Waitewaewae Hut Track

From the main Otaki Forks carpark, cross the swing bridge and climb to the river terrace. After crossing the terrace, the track descends to another swing bridge over the Otaki River. The path then climbs again, passing over the top of a large slip before sidling over to Papa Creek and continuing towards Plateau Creek. The track follows Plateau Creek down to Saddle Creek, eventually reaching the Plateau, about halfway along. On the far side of the Plateau, the track descends along the true right of a small stream. At the stream crossing, there’s a junction marked by large orange triangles. The main track crosses here, sidling around a large bend in the Otaki River to reach the hut. An alternate route continues down the true right to the Otaki River, but there’s no marked path to the hut from there, so river crossing and navigation skills are essential, as well as low river levels.

Waitewaewae Hut

The track starts from Otaki Forks. Ōtaki Forks is 19 km inland from Ōtaki township – approximately 1 hr 30 min drive from Wellington or Palmerston North. The easiest turnoff from SH1 is at Ōtaki Gorge Road, just south of the SH1 bridge over the Ōtaki River. Follow signs to Tararua Forest Park. The last 5 km of the Ōtaki Gorge Road is unsealed, narrow and windy – drive carefully. Use this location in Google Maps to find your way there.

We encourage you to continue gaining the skills and knowledge required for a safe trip. The NZ Mountain Safety Council has lots of free resources and information you can use. These can be accessed via www.mountainsafety.org.nz . We recommend trying these online learning tools: Trip Planning Tramping / field Skills Basic Navigation River Safety Additionally, check out the range of helpful videos available from the NZ Mountain Safety Council YouTube channel

Dogs allowed. Keep dog under control at all times.