Manson-Nicholls Memorial Hut | Lewis Pass National Reserve
The Manson-Nicholls Memorial Hut/Kōhanga Atawhai was rebuilt in 2020 and now requires booking due to its popularity.
The previous hut was built in 1976 by the Christchurch Tramping Club and Lake Daniells Fishing Club as a memorial to 3 trampers who died when a rockfall destroyed a previous Lake Daniells Fishing Club hut that was located on the other side of the lake.
It’s an easy flat walk-in, on a well-constructed track. There is a picturesque lake right out the front. Intensive trapping over many years has resulted in a profusion of birdlife, including kākā, and kākāriki.
Plenty of decent camping spots and proximity to the highway SH7 make this a pleasant spot for families and inquisitive tourists on a day trip.
By the way, the New Zealand Geographic Board/Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa changed Daniells to the singular Daniell in 2007.
category . . . serviced hut
booking . . . bookings required all year, visit the DOC booking site.
If you do not book, ie, online or at a DOC office, and before you arrive at Angelus, you get hit with a substantial penalty payment from the hut warden who checks the bookings nightly.
hut fee . . . bunks: $25 adult, $12.50 youth.
camping fee . . . 1 hut ticket to camp, $10 adult, $5 youth
elevation . . . 570 m
bunks . . . 20 mattresses in total, on two sleeping platforms in two bunkrooms
built . . . June 2020
heating . . . wood burner
water . . . tap above inside sink from three large rainwater tanks
toilet . . . 2 x composting toilet, foot cranked!
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