Sign of the Packhorse Hut

The grand old Packhorse Hut sits at 450 metres on an exposed saddle below Mt Bradley, on Banks Peninsula. We tramped up to the hut on a mild winter's day, but a chilly wind was blowing on the saddle.

Built of local stone in 1916, it started life as a tea house, part of a dream to have a set of rest stops along a summit route between Christchurch and Akaroa.

Now a restored nine-bunk facility for overnight stays, its interior can be seen here, set up as a tea house in about 1920.