Located in the Mount Aspiring National Park, Liverpool Hut is a must do for anyone trying to see NZ's best huts that are outside the overly priced and marketed "Great Walks". This is a 10 bunk serviced hut that was built in 2009. It is very new and cost $15 per night. The hut sits right below the glaciated peaks of Mount Barff and Mount Liverpool, with incredible views of Mount Aspiring, Rob Roy peak, and the Matukituki River valley. This hut also boast the most scenic shitter in all of NZ.
The 16 km hike to the hut is incredibly cruisy, as it follows along a river valley below stunning mountains and cascading waterfalls. Then, you cross the Liverpool swing bridge and find yourself at an hour to two hour arduous climb straight up to the hut. This section is more of a root ladder and rock scramble than a track, but it's 100% worth the effort to get there.
The hut is becoming more and more busy and we've heard that it will soon switch to a booking system. Until then, there are two options to attack this hut to ensure you get a bed at the hut. Option one is staying overnight at Mount Aspiring Hut, 9km into the hike. This is NZ oldest huts and it's quite expensive at $30pp/pn or you can use the campsite for more reasonable price $5pp/pn. If you do split the hike in half, wake up at sunrise and start the hike to beat all the people coming from the car park.
The second option is to sleep in the Raspberry Creek car park and get up at the butt crack of dawn. The track is well marked and along an unsealed road for the first 8km. It's no problem to hike pre dawn in the dark. Starting this track early, also lets you witness the gorgeous alpine glow light up the glaciers a pink/orange hue from the sunrise. We had done this option but, looking back at it, we would recommend camping at Aspiring Hut to break up the hike, enjoy the amazing scenery in the area, and be first to the top. The hike to Aspiring Hut is very easy and is even recommended for kids.
There are two other huts ran by New Zealand Alpine Club in this area, The French Ridge Hut and Dart Hut. Both huts look incredible, but do cost a bit more. This area and also a 2/3hr walk to Rob Roy Glacier that starts about 5 minutes from the Raspberry Creek Car park.
Before you leave, purchase a $15 serviced hut pass from any DOC office, as the warden at Aspiring Hut will be waiting to collect your tickets. Find out more about Aspiring Hut and the other NZAC huts in this area on their website.
