Lodging · Arthur's Pass National Park
A serviced 12-bunk refuge above the Poulter River
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Arthur's Pass Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Arthur's Pass National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this place
Andrews Shelter Campsite and Casey Hut“You're coming up on Andrews Shelter Campsite, a simple overnight base on open river flats. There are twenty non-powered sites, taken first come, first served, and an enclosed shelter gives some cover from the weather.”
Plays as you drive up to Casey Hut in the Parkwolf Arthur's Pass Tour Guide.
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
This is a serviced 12-bunk hut on a terrace above the Poulter River. It is an overnight stop on the two-day Casey Saddle–Binser Saddle Route, and mountain bikers also reach it from Poulter River Track. Keep it on your plan if you’re making an overnight trip of the valley; it’s a long way from a roadside stop.
The walk from Andrews Shelter takes 6–8 hours, and the route is graded advanced. The track starts at Andrews Shelter on Mt White Road, off SH 73 east of Arthur’s Pass village. Book a bunk ahead; no walk-in spaces are held. The route has unbridged streams and avalanche terrain, most common from May to November. Check conditions before you go and be ready to judge river and weather changes.
The hut has 12 bunks. Mapped facilities include mattresses, a fireplace, a pit toilet and an untreated water source, so bring a way to treat water and carry your food. There’s no meal service listed.
The current hut opened in 2020 after the original burned in 2015. It sits about 800 metres east of the old site, and the final approach was rerouted to follow the Poulter River. Older maps may still show the former hut site or route line.
The approach crosses open tussock flats at Hallelujah Flat and Casey Saddle, with streams and mountain beech along the way; bog pine and Hebe odora grow at the saddle. The Poulter Valley’s stepped river terraces formed as streams cut into glacial outwash after the Pleistocene glaciers withdrew. The valley also has a pastoral history: E.C. Minchin began runholding there in 1857, and Major Thomas Woolaston White took over in 1860.
Wildlife
982 sightingsKeaMost seen around noonSighting map
39 sightingsNew Zealand FalconMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
190 sightingsBlue DuckMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
20 sightingsKākāMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
15 sightingsWekaMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
15 sightingsParadise ShelduckMost seen around 6 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Arthur's Pass. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ChallengingRanger Bivvy Track16.9 km · 10 hr · At the trailheadA steep ridge climb to a tiny bivvy above the Poulter.
EasyLake Minchin Track6.9 km · 2.5 hr · 7.2 km awayBeech forest opens onto a remote lake once served by a hut.
Lodging · 4.9 km awayRanger BivvyA remote two-bunk hut for experienced Poulter Range hikers.
Lodging · 5.1 km awayTrust/Poulter HutA well-preserved six-bunk hut with an old Forest Service design.
Lodging · 7.2 km awayPoulter HutA 10-bunk hut on the expert, multi-day Minchin Pass Route.
Lodging · 7.8 km awayEast Hawdon BivvyA free two-bunk bivvy for a long, off-track Hawdon Valley trip.
Lodging · 7.9 km awayBull Creek HutFree, first-come shelter for self-reliant backcountry walkers.Parkwolf’s Arthur's Pass ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
