Sad news: Casey Hut in Arthurs Pass NP burnt to ground

Casey Hut burns down...

 A group from the Christchurch Tramping Club discovered the smouldering embers of Casey Hut on Saturday morning. I visited the hut back in 2012 while doing the Andrews-Casey-Binser circuit, it was a lovely old Lockwood style wood building.

Casey Hut in 2012 when I visited

A very similar thing happened to the old Hawdon Hut back in 2010 and it took 2 years for a replacement to be built. Here's hoping it will be replaced by DOC as it is vital stop over for anyone tramping the Upper Poulter Valley, Casey-Binser Circuit and Lake Minchin.

Below are a couple of shots from the Tramping New Zealand website of the hut interior in 2014.

Casey Hut: Interior, dining area

Casey Hut: interior one of the bunkrooms

Here is a photo of the empty hut site from the Radio NZ website:

2017 Update: DOC Canterbury did a assessment and decided that Casey Hut will NOT be replaced. This is likely to happen more often now that DOC are severely strapped for cash.

Plans are afoot to move one of the the huts from the Upper Poulter Valley to near the old hut site. It looks like Trust Poulter (8 bunks) will be shifted sometime in 2017-2018 with a refurbishment and possible enlargement. This work is being carried out by a volunteer group with some assistance from DOC Canterbury.

Trust Poulter Hut in the Upper Poulter Valley, Arthur's Pass NP

Update 2018: A new and intriguing message has appeared on the DOC web site for Arthurs Pass. There is now a message saying that Casey Hut is to be replaced in Mid 2018 after over 4 years of no hut on the site. I can find no other information so here's hoping it means a new or refurbished hut is going to be moved to this location soon...