HIKING TO BREWSTER HUT AND BREWSTER GLACIER
- Sophia Wareham
- Mar 12
- 8 min read
River crossings, forest, bush, mountain ridges, a glacier and luminously turquoise waters. The bar’s been set potentially (definitely) unforgivingly high. This hike’s a knockout!
Kia ora, g'day, hey hey. Today's journal entry covers a group of girls hiking - or “tramping” if you’re a Kiwi or an Aussie - to Brewster Hut and Brewster Glacier on the West Coast of the South Island. This was my first multi-day hike, which was special enough in itself, but even more so because I got to share the experience with one of my good friends. Nawww! Before we begin, a little keep in mind (or skip to Where: When: What).
As the name suggests, I'm mad about sports, a fan of travelling and I’ve started playfully documenting these adventures as Sports Nut Soph. If there's anything in what I share that gives you ideas or tips on where to go when for what sport, that’s rad. Let's get into it…
Where: West Coast, South Island, Aotearoa / New Zealand
When: February / Summer
What: Hiking / Tramping
The hike to Brewster Hut and Brewster Glacier is jaw-dropping, boasting breath-taking views of Mount Aspiring National Park. If you want the nitty-gritty, AllTrails writes this one up as a 5.3-km out-and-back trail, with 966m elevation gain, and caution of avalanche, particularly from winter to spring. Some people will make it up to Brewster Hut and back down in a day, but the hut and track are iconic (and pretty hardcore), so we did an overnighter. For anyone who has this one on their radar and fancies staying in the alpine 12 bunk hut like we did, you’ll need to book in advance through DOC. Likewise, tenting outside is an option.
The hike starts at Fantail Falls carpark on the Haast Pass-Makarora Road SH6. Speaking from experience, if you’re heading over from Queenstown the drive’s about 2 hours, dotted with beautiful views of Lake Hāwea and one or two cafes that might be open, depending on how early you’re on the road. Parking at Fantails is free, but it gets busy.
From the car park, there’s a short gravelly path to walk along, leading to the Haast River, which you cross. The morning of our hike was a calm, sun-kissed summer’s day in the middle of a dry spell. Whilst the river was pretty shallow, we still had to take our shoes off as the water came up to our knees (nothing when you consider that it can be dangerous and impassable here, especially during or after heavy rain or snowmelt).
On that note, I’m going to be frank about temperatures; the water’s cold. And it only gets cooler because from hereon out, you’re heading up to the glacier. It’s probably common sense, but just for the sake of mentioning it, wearing shorts is likely a good shout when it comes to crossing fords on foot as you won’t want cold, wet trousers clinging to your legs on your hike or soaking through your back-pack, adding weight as well.
After crossing the river, it’s a steep, uphill ascend scrambling over tree roots and rocks for a couple of hours through sheltered beech forest. Markings wise, the route’s DOC signposted at the start, then peppered with orange triangle markers to help guide you the way. We reached this not long after starting the hike at 9:30am, so it felt fresh, but you quickly get a sweat on. My advice is start with layers, and take these off as you go. Bonus if you’ve got anything moisture-wicking, a cagoule too.
I think the track can be quite slippery when there’s been rainfall, but when we did it, it was dusty with nice, soft mushy areas underfoot because the ground was dry. Whatever the weather, sturdy, comfortable hiking boots with plenty of grip is a definite. Not to sound drastic, but rolling your feet a few times is likely because the track is a “Tramping Track”, rather than a solid man-made path. Some of us without poles, myself included, did our fair share of tree-hugging here too whilst clambering up, more so the next day coming back down.
A couple of hours later, forest starts to clear to bush and the views start to become very special. From this point on until the hut, the ascend is still very steep, and it gets increasingly windy and exposed. As a side note, although day 1 of this hike started off with blue skies and no wind, the afternoon brought with it thick clouds with a few gusts that by day 2, were knocking us about.
Around the 3 hour mark we caught a glimpse of red over a peak, promising to be the Brewster Hut -a very welcome sight! For anyone else who’ll do this hike, enjoy a break when you reach the Hut. Refuel, rehydrate, recharge and take in the surrounds, especially if you’re going to tramp all the way to the glacier. We had lunch on the deck looking at the waterfall, reapplied sunscreen, spotted a few keas flying about, changed, and left a few things that weren’t needed for the afternoon on our beds.
Post pit-stop, we made our way to the glacier. The terrain is unmarked, but keep an eye out along the way for the odd cairn (small piles of rocks marketing a track). You get an awesome sense of achievement from hiking to the glacier but I caveat this with a couple of things to have the best experience:
Good visibility, with little to no wind is fundamental. This section is really exposed and the kind of rock you scramble over can be chalky and crumbly in patches, so help keep yourself and others safe on this stretch by trying it in the best sort if weather. Plus, as always, check the weather before heading out, and for safety reasons let people know where you’re going and when. My go-to for forecasts is MetService, out of habit from working on the mountain last snow season.
Only hike if you’ve got the energy and are experienced. You’ll need to be alert and able to pull yourself up over areas. You might also need to look out for others. Not to scaremonger, but sadly accidents and fatalities have happened in this area.
