You can’t ask for a better overnight hike than what we got climbing up to Sefton Bivvy. The Biv is located just a stones throw away from the popular Mueller Hut in the Hooker Valley in Mount Cook National Park but few people know about it. The route is unmarked and a bit sketchy in places, but once you get up to that perfect orange roof nestled under the glaciers it all fades away. We headed up late in the afternoon to avoid the stinging New Zealand midday sun. It took us 3 hours to climb up and our first views of the hut faded in and out with the dense clouds sweeping past. As night fell we were still surrounded by clouds and decided to dream the views we couldn’t see. At 1am our sleep broke to see stars covering the little window above our head. As we ran out with headlamps we could see the clouds had dropped low into the valley revealing the mountains and glaciers surrounding us. We photographed the stars until the sun came up and continued to shoot through the early light. If your visiting New Zealand this is a hut not to be missed. You’ll most likely have the little wooden floor to yourself, just don’t forget a matt!
