Saturday 18th March 2023
This was my first tramp on the West Coast and is only a short drive from Hokitika out to Lake Kaniere and a clockwise drive round the lake to start at the trail head located just past the Geologist Creek bridge.
The track enters into the forest and starts by sidling along the creek before moving away to the right and heading up the mountain. The ascent is gradual to begin with and is standard tramping over tree roots for about an hour. You’ll no doubt be followed by fantails during this part of the tramp. After that first hour the gradient steepens considerably and its up up up from there for the next 2 hours. I wasn’t overly fit but my thighs and calves coped with the workout because we stopped regularly for breaks and rehydration. It was a blue sky day on our trip so it was relatively hot and you’ll be thankful for the tree cover. About 2 hours in we stopped for a break to refuel before heading on up up up.
The trailhead is at 50m above sea level and rises on the track to the hut at 1100m. As we reached the tree line we began enjoying the views of Lake Kaniere and rising further you can enjoy views over Kokatahi towards Hokitika and the blue of the Tasman sea. When you see this view you know that the hard work you have just endured was totally worth it. As you exit the bush line and move onto the tussock grass the track is well worn and well marked with warratahs, it heads towards a saddle and then its up again and sidling around the mountain at the same contour but you will have to step up over large drops in the path or you could walk around on the fresh ground. As you move anti clockwise around Mount Brown and rise up to see the mountains behind you suddenly see the chimney of the bright orange hut and a rush of enthusiasm hits you. It had taken us 6 hrs to get to this point, as we stopped for maybe an hour in total with lunch and breaks.
Momentum picks up and in two or three minutes you have reached the deck of the hut. You’ll notice on this last stretch a couple of great camping spots. If you’ve packed a tent then i’d recommend camping. The hut is small with only four bunks. The weekend we tramped this route there was a total of nine people on the mountain and seven of them staying overnight. There is a wood burning stove but no firewood at the hut. You would have to venture back down into the forest to find something substantial to burn.
The hut has a couple of resident Weka’s that will be keen to steal your belongings, one of our team had a porridge sachet taken. Then the next day the Kea’s turned up to add more havoc to the mix. It was a great stay. We all camped and awoke to a superb sunrise which you can see in the photos. We were in no real rush to leave because the place was beautiful, so we cooked up breakfast and once the camps were dismantled we took the obligatory last photos and descended back the way we came. The journey down as a lot faster at only 4 hours.
Admittedly its not an overly taxing tramp if your legs can handle the steep ascent and descent and I would certainly recommend it to all members. I’ll be glad to return to Mount Brown.
Trampers – Euan Mackenzie, Brent Robinson & Mark Allerdyce
