Kaweka Flats Bivvy
Basic/bivvies hutKaweka Forest Park, Hawke's BayOpen
- Sleeps
- 2 bunks
- Booking
- Not bookable
- Cost
- Free
- Heating
- None
- Drinking water
- Not drinkable
- 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.nzThe hut is reached via Makahu Saddle Hut which is situated at the Makahu Saddle car park (at the end of Kaweka Road). The benched track leaves from behind the hut, 5 minutes from the carpark.
Kaweka Flats Bivouac is ideally located for a day, weekend or the start of an extended tramp. The track sidles through beech forest, in and out of sidestream gullies, in a northerly direction. It follows an old stock route which was used when grazing was prevalent between the 1860's and early 1900's. The vegetation gradually changes to thick regenerating manuka. The track carries on past the bivouac to Middle Hill Hut (3 hours), and then down to Makahu Road (another 2.5 – 3 hours). The historic iron whare can be reached from the Kaweka Flats Bivouac.
Care must be taken when negotiating stream crossings in times of high rainfall.
We recommend 4WD vehicles to reduce wear on the road and safe travel.
- Topo map
- Topo50 sheet BJ37
- Grid reference
- E1894796, N5648564
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. 39.26215° S, 176.41668° E
About this place
Located in the eastern Kaweka Forest Park, Kaweka Flats Bivouac is situated 1 hour from the Makahu carpark.
On the way here
Makahu Road to Makahu Saddle (via Middle Hill Hut and Kaweka Flats) · 5.5-7.5 hrs
Middle Hill Hut to Kaweka Flats Bivouac
Time: 2-3 hrs
5.58 km Continue along the track from Middle Hill Hut until you reach a track junction. Take the left-hand track (towards Kaweka Flats, not Camp Spur). The track descends and crosses two tributaries of Koaro Stream, then climbs to a plateau. After crossing the plateau, the track drops steeply into a valley and crosses a branch of the Makehu River. The track then climbs to another plateau. Shortly after reaching the plateau, there is a side track to Iron Whare. Continue along the main track across Kaweka Flats, to Kaweka Flats Bivvy. Optional side trip to Iron Whare: There is the option to take a side trip Iron Whare, the oldest hut in Kaweka Forest Park. It was probably built in the 1870s as a musterer’s hut. Read about the history of Iron Whare .
Kaweka Flats Bivvy to Makahu Saddle
Time: 1.5 hrs
2.55 km A benched track leads from Kaweka Flats Bivvy to Makahu Saddle Hut, which is situated 5 minutes from Makahu Saddle car park (at the end of Kaweka Road). You will need to organise transport from Makahu Saddle to Makahu Road. Makahu Saddle is not on Makahu Road, they are roughly 27 km apart by road (around 50 mins drive).
Source: DOC Te Papa Atawhai.
Fees and bookings
Free
Source: DOC Te Papa Atawhai.
On these tracks
Source: DOC Te Papa Atawhai.
Nearby stops
Makahu Saddle Hut
Standard • 4 bunks • Hawke's Bay • 2.9 km
Makahu Saddle Hut is located in Hawke's Bay within a mixed forest of red and mountain beech. It sits below the steep eroded scree slopes of the main Kaweka…
Heating • Mattresses • Toilets - non-flush
Middle Hill Hut
Standard • 6 bunks • Hawke's Bay • 3.9 km
Middle Hill Hut is located in the north eastern part of Kaweka Forest Park in Hawke's Bay. The hut sits on a flat, sheltered site where open manuka and kanuka…
Heating • Mattresses • Toilets - non-flush
Iron Whare
Basic/bivvies • 2 bunks • Hawke's Bay • 1.4 km
Iron Whare is a historic bivvy in Hawke's Bay that is no longer recommended for overnight accommodation. The track to the site is not well marked, making the…
Toilets - non-flush • Water from stream • Water supply
Dominie Hut
Basic/bivvies • 2 bunks • Hawke's Bay • 2.8 km
Dominie Hut is a DOC hut located in the eastern Kaweka Forest Park in Hawke's Bay. It is an 80 minute walk from the Makahu Saddle Hut and the roadend.
Mattresses • Toilets - non-flush • Water from tap - not treated, boil before use
Ballard Hut
Standard • 4 bunks • Hawke's Bay • 4.8 km
Ballard Hut is located in the central-eastern Kaweka Forest Park at the northern end of the main Kaweka Range in Hawke's Bay.
Heating • Mattresses • Toilets - non-flush
Walks nearby
Dons Stream Walk
Advanced • 1 hr return • 3.12 km away
Trials Spur Track
Advanced • 2-3 hr • 3.12 km away
Ngahere Loop Track
Advanced • 1 hr • 3.38 km away
Lotkow Road to Little's Clearing
Advanced • 3 - 4 hr one way • 3.8 km away
Matauria Ridge Track (Makahu Saddle to Mackintosh Track Junction)
Advanced • 5.07 km • 5.27 km away
Contact
DOC Customer Service Centre
Regional DOC service centre.
Notes from people who have been
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Sources
- 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.
- 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).