Message from Sonia Barrish

Child friendly rating: 3 stars

Distance: 8km

Signposted time: 3-4 hours

Bookings Required? No

Suitable in Winter? Generally

Camping Available? Yes - limited flat space

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 on the main track, and then you leave that track for the last 300m or so to the hut.

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 towards Greenstone Hut 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 till you leave the main track - around 100m in vertical elevation.

The track is not marked where you leave the main track - I suppose they don't want to confuse people as the main track is basically Great Walk level, and they want to keep this hut on the down-low for those in the know.

There is a grassy clearing section where you leave the main track, and honestly the best way to get to this hut is with a GPS. Either a handheld GPS, or you can use the NZ South Island Topo app, and the GPS functionality on this to get to the hut. You follow the grassy clearing to the hut leaving the track earlier than the closest point to the hut.

You can also get to the track from the nearby bridge, but it is more of a bush bash and climb getting to the hut this way.

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 a small historic 3-bunk hut. As an adult you have to almost crawl into the hut as the height of the hut is smaller than an adult - the door was about the height of our 2.5 year old.

The bunks are individual - two on either side of the hut and a 3rd one cross the top. At a squeeze you could fit an extra sleeping mat on the floor between the two bottom bunks.

Recommendations:

This hut being historic, and on the same track as other new modern huts with flushing toilets means that this may not be the best choice with kids. The benefit is that it is closer to the roadend than Greenstone Hut by around 4km. But the fact that it can be hard to find without a GPS is a disadvantage.

I'd recommend it for kids who love historic huts who are heading out with experienced parents. I wouldn't recommend it for first time hut users at all.

The hut can also be full of hunters during the roar (April-ish).