Child friendly rating: 5 stars

Distance: 4.2km

Signposted Time: 2 hours

Suitable for winter? Yes

Bookings Required? Yes

Camping: Allowed

Parking: Park in Kaituna Valley. You can also park at Gebbies Pass, however the track is more difficult and exposed coming from this side. There are sections with drop-offs, and the track is narrower. Car parking is also not as safe here. I wouldn't recommend coming from this side with small children, unless you are carrying them. Instead I'd recommend coming via Kaituna Valley as described below.

Another option is coming from Orton Bradley Park via Mt Herbert. This is the way I'd recommend if you're planning on visiting with teens or other more capable kids.

The track:

This is an easy to visit hut for kids, however the track from Kaituna Valley can be quite boring for them. The first section follows the forest, and then you start heading up. It is 4wd track quality the whole way, but some sections are quite steep.

There is one section of native forest near the end, but otherwise you are generally on farmland.

Climbing up, there are good views to be had, but you'll likely appreciate these more on the walk down when you can see them without turning around.

It is a very quaint old cute hut. And while camping is allowed next to the hut, I wouldn't personally recommend it unless you know the wind forecast is going to be extremely mild. Tents have been blown away here! And it doesn't take much wind for it to be funneled across the saddle here.

With a 1 year old being carried and children aged 6-9 walking, it took our group just over 2 hours to get to the top, including breaks.

The walk back down on the other hand only took 75 minutes.

Recommendation: Don’t walk in the heat of the hottest part of the day as this track is very exposed most of the way. Staying in the hut is better than camping here. Don’t load kids backpacks up too much on the uphill. It can be done as a first ever hut trip, however if kids struggle with uphill, you may wish to avoid and choose something else nearby like Rod Donald Hut first.