Mt Leitch Bivvy
The place
Mt Leitch Bivvy in the Canterbury region, Hokitika/Otira area (Arthur's Pass National Park, West Coast, South Island, New Zealand), at 1084 m elevation on the western slope of the Southern Alps. Part of a continuous New Zealand/Arthur's Pass cluster (batches 240-374). 2-bunk DOC bivouac on the summit of Mt Leitch (surname of Leitch, a Scottish pioneer of the 1860s West Coast Gold Rush + Arthur's Pass NP, 1145 km², established 1929, NZ's 3rd national park, crossing the Southern Alps + Kea, Nestor notabilis, the world's only alpine parrot, 3000-4000 individuals, endemic and endangered + West Coast Gold Rush 1864-1867, 30,000 miners, Hokitika boomtown + Southern Alps, 500 km, NZ's highest mountain chain + Ngāi Tahu heritage (South Island iwi, 60,000 people, te reo Māori, pounamu/jade, ancestral West Coast monopoly + Waitangi Tribunal Kaupapa 2020 status restored + Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement 1998, $170M NZD, 40% of fisheries).
The setting
Canterbury, Hokitika/Otira, Arthur's Pass NP, West Coast, South Island NZ, 1084 m, west slope Southern Alps, continuous cluster batches 240-374, 2-bunk DOC bivouac Mt Leitch, Leitch Scottish pioneer 1860s West Coast Gold Rush + Arthur's Pass NP 1145 km² 1929 NZ's 3rd national park + Kea Nestor notabilis 3000-4000 endemic endangered + West Coast Gold Rush 1864-1867 30,000 Hokitika + Southern Alps 500 km, Ngāi Tahu South Island 60,000 pounamu/jade West Coast monopoly + Waitangi 2020 status + Settlement 1998 $170M 40% of fisheries.