Have the right equipment. Make sure you’re confident making your way over this section with what you’re wearing, and what you have on you. One of the girls had a great idea and packed a beacon, hired from MacPac, I believe.
Hike, or tramp, in a group. It adds to the enjoyment of it all, encourages support amongst each other (maybe a little light roasting too, at times) and creates the opportunity to bond and share some wonderful memories of an experience that not many people get to have. Plus, generally speaking, there’s safety in numbers. As a side note, I do my fair bit of aerial arts and climbing, so I’m no stranger to heights, but not being tied into anything snaking across this landscape definitely offered a different sensation. Admittedly, I was grateful for the girls’ stoke!
Roughly 1.5-2h after leaving the hut, we reached the glacier, and were TRANSFIXED by the views. Tempting as it was to duck out of a full plunge, we all dipped. Was it chilly? Hells yeah! It was body cramping f*cking freezing. But man, what a box to tick. We’ve got a funny video of us doing this, ending with a slight Hunger Games moment as we raced out the water to lay on the surrounding warm rocks. On that note, do your future self a favour before jumping in anywhere that’s low temp by getting a towel, beanie hat and layers ready to change into quickly. Having some kind of a waterproof bag to keep your wet things in is a good shout too.
Rather than say too much, I’ll let the photos and videos speak for themselves. This day was a stunner...
Chilly dip in the lake.
Somewhere around the 5pm mark, after exploring the glacier (and hearing it crack) we started back-tracking to Brewster Hut for food and a night’s kip. If you’re after culinary advice, take mine with a pinch of salt because I probably committed a cardinal sin in hiking by taking a Tupperware. Hear me out; I knew I was going to be hungry and wiped at the end of the day - anyone who knows me will be aware this is DANGEROUS territory. Rather than risk an episode of hangriness turning me into a being representative of one of the purple monsters from Despicable Me 2, I took a pre-cooked batch of spinach, egg pasta, pesto sauce pine nuts and mushrooms (something healthy, substantial and that wouldn’t spoil in changing temperatures).
Je ne regrette rien: tucking into the bulk of that prepped goodness after exercising for the best part of 10 hours, then conking out, was a vibe. It was also handy having a sealed, hole-free, leak-proof box to put rubbish in after too. The girls all took dehydrated meals which only needed water adding to them, and we all also packed a few snacks like protein bars. By the by, something to be mindful of re the hut is there’s an outside loo, a sink and some water, but no cooking facilities. Oddly enough though, there is signal.
Drinking wise, I packed 2L water. This was all gone by the time we’d gotten to the glacier. In fact, I actually ended up topping up my bottle there.
The journey back down the next morning just after sunrise took a little less time than it did to get up to the hut. For a quick recap, it takes about 3-3.5hours to get from Fantails to Brewster Hut, roughly 1.5 hours from the hut to the glacier, the same back, and around 2.5-3 hours from the hut to Fantails.
That’s a wrap on today's Sports Nut Soph blog entry, cheers heaps for stopping by. If you feel like getting social, or you're just plain curious to see a few behind-the-scenes of what I'm up to, follow me on insta at @sportsnutsoph.
Until next time, ciao, adios for now, Soph.
This post is unsponsored. Whilst writing, I cross-checked a few things from some trusted sources including: Department of Conservation (DOC) | AllTrails | MetService | Lake Wānaka Tourism | MacPac | Kathmandu. And NZ Bush Adventures | Kenver | Tracks Less Travelled | Backyard Travel Family.
PS Here's a little checklist of what I took. Feel free to adapt:
Backpack
Empty rubbish bags
Food for lunch and dinner.
Fork, plater, Tupperware, mug - whatever plastic or wooden crockery that takes your fancy.
Snacks (nuts, fruit, protein bars)
Water
Tramping shoes
Bed socks
Undies
Toothbrush and paste
Beanie
Cap
Sunnies
Sleeping bag (you can get cheap ones at department stores like K-Mart, but I’d highly recommend going to a proper outdoors shop and speaking to the staff there about when you’re adventuring and where. I‘m pretty sure I bought my sleeping bag from Kathmandu and it’s a -4°C spec).
Togs (for swimming).
T-Shirts (I got through 3 on day 1, but I sweat. A lot. The weather changes on a mountain too, that’s for sure).
Thermal top
Fleece
Cajoule or puffa jacket
Buff
Leggings or sports tights.
Shorts.
Hiking socks.
Factor 50 sunscreen.
Mini med kit: plasters, ibuprofen, paracetamol, anti bacterial gel, tissues, lip balm, insect repellent, aloe.
Phone, phone cable and battery pack (charged).
Torch, with batteries.
You might also want:
Hair ties and brush
Beacon
Hiking poles
Glacial equipment
Gloves and extra warm layers if you do this hike winter or early spring time.
Camera, if you’re a photography enthusiast or a pro. And the memory card and battery - try to avoid leaving this on charge at home.
Little extra from me to you - put any keys you have somewhere safe and easily accessible in your bag, so you don’t have to frantically sift through the entirety of your contents like the Tasmanian Devil in the hut or at the car park.
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