​While on site, the DOC rangers scoped out more projects for the coming summer. The Backcountry Trust will continue to work with DOC, and aims to catch up on a backlog of maintenance required for some of the island’s huts and tracks.