from ice to water. from a hut to a home.

the new zealand backcountry is dotted with a remarkable hut system, recently & wonderfully captured at the end of the last year with the release of the book, Shelter from the Storm: The Story of New Zealand's Backcountry Huts.

it's a beautiful thing to end a long day of arduous hiking and arrive at a splendid hut, big and small, a night when a hut really feels like a home.  the above hut is the ball shelter/hut.   it's located in mt. cook/ aoraki national park and is on a lovely alpine meadow high above the tasman glacier, the longest in new zealand, 20 kilometres or so. yet due to the annual ice loss it is estimated that within 20 years time the glacier will entirely disappear and a permanent lake will form in the valley (the lake that is present today can be seen in the third photograph).

the journey up to the ball shelter was more grueling than expected, actually maybe not grueling, just long, along a 4x4 old raggedy track for about 7 kilometres and then anoth 4 kilomtres or so.  all in the same day we descended from the mueller hut.

all the drinking water at this hut was rainwater and the club, well damn skippy, one of the finest views in the world!

love and health to all...