Poet Hut, Mungo River

Poet Hut was described in one hut book as rat-infested. It was a surprise, therefore, to find a beaut four bunker on a river terrace above the Mungo River. It was repainted inside and out, with bunks rebuilt, new benches, and generally tidied up in 2015.

A copy of the original hut book from 1968 is filled with plenty of moaning about the local weather and track conditions from the New Zealand Forest Service-employed deer cullers stationed in the valley: the more things change . . .

Yeah, she’s fairly hard to get to these days. And it’s in one of the wettest areas of New Zealand. It would be damp in winter.

For additional information about access and the hut, see the Permolat Group remotehuts.co.nz website.

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category . . . standard hut

hut fee . . . from 1 July 2026

Adult (18+ years): $15.00 per night
Youth (5–17 years): $7.50 per night
Child/Infant (0–4 years): free

Before you go, buy 1 Standard Hut Ticket (blue for adults, red for youth) for each night of your stay. Put this in the honesty box at the hut. A Backcountry Hut Pass is also valid year-round.

booking . . . not required all year for either hut or camping

campsite fee . . . free to camp

elevation . . . 560 m

bunks . . . 4 mattresses

built . . . 1957, renovated 2015

heating . . . open fire, wood around, but may be wet

water . . . 50 m walk to Mungo River

toilet . . . longdrop

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