The CJ way Guide to Brewster Hut

 AT A GLANCE 

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Awesome wee red camping hut in the Southern Alps

Mt Aspiring National Park

2-2.5 hours walk from parking

Hard

Free

Best time to visit: late afternoon/sunset

Hiking/running shoes

 WHERE IS THIS EXACTLY? 

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• Coordinates of the hut: -44.087841, 169.412317

• Coordinates of parking: -44.076836, 169.386780

• Park at Fantail Falls carpark, then you need to cross the stream (to the left of Fantail), and look for a bright orange marker. Follow the orange markers which climb through beech forest for approximately 1.5 hours. At the top of the tree line, you have another 30 minutes walking along the ridge to the hut.This part is quite exposed and can be rather windy.

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 best time to visit? 

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• Late afternoon for the golden light!

• A clear day is best for those gorgeous views of the Southern Alps.

• Winter would be absolutely incredible for snow-capped mountains.

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 cj travel tips 

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• Start the walk in Jandals and carry a towel and your shoes, then once you’ve crossed the stream at the start you can dry your feet and leave your jandals/towel there for pick up on return.

• It's best to stay in the hut overnight – bookings via DOC website here. It was fully booked when we did the walk so we came down after sunset but it was a long, hard descent and difficult to spot the markers in the dark (we discovered, much to our dismay that hardly any are reflective). We arrived back at Vinnie around 11:30pm and were completely exhausted. Given the steepness and the terrain, it took just as long getting down (if not longer) as you had to be careful where to place your feet. Char tripped about four times, including right over twice. Pretty funny though. 

• You don't have to worry about carrying heaps of water as there is a water tank up top at the hut, however you will want to treat the water (we pack Condy's crystals with us for this).

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 cj photography tips 

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• Keep looking behind you as you walk up the ridge as we thought this provided the best photo opportunities!

• If you are shooting into the sun (like we did), consider lens flare and whether you want this in your final shot or not (surprisingly hard to photoshop out). We used our polarising filter to create a light ray effect.

• Remember a zoom lens will make the mountains appear more prominent in the background.

• We found climbing up the hill best for shooting Brewster Hut. You really want some height so you can do justice to the incredible location of the hut. 

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 what we found useful to pack 

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​In addition to the usuals (camera gear, suitable clothing, water and food, first aid, etc. we found the following items useful for Brewster Hut:

• Two ways so we could communicate when taking long range photos;

• Jandals and a towel for the water crossing;

• Condy's crystals (potassium permanganate) for treating water; and

• Head torch/torch if walking up and back for sunset.