Casey Saddle – Binser Saddle Route

This two-day loop is about 39 km (24.3 miles), including the roughly 30-minute walk along Mount White Road between its track ends. Allow 7–8 hours from Andrews Shelter to Casey Hut, then another 8–9 hours to return through the Poulter valley and over Binser Saddle. Expect about 15–17 hours of walking in all. It is a serious backcountry trip for fit trampers who can navigate lightly marked sections and cross unbridged rivers.

The Andrews Track starts just upstream of the shelter bridge and climbs steeply through scrub into mountain beech forest. Frequent side creeks lead to Hallelujah Flat, where the route opens into tussock and low shrubs across Casey Saddle. From the saddle it drops toward Surprise Stream, then climbs back into forest before reaching Casey Hut on a terrace above the Poulter River. The current hut opened in 2020 at a new site; older route descriptions may take you to the former hut location.

From the hut, follow the old vehicle track south through open tussock, matagouri and mānuka, with beech forest on the surrounding ranges. The wide river valley gives long views toward Mt Morrison and Peveril Peak. A severe storm in 1981 flattened large stretches of the forest on the Poulter Range, and the damaged canopy is still part of the view. Near Cleland Stream, a conspicuous slip records the 1929 earthquake that split Falling Mountain. Poplars beside the track mark the old Minchin homestead site. The tread can fade across open flats and gravel creek beds, so pay attention to route markers.

At Pete Stream, watch for the turn onto the track climbing the terraces on the true right; it is easy to miss. The climb is steep and gains about 600 m from the valley floor, first through low mānuka and then mountain beech. Windthrow can obscure parts of the route near the saddle. After crossing it, descend through storm-damaged forest to the Waimakariri flats, then walk the Mount White Road link back to Andrews Shelter.