Child friendly rating: 3 stars

Distance: 12km

Signposted time: 3-5 hours

Bookings Required? Yes

Suitable in Winter? Generally

Camping Available? Yes - paid bookable lawn

4wd required? Ideally yes

Parking:

 Park at the Greenstone Caples carpark at the end of Greenstone Station Road past Kinloch. There are about 4 fords to cross on the way to the carpark, and the road past the farmland on the way can flood too.

While we did see a 2WD car in the carpark, we turned around from driving our 2WD to the carpark as the road has very sharp steep drops into the fords which are not ideal for low-clearance cars.

We ended up paying the Kinloch Lodge to drop us off at the carpark, and then managed to hitch a ride on the way back.

The Track:

The track is wide enough to walk holding a child's hand basically the whole way. It is wide and well-graded, but it is a decently long distance.

The track starts off on the same track as the trip into Mid-Caples, but then you cross the bridge and head up the Greenstone Valley instead.

There is a short grassy flat section to cross, and then you're back in the sheltered bushline.

The track is relatively flat, but there is a gentle incline all the way to the hut - around 200m in vertical elevation.

We walked this while I was quite sick at 6 weeks pregnant and also carrying a 2.5 year old. The 2.5 year old walked most of the way as I was quite ill by day 4 as we did the whole loop. It took us just over 6 hours including all breaks. There was a grandfather with his 5 year old grandson at the hut at the same time and it took them just over 5 hours to walk the track with the 5 year old walking the whole way with no pack on.

Hut:

 The hut is modern with flushing toilets! It is a great hut experience for kids, and now that it's on the booking system you can also know you'll have a bed.

There is plenty of space to play near the hut, and during the roar there were so many deer near the hut.

Recommendations:

This would be a great 2nd hut to visit with older kids 7/8+ who don't mind the distance and slight uphill, or for younger kids who've already done at least a couple of trips and would be capable of covering the distance (with parents carrying them for part for preschoolers).

The nearby Mid Caples Hut is a slightly shorter distance on a very similar track to a similar hut, and I'd recommend that one first. Slip flat is another option along the same track but it is unmarked to get to, plus a tiny historic hut so might not be as great an experience. Older kids 10+ could detour via this hut to check it out if you've got a GPS to help navigate.

The track is definitely child-friendly, but do be aware of the huge distance.