Shelter Rock Hut

Shelter Rock Hut is a serviced 22-bunk backcountry hut on the east bank of the Rees River, above the bush edge in Rees Valley. It suits an overnight stop on a multi-day tramp, not a quick detour: from Muddy Creek car park, allow 19 km and 6–8 hours one way on an advanced track. Bookings are required from 15 November through 30 April. Late November to April is the usual walking season, but check current conditions before setting out.

There are 22 bunks, mattresses, heating and flush toilets. Tap water is untreated, so boil it. There’s no meal service; bring food and your own stove and gas. You can camp outside on a first-come basis, and campers can use the hut’s water and toilets.

From the park boundary, it’s about 7 km and 2–3 hours to the hut. The marked route crosses the Rees on a swingbridge lower down, passes through beech forest and past Clarke Slip, then climbs above the bush into open avalanche-path gullies. A final bridge reaches the hut on the river’s east bank. Late snow can keep these gullies hazardous into spring and early summer. This is remote, advanced tramping, so build it into a multi-day trip.

Eighteen takahē were released into Rees Valley in February 2025, and they may turn up along the walk or around the hut. They can disperse, so a sighting is a bonus rather than a promise. The large birds’ deep blue and green colouring and red legs make them hard to mistake once you spot one.

Ngāi Tahu and their ancestors used routes across the Southern Alps to gather food and trade pounamu. The Dart River route linked Lake Whakatipu with Martins Bay, where one of South Westland’s largest Ngāi Tahu settlements stood.

In 1864, Patrick Caples led a mining party over Rees Saddle after reports of gold in the Dart Valley. They found little and retreated after days of snow. A gold dredge later worked on the Dart River from 1899 to 1902.

The Rees and Dart valleys were shaped by glaciers and framed by green and grey schist mountains. The Dart Glacier once belonged to a system that extended 135 km to Kingston; moraine walls near Dart Hut mark its retreat.