Bluff Hut to Frew Saddle Bivouac
Hokitika · West Coast · Point to Point
This walk was suggested by the community and checked against the authority quoted above before it was published. The route line comes from official track data. DOC’s own wording: “Dogs with a DOC permit only. Contact closest DOC office to get a permit. Other pets on conservation land rules. (DOC, Toaroha, Hokitika, Lower Whitcombe Track page; the Kokatahi-Toaroha hunting area page carries the same rule and the permits come from the Hokitika DOC office.)”. Evidence: the rule-setter’s own published wording. How we check dog rules.
Good to know
A DOC dog permit is required before any dog walks here. DOC codes this land for the hunting-dog permit, so it is not a casual dog walk. Ask the DOC office before planning to bring a dog.
About Bluff Hut to Frew Saddle Bivouac
Bluff Hut to Frew Saddle Bivouac is a point-to-point of 5.3 km, near Hokitika in West Coast.
Leg six of the Lower Whitcombe round, 5.4 km over the top of Frew Saddle, and DOC gives it 2 to 3 hours, which is exactly the time Dre put on it. This is the crossing between two river systems, so it is the leg that most depends on the weather. From Bluff Hut the track heads upstream through scrub and then tussock, and poles mark a route over a large tussock knob before it drops down to follow the Hokitika River. From there it is poles and riverbed until you are more or less directly below Frew Saddle, where a poled line leaves the river for a short but steep climb to the top. The bivouac is not on the saddle itself. It sits about 100 metres down the far side, on the Whitcombe River side, and our line carries on over the saddle to it. Frew Saddle Bivouac is usually used as a shelter but it will sleep two. Dogs need a DOC permit only, the hunting-dog kind, arranged through the Hokitika DOC office before you go. DOC's warning for this leg is about the climb: take care on the way up to the saddle if the tussock is wet or snow-covered. Add the usual West Coast river rule to that, because the riverbed section below the saddle is no place to be when the Hokitika is up.
Expect hard going, with around 395 m of climb, and takes about 1 hr 42 to walk.
A DOC dog permit is required before any dog walks here. Arrange it with the managing DOC office ahead of your trip. This walk is on the map because Dre & Hazel suggested it, and we checked it against the source above.