Frew Saddle Bivouac to Frew Hut
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 Frew Saddle Bivouac to Frew Hut
Near Hokitika in West Coast, Frew Saddle Bivouac to Frew Hut runs 6.3 km as a point-to-point.
Leg seven of the Lower Whitcombe round and the long one, 6.5 km off the saddle down to the Whitcombe valley floor, which DOC and Dre both call 4 to 5 hours. The distance is modest and the time is not, because most of this is creek travel rather than track. From the bivouac poles lead down to Frew Creek, and from there you are generally in the creek bed with some sections of track on the true left. The last and longest piece of track climbs over a high point before dropping back into the creek, which you cross to the true right. The track then leaves the creek for a bush spur down to Frew Hut, a 10 bunk hut on two platforms with a woodstove, sitting a short way above the Whitcombe River near the mouth of Frew Creek. Dogs need a DOC permit only, the hunting-dog kind, arranged through the Hokitika DOC office before you go. Treat Frew Creek as the deciding factor. A creek bed is the route here, not a shortcut off it, so rain turns this leg into a wait rather than a walk. From Frew Hut the round continues down the Whitcombe to Rapid Creek Hut, which is already on the site, and out to the road end from there.
Expect hard, near-level going, and takes about 1 hr 15 min 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.