Copland Track : Welcome Flat Hut

The Copland Track was established to cross The Southern Alps from Mt Cook over to the West Coat, and is popular within the mountaineering world. During the early 1900s the workers came across the natural hot pools while working on the track. Which made the track very popular with tourists.

I mean who doesn't love bathing in a hot pool right at the foot of a mountain range.

Track Time - 11 hours round trip Distance to Welcome Flat Hut - 36km Elevation Gain - Around 700m Difficulty - Moderate to hard

We drove to the West Coast late Friday night and pulled into a clearing that took us down to the river just before the turn of to the trailhead. Throughout the night the sky rumbled and the car lit up with each flash of lightening. Which made for a pretty awesome sleep.

The Track When dawn broke the sky was still moody and the air wet, after driving a couple of minutes to the carpark we got out and headed towards our first and only river crossing on the track. The water of Rough Creek ran fast but not too deep considering the rain fall the night before. We paced the river for 5 minutes discussing our best route, but neither of us could decide so we just took our own lines across. Undiscouraged by our wet feet, we headed up into the trees, where we walked for awhile before descending some pretty steep staircases.

After 2 hours we came out at a river flowing through the valley, it was gorgeous, we stopped to take lots of pictures and admire the big rock that stood confidently in the fast flowing river. 'Dog Rock' named and loved by Jai, this was his highlight of the trip.

The track along side the river does get technical with a lot of slippery rock hopping, which keeps things fun and interesting. We headed back into the forest and stopped for lunch under the McPhee Creek swing bridge.

After indulging in our cheese sandwiches and admiring the greenery surrounding us, we kept on going past Architect Hut where some others day stopped for lunch out of the trickly rain. At this point I had given myself false sense of hope that we were close, we ascended up and through parts of the track which had 'active landslide' signs. My legs started to hurt and our pace had slowed and even though we were only 5 and a half hours into a 7 hour hike, I was starting to question if there was even going to be a hut at the end waiting for us.

Eventually we came to the final and longest swing bridge. the wind was tearing through the valley and a rush of adrenaline hit me as I crossed the bridge. With absolutely phenomenal views on both sides it gave me a new lease of life and after 20 more minutes, we had made it to the hut.

Welcome Flat Hut The hut was pretty luxury for us, the kitchen area is very spacious, Rather than bunks, the beds are separated between four different rooms AND there are FLUSHING toilets. The Warden greeted us and said there would be a brief around 6pm, You do have to book this hut online prior as it is very popular. She explained that the water from the taps were drinkable so that was an extra bonus and that the hut was full for the night, We went at the start of Spring so I imagine it's booked up most days in summer. Although there are some campsites out the back of the hut too just up the bank from the river.

The Hot Pools We made the most of these and went in a total of 3 times. We were the first people to arrive at the hut that day so we jumped straight in after raiding our bags for our togs, the sandflies were living hell but if you move into the first pool that is a little lower they tend to stay clear of that area. Or save your dip for night time after the sun has set.

The next morning, we woke at 6am and felt pretty well rested so we headed out to the pools for the last time. It was very peaceful, as we listened to the birds wake up and serenade us with their morning vocals. We then headed in to cook up some pancakes and chat to our bunkies before heading off around 9 am. The sky was blue and it was hotttt! We stopped of by the river for lunch this time, where we hung out for awhile climbing rocks and skimming stones. We had already made good time so we weren't in any rush.

Don't forget about those steep steps we had to go down on the way in. BRUTAL

We made it back down in 5 hours even with our long lunch, the river seemed slightly easier than yesterday to cross. We threw our packs on the ground and opened up the car only to be ambushed by sandflies, even worse than at the hut. We tried to change as quickly as possible but dozens had already made their way into the car. The first 20 minutes of our drive home was spend batting any we seen or felt and praying they would leave through the windows if we drove fast enough.

This trip was pretty magical. I recommend and wish we could have stayed 2 nights as there is plenty to explore and you can walk further up the track.