Hut Principles: New Zealand Department of Conservation

This is quoted from the  NZ DoC document (n.d.) and linked to a broader piece LINK HERE:

NZ Department of Conservation: HUT PRINCIPLES

SELECTING A SUSTAINABLE CORE NETWORK OF HUTS

 New Zealanders have enjoyed a long history of access to a network of huts located at more than 1000 sites throughout the country’s conservation areas.  The majority of these facilities provide basic overnight shelter although some buildings can accommodate up to 60 people a night at popular destinations.  Between them these facilities are a significant contribution to the character of the backcountry, with many huts seen as important in their own right.  Indeed, local communities through the efforts of tramping and hunting clubs have provided many huts now available to the public.

  • Huts provide basic overnight shelter in conservation areas, complementing tent camping.
  • Huts between them create a range of opportunities for a variety of outdoor recreation activities including tramping, hunting, fishing and climbing.
  • Huts may be used for a weekend away, an escape during the week, or to support a multi-day trip.
  • In order to ensure that the right mix of huts is retained into the future to support a range of recreation opportunities, the following Principles and guidance will be used to make proposals on huts. The proposals arising from the use of these principles will not directly lead to management action, but will form the basis of discussion through the public consultation process. Over time the total number and location of huts may be changed within a location and the opportunities still retained.
  • These Principles apply to most huts including Great Walk huts but do not apply to locked booked accommodation or shelters.

HUT PRINCIPLES

  • Huts are an important part of the backcountry experience and many are significant in their own right
  • Overnight accommodation is provided to enhance the backcountry experience by providing safe dry shelter suitable for sleeping at a variety of locations.
  • Day visitors do not require overnight accommodation, although they may require shelter
  • Huts must all meet the following minimum service standard requirements;
    • weatherproof
    • in a reasonable state of repair
    • not dangerous
    • not insanitory
  • The objective is to retain the existing range of opportunities of which huts are often an integral part.
  • There should be neither too many nor too few huts, to be determined through the use of these Principles and conservancy strategic objectives.
  • Huts will range in size to cater for and in some cases to manage the variety of levels of use.
  • The choice of the appropriate mix will be made following public consultation and will take account of the concept of providing a range of recreation opportunities including suitable travel times for primary visitor groups.
  • Where a hut is deemed to not be part of the core hut network, but there is an individual, a community group or club prepared to commit the time and resources required, then an agreement can be established between the individual, group or club and the department to hand over management responsibility.

Travel times to huts are

  • considered in terms of the time the average visitor from the primary visitor group would take for a safe and comfortable day’s travel in normal weather conditions.
  • Times rather than distances combined with topographical information have been chosen because of simplicity, although there is no one best way of describing the concept of a ‘reasonable distance’ to a hut.

As a guide these should be:

  • 3-4 hours for huts used primarily by less-experienced users.
  • It is a reasonable planning principle that huts should be spaced 3 to 4 hours apart except in remote locations. It is also desirable for the safety and comfort of many visitors. There are likely to be many good reasons why there should be exceptions to this principle. Factors to consider are the most common direction of travel, the capacity of the hut in question (and the nearest hut), potential crowding at other nearby huts if this hut is removed, and geographical difficulties in locating huts with the ideal spacing.
  • 6 hours for more experienced visitors at Remote sites.
  • Remoteness Seekers are, by definition, capable of walking greater distances in a day (at a greater speed) than Back Country Adventurers or Back Country Comfort-seeker visitors. They seek remote experiences and are capable of planning trips that do not require huts, or where huts are spaced considerable travelling times apart.

It is recognised that the time required to reach the first hut on any track system will include travel time to reach the start of the track.  Hut locations may be decided taking this into account.

Accommodation at the start of a trip is recognised as a convenience to trampers, but not considered a high priority in the provision of huts.

A Hut will generally be retained where it is

  • a popular destination (used most nights, or most weekends)
  • Some huts receive moderate to high use because visitors see the hut (and its location) as an attraction itself. Popularity may result from the location of the hut, the layout and design of the hut itself, the views from (or on the way to) the hut or an attraction (such as the top of a hill) easily accessible from the hut. A hut may be regarded as “popular” nationally, regionally or locally.
  • a significant recreation opportunity within the local area or region (for lower use huts)
  • On its own the concept of a ‘low use hut’ (which is suggested to be less than 50-100 bednights annually) does not by itself lead to conclusions about its contribution to the network of huts.
  • If a low use hut is located in a catchment, and there are one or more huts in adjacent catchments, it may be regarded as duplicating the recreation opportunities in the area. The key here is to determine whether the recreation opportunity provided by this hut is duplicated by other huts in the area.
  • at a 2-wheel drive roadend with nearby staff presence or as booked accommodation
    • Roadend huts are often subject to vandalism because visitors can drive to them. They are not an essential part of a backcountry hut network, although can provide convenient overnight accommodation for people travelling some distance before starting a tramp. Shelters may be required at some roadends, but that is a different issue
  • deemed historic and actively managed as such
    • Historic huts have value beyond their recreation value and are protected in perpetuity and managed in accordance with conservation plans.
  • 3 hours or more from the nearest roadend (for the primary visitor group – Backcountry Adventurer or Backcountry Comfort Seeker) unless a popular destination hut.
  • 3 hours or more from another hut (BCC and BCA sites)
  • 6 hours or more from the nearest roadend or other hut (Remoteness Seeker sites)

A hut will generally not be retained when it is

  • at a roadend (unless staff  or a caretaker is present or unless it is booked accommodation)
    • Vandalism at huts close to roadends leads to unsightly facilities and increased maintenance costs.  The scale of this problem in the past has led to a reluctance to provide huts in these locations. Tenting is often an option available for people over-nighting at the start of a track.
  • less than 3 hours from a roadend or from another hut on BCC or BCA site (unless a popular destination)
    • It is recognised that such huts are convenient for people who do not have accommodation close to the start of a trip.  However vandalism at huts tends to be much worse where they are located within a couple of hours of a roadend.
  • less than 6 hours from a roadend or another hut (Remote RS site)
  • on a Day Walking Track (DV Site) unless the track continues on to a more distant BCC or BCA hut.
  • on a Day Tramping Track
    • “Day tramping tracks” are tracks that take a day or less to walk and that are to tramping track or route standard. On these tracks no overnight accommodation is required. Shelter may be required, but that is a different issue.
  • a low use hut (<50-100 bednights) that unnecessarily duplicates opportunities in the same major catchment in Backcountry Walk-In settings, or in the same or adjacent catchments in Remote settings.
    • Low use huts, where there are a number of huts providing similar recreation opportunities in the area, may be regarded as not necessary.