Waikiti Hut
(Waikiti Hut: Photo
Glenn Johnston 2009: Double click to get larger image)
Maintenance Status
Waikiti Hut is receiving some maintenance by DOC, probably minimal currently.
It was painted in 2005 and the track to it was cut in 2009.
Location
Ahaura catchment. Ref:NZTM2000 E1504626/ N5281361. Topo50 Map BU21. Altitude 445m.
Waikiti Hut is located on a flat on the TR of the mid Waikiti River, a major tributary of the Ahaura River.
Prior to the trackwork in 2009 the Hut was receiving extremely
low numbers of walk-in visitors and had largely become the preserve of fly-in hunters.
Access
The Most direct route to Waikiti Hut is up the Waikiti valley from the road bridge.
The track starts on the TR and crosses to the TL via swingbridge after 1.5–2 hours. Fording back
to the TR is required below the Hut, and is easy at normal river flows.
Current walking times up to the hut are 4-5 hours from the roadend.
North of the Hut on the overgrowing flats there is room for helicopters to land. There was once an airstrip here.
Type
Waikiti Hut is an NZFS 1960’s style flat and corrugated iron six-bunker with an open fireplace.
Condition
The Hut was painted inside and out in 2005 and at last report was superficially OK.
Routes
There is an interesting route to Waikiti Hut up Crane Creek to
Rochfort Basin and over a saddle to Logjam Creek.
An overgrown but followable track starts as a 4x4 road on the TL of Crane Creek. The route as described in
Sven Brabyn’s guidebook is helpful when coming this way. The track down to Logjam Creek is in surprisingly
good condition and Logjam Creek good walking below where the track emerges. At normal flows the
Waikiti River is easy to ford near the confluence with Logjam Creek. Allow a full day to get in by this route.
Note that a Hut marked on older maps in Rochfort Basin is no longer there.
There is a route to Waikiti Hut from the Trent River via an unnamed saddle ESE of the Hut.
This is untracked but reasonable going and is also described in Brabyn’s guidebook.
The junction of the creek running to the saddle is wrongly shown on maps as being
above Waikiti Hut. It actually turns North on hitting the flat and meets the Waikiti below the Hut.
It is mainly creek travel with some detours on the Waikiti side and a spur route down on the Trent side.
It would be a comfortable day's walk to reach Waikiti Hut from either Tutaekuri or Mid Trent Hut by this route.
A saddle in the head of the Waikiti looks to provide good access over to Top Trent Hut,
but we have no good information as to what travel is like in the upper Waikiti valley.
On the Trent side access looks best down the broad spur on the TL of the creek that drains the saddle.
The creek itself has three sizeable waterfalls in it, so don't go up or down that way.
Once in the Trent ford the River (OK at normal flows)
and pick up the track on the TR. It's about 15 minutes from opposite the creek down to the Hut.
Repairs
None required at last report.
Provisions on Site
Unknown.
