Streaming now, the latest episode in the Click to Play podcast series explores Aotearoa’s backcountry hut culture through two very different but connected lenses.

Filmmaker Liam Hall, director of the newly released documentary Hut Keepers, reflects on West Coast volunteer group Permolat and the can‑do community effort that has restored dozens of remote huts and helped spark a nationwide backcountry trust model.

Hall describes the rugged logistics of filming from Karamea to Haast and the quiet heroism of ordinary Kiwis who decided these huts were simply too important to lose.

Golden Bay writer and publisher Gerard Hindmarsh then turns the focus to Kahurangi National Park, a 517,000‑hectare landscape with more than 50 huts and a rich legacy of structures and campsites that together tell the story of New Zealand’s backcountry.

Hindmarsh explains how huts are part of our “Kiwi DNA” – offering shelter from the storm, a sense of heritage and a powerful outlet for adventure – and warns of the quiet losses that occur when historic huts are downgraded or removed.

Together, Hall and Hindmarsh paint a vivid picture of how community action, storytelling and a deep love of place are keeping these huts – and their histories – alive for future generations. Click to Play is a production of the Environmental Policy Team.

Listen now: The facts, fervour and folklore about backcountry huts..