Roaring Billy hut

An NZFS 1960's style 6 bunker on the TL of the Roaring Billy. The hut is about 6km from the Haast River on the North side opposite the highway. The Roaring Billy Falls where the river cascades down to the Haast is a popular tourist vista. Very few people walk in to the hut.

There is an overgrown track up the TL of the Roaring Billy that starts with climbing the bluff beside the falls then sidles up river to the hut. We took 4.25hrs picking our way up to the hut clearing moss off permolat & tying the odd pink tape in strategic places as we went. It wasn't a surprise to discover that we were the first walk in visitors for nearly three years. (Fellow "Permolat" members Quentin D & Emma R had been the last walk in visitors) Walking out took under four hours which is the DOC guideline time but we were travelling light. Most parties would struggle to walk in or out in under 4hrs because of the heavily overgrown state of the track. It's seriously overdue for some work!

Roaring Billy hut Jan 2011

by glennj

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Access

There is a cableway across the Haast River 1km E of the Eighteen Mile Bluff that puts you 15 mins upstream of the track at the Roaring Billy bluff. The cableway is locked though. I didn't investigate if public can use the cableway. We crossed the river in canoes using a drivable track to access the river just below the cableway. Fording would not have been possible. Commercial jet boat operators will drop off & pick up parties along the banks of the Haast river. NB. The track is overgrown!