Kirwans Hut
- Distance
- 26.7 km
- Vertical gain
- 1,319m
- Duration
- 1d2h2m
This beautiful trail ascends through lush West Coast jungle to reach a hut with a grand view of the surrounding mountain ranges. As a former mining track, the gradient is remarkably steady (the elevation plot looks like a triangle). A highlight of the route was a bridge which implausibly emerges from a man-made tunnel.
Update: I considered revisiting this track in 2024, but unfortunately a rockfall near the bridge has closed the track we took. The hut is still accessible from the east, from Gannons Road via Montgomerie Hut.
![The bridge which emerges from a tunnel](https://c123ac9d.albert-nz.pages.dev/_app/immutable/assets/PXL_20211231_005046913.Cl6bW1jk.webp)
The hut is fairly modern and warm, but we had a hard time getting the coal burner started on a surprisingly cold New Year’s Eve.
![Kirwans Hut](https://c123ac9d.albert-nz.pages.dev/_app/immutable/assets/PXL_20211231_081655503.MP.B8Xly9eH.webp)
![The clouds part to give a glimpse of Lake Te Anau](https://c123ac9d.albert-nz.pages.dev/_app/immutable/assets/PXL_20211231_081750945.BDCHJ8wu.webp)
On our outwards journey, we attempted to locate “Fiery Cross Gold Mine”, as present on the Topo50 map. We found neither mine nor track, despite our attempts to ascend Caples Creek.