While the “Great Walks” are aptly named, they are also VERY popular. We were online, at 0800 NZ time the proper day, typed quickly, and got the dates we wanted for Milford Sound and in Abel Tasman NP. We met other people who were also on at the appointed time but didn’t type fast enough and got their second or third choice of route or date. Admittedly, we went over Christmas which has to be one of their busiest times.
On those Great Walks, the huts allow you to know that you have a roof over your head, a sleeping pad under you and (check, but for many of them) pots, pans, stoves and fuel. That not only reduces your pack weight, but also the amount of gear you have to schlep overseas.
Some other, less popular trails also offer huts, but without wardens on staff and are primitive and smaller (many we were at slept 40 or more, had wood stoves, drying rooms for wet clothes, showers, etc).
And, yes, you do meet interesting people from all over the world. Several of the Great Walks have a preferred or required direction, so you see the same people for several nights in a row. Mostly, we hiked by ourselves, but one could easily agree to hike for awhile with someone else since most people are heading to the same hut for the next night.
I wish more countries offered a similar hut system that NZ and Europe have in place. I wish we did here in Alaska. There are some fabulous routes that would be doable by a lot of people if you were assured a roof over your head 6 – 10 miles away. As it is, we have some appropriately spaced Forest Service cabins that can be reserved by a single group (of up to 8) but communal option until you get to some hostels in a few trailhead towns. Of course you can bring a tent, stove, etc and be fully independent and we do that as a family now, but when the kids were in grade school, we worked hard to keep the backpacking fun and Alaskan cabins, NZ and Italian Alps huts were part of that.
