Hermitage Hut
The place
Hermitage Hut in the Canterbury region, Mount Cook Village/Twizel area (Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park, South Island, New Zealand), at 800 m elevation, on the Aoraki side. Continuous New Zealand Aoraki cluster (batches 240-375). Historic DOC-managed hut with Hermitage heritage dating to 1884, when Frank Huddleston, an alpine pioneer, built the first hotel at Aoraki Mount Cook, later rebuilt after fires in 1914 and 1934; the iconic Hermitage Hotel remains the base camp for NZ mountaineering. Aoraki/Mount Cook, at 3724 m, is NZ's highest peak, named by Ngāi Tahu in 1998. Aoraki/Mount Cook NP covers 707 km², established in 1953, and is UNESCO-listed (1990) together with Fiordland/Westland as Te Wāhipounamu. Sir Edmund Hillary (1919-2008), who summited Everest on 29 May 1953, trained at Aoraki, now iconic to NZ. It is also part of the heritage of Ngāi Tahu (the South Island Māori iwi, 60,000 members, Māori language; Aoraki was named in 1998, preceded by Te Urewera in 2014; the Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement of 1998 was worth NZD 170 million, including 40% of fisheries).
The setting
Canterbury Mount Cook Village/Twizel Aoraki NP South Island NZ 800 m Aoraki side, continuous cluster batches 240-375, DOC hut Hermitage 1884 Frank Huddleston alpine pioneer 1st hotel at Aoraki + rebuilt 1914/1934 + Hermitage Hotel base camp for NZ mountaineering + Aoraki 3724 m named by Ngāi Tahu 1998 + Aoraki NP 707 km² 1953 UNESCO 1990 Fiordland/Westland Te Wāhipounamu + Sir Edmund Hillary 1919-2008 Everest 29 May 1953 trained at Aoraki, Ngāi Tahu South Island 60,000 Aoraki 1998 Te Urewera 2014 + Settlement 1998 NZD 170 M 40%.
