Bluff Hut
Standard hutKokatahi River - Whitcombe River area, West CoastOpen
- Sleeps
- 6 bunks
- Booking
- Not bookable
- Cost
- from $15
- Heating
- Yes
- Drinking water
- Boil first
- Toilet
- Non-flush
Getting there
We have not checked a road end or car park for this place yet, so we do not give driving directions to it. Check how to get there before you go. Some routes cross private land and need the landowner's permission.
How to get there, on doc.govt.nz- Topo map
- Topo50 sheet BV19
Source: DOC Te Papa Atawhai.
Map and tracks
Track lines: DOC Te Papa Atawhai. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Topo map: LINZ, CC BY 4.0. 43.04671° S, 171.12696° E
About this place
This is a basic six-bunk hut in the Hokitika area.
On the way here
Toaroha, Hokitika, Lower Whitcombe Track · 4 - 5 days
Poet Hut to Bluff Hut
Time: 3 – 4 hr
Travel to Bluff Swing Bridge is a mix of riverbed and track until Poet Creek. Here the track climbs steeply to sidle a steep face high above a gorge in the river before dropping down to the swing bridge. Cross the swingbridge and pick up the track again which climbs steeply to the scrub/tussock bench high above the Hokitika River. Bluff Hut has been relocated to a position just a few minutes along the track from its original precarious perch. Bluff Hut sleeps 6 people and is heated by a woodstove.
Bluff Hut to Frew Saddle Biv
Time: 2 - 3 hr
From Bluff Hut follow the track upstream initially through scrub then tussock, poles mark a route over a large tussock knob before dropping down to follow the Hokitika River. Follow the poles and the riverbed until more or less directly below Frew Saddle. The route from the riverbed to Frew Saddle is poled. A short but steep climb leads to the top and Frew Saddle Bivouac, which is located on the Whitcombe River side some 100 metres down from saddle. Take care on the climb to the saddle if the tussock is wet or snow-covered. Frew Saddle Bivouac although generally used as a shelter, can also sleep 2 people.
Source: DOC Te Papa Atawhai.
Trip options
Walking times come from DOC track descriptions, added up leg by leg from car-accessible trailheads. Nights and return times are ParkUp estimates, allowing about 8 hours of walking a day.
2 options · 3 to 4 nights
Roadend
Walking in
20 hr (via Cedar Flat Hut, Top Toaroha Hut, Poet Hut)
Walking out
15 hr to Road End (via Frew Hut, Rapid Creek Hut)
Walking in
20 hr (via Cedar Flat Hut, Top Toaroha Hut, Poet Hut)
Walking out
20 hr to Roadend (via Cedar Flat Hut, Top Toaroha Hut, Poet Hut)
Source: DOC Te Papa Atawhai track descriptions.
Fees and bookings
Before you go, buy Hut Tickets for each night's stay. Put these in the honesty box at the hut. Or buy a Backcountry Hut Pass that gives unlimited use at most Standard and Serviced huts for a 12 month period. Retailers that sell hut tickets and passes
Source: DOC Te Papa Atawhai.
On these tracks
Source: DOC Te Papa Atawhai.
Nearby stops
Poet Hut
Standard • 4 bunks • West Coast • 2.4 km
Poet Hut is a standard four-bunk hut located in the Hokitika area on the West Coast.
Heating • Mattresses • Toilets - non-flush
Toaroha Saddle Bivvy
Basic/bivvies • 2 bunks • West Coast • 4.1 km
Toaroha Saddle Bivvy is a basic two-bunk hut located in the Hokitika area of the West Coast.
Mattresses • Toilets - non-flush • Water from stream
Top Toaroha Hut
Standard • 6 bunks • West Coast • 4.3 km
Top Toaroha Hut is a standard six-bunk hut located in the Hokitika area on the West Coast.
Heating • Mattresses • Toilets - non-flush
Frew Saddle Bivvy
Basic/bivvies • 2 bunks • West Coast • 4.5 km
Frew Saddle Bivvy is a basic two-bunk hut located in the Hokitika area of the West Coast.
Mattresses • Toilets - non-flush • Water from stream
Frew Hut
Standard • 10 bunks • West Coast • 6.8 km
Frew Hut is a standard 10-bunk hut located in the Hokitika area of the West Coast.
Heating • Mattresses • Toilets - non-flush
Walks nearby
Contact
Paparoa National Park Visitor Centre
4294 Coast Road, Punakaiki, RD 1 Runanga 7873
Regional DOC service centre.
Notes from people who have been
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Sources
- DOC Huts (API) · CC BY 4.0Crown Copyright: Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai. Data sourced from the DOC Developer Portal (api.doc.govt.nz).
- OpenStreetMap Huts · ODbL (Open Database License)Contains information from OpenStreetMap, made available under the ODbL.
- DOC Huts · CC BY 4.0Data sourced from the Department of Conservation (DOC), New Zealand.