Hut2Hut Archive
Includes articles/posts transferred from Hut2Hut.info about international topics, as well as some others that are not necessarily up to date or very substantive. These serve as an archive for the hut2hut.info website, which will eventually be decommissioned, but which has formed the foundation for the US Hut Alliance site and will be discontinued.
Note: Limit 20 posts per page, so click below to see more.
New Zealand Huts : Building blocks of the national hut system
Review of key policy and operational principles and documents that serve as the building blocks of the world’s largest hut system. Links to many extremely useful documents providing details on how the national hut system is managed.
Geoff Spearpoint: New Zealand Hut Hero
Profile of one of the leading hut folks in NZ, and a leading photographer, author, activist and tramper.
Seven questions about the future of NZ huts
As contemporary society evolves, what is the future of the world’s largest hut system? Outlines a few of the questions that most interest Ime and that I would like to discuss further with Kiwi colleagues.
New Zealand Hut Heroes: Rob Brown
Profile of Rob Brown, a gifted photographer and committed activist. He pursues his passions — for writing, art, activism, and partnerships in support of the great outdoors — with vigor on a national scale. These accomplishments — combined with his inherent enjoyment of advocacy, policy and process — make him a real player in the world of New Zealand huts and wilderness.
New Zealand Hut Wardens – roles and responsibilities
Roles and responsibilites of the folks who look after huts and trampers. Based in part on our week of volunteering as hut wardens on Nelson Lakes track.
Typology of the Baches of Taylors Mistake, NZ
Analysis of the 72 baches of Taylors Mistake, Boulder Bay, Hobsons Bay and the cliffs and caves in between demonstrates a range of construction strategies. by Janet Abbott, art historian and bach historian, Christchurch, NZ
Pilgrims Progress: New Zealand Hut Peregrinations
Newsy update on our three months tramping around NZ huts and tracks.
The Kiwi Bach – New Zealand vernacular architecture
Huts, cabins and shacks are most commonly called baches in New Zealand. Pronounced ‘batch’ as in bachelor, these tiny holiday houses, often by the sea, are held close to the hearts of many Kiwis. Photos and text by Janet Abbott, art historian and bach historian, Christchurch, NZ
New Zealand Tramping Culture: questions for further study
Questions for further study about tramping culture in N.Z. and its network of Tramping Clubs.
New Zealand Great Walks: user perceptions
There are currently 33 Great Walks Huts and 95 Serviced Huts in the DoC system. This combined total of 128 huts constitutes 13.3% of total DoC huts (963). The user perceptions summarized below are from these two hut categories. While a small percentage of the whole system, these two categories attract the most intensive use and controversy.
This summary of user perceptions is derived from two sources: 1. from discussions that I gathered in three months of interviews and travels in NZ, and 2. from the results of an academic survey reported in the article “Tramper Perspectives on New Zealand’s Great Walks in a time of transition” (in New Zealand Geographer, 2017, p. 1-15, by Joe Fagan and Robin Kearns). [
Architect Ron Pynenburg: New Zealand Hut Hero
Profile of architect Ron Pynenburg who has studied the history of NZ huts and has designed more huts than any other architect in NZ, and probably in the world.
Shelter from the Storm: book review part two
Part two of a review of this seminal work on New Zealand huts.
New Zealand Huts – How Many and What Kinds?
An attempt by an outsider to convey to other outsiders a quick visual, numeric and organizational overview of the wild and wonderful range of New Zealand huts. The count, or “Tally”, attempts to enumerate “huts” (broadly construed) in categories corresponding to how they are discussed by hut folks in NZ. The description, or “Taxonomy”, briefly defines these same categories and illustrates them with some examples that give a sense of the variety of hut designs.
Shelter from the Storm: The Story of New Zealand’s Backcountry Huts: book review part 1
Review of the best book ever written about huts and about their connection to culture. A tour de force that changed the way Kiwis understood their hut culture. Must-read for folks interested in NZ huts.
Private Huts in New Zealand: questions and reflections
Observations on private huts tracks in NZ, with particular focus on the Banks Peninsula Track and the Tuatapere Hump Ridge Track (which has since become one of the Great Walks). American backcountry entrepreneurs might be able to learn something from these New Zealand small businesses.
New Zealand Hut Heroes: Robbie Burton
Profile of Robbie Burton, leader of Potton and Burton, who has played a key role in publishing Shelter from the Storm and other books about huts and tramping in NZ.