Rapid Creek Hut, Hokitika River

Comfortable ex-New Zealand Forest Service S 81 four bunker on a grassy flat with an impressive mountainous backdrop.

Access requires the use of a 60 m cableway across the substantial Hokitika River. That’s in a very small steel cage, on rollers, hanging from a single length of sagging steel cable. Easy enough with a group, if slow, one at a time with your pack squeezed in, but on your own you have to pull yourself up the increasingly steep cable.

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 . . . 115 m

bunks . . . 4 mattresses

built . . . 1961

heating . . . wood burner

water . . . creek at the back of the hut, 20 m, or Hokitika River, 50 m walk

toilet . . . longdrop