Tarn Hut | Puketeraki Forest Conservation Area

Tarn Hut is located on a wide saddle adjacent to a picturesque tarn that has those Australian-accented frogs to serenade you to sleep. Probably as long a stroll to the toilet as any hut in the South Island.

It’s an early hut, built in 1958, that has been sort of renovated in stages over the decades.

Getting up the Lees Valley from Oxford is an adventure in itself on a narrow, windy dirt road that climbs high above the river. You park your car on the side of the road and have an hour or two wandering through farmland to get to the bottom of the four-wheel-drive track that goes all the way to the hut. It’s a 500 m climb but mostly on an even gradient.

All in all, a decent walk for an overnighter, but certainly easier to access than the nearby Youngman Stream Hut.

Tarn Hut is popular for its proximity to Christchurch, but note that access is sometimes restricted due to farming activities.

category . . . basic hut

access restrictions . . . restricted 1 August to 30 September, all of April

hut fee . . . free

booking . . . not required

elevation . . . 1270 m

bunks . . . 4 mattresses, on two sets of bunks

built . . . 1958

heating . . . open fire

water . . . from tarn, 15 m

toilet . . . 1 x longdrop, quite a walk