Bullendale Hut | Mount Aurum Recreation Reserve
If you haven’t ventured up there yet, and you should, it’s more of a mission than DOC’s 2 to 3 hours indicates. Plenty of stream crossing, and eventually you go straight up the stream.
The hut is a reminder of what was once a mining camp housing 200 people. Only the foundation stones of the stamping battery remain.
Despite looking like an original structure, the hut was reconstructed from abandoned materials in 2002 with a sleeping platform installed. The wood-burning oven has since been removed, and it has an open fire, although it’s not clear where the wood should come from.
The studs are beech saplings, but the roof structure is more recent, even if the corrugated steel is not.
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 . . . 75m
bunks . . . 3 mattresses on a sleeping platform that could accommodate another mattress
built . . . reconstructed from old materials 2002
heating . . . woodburner
water . . . 500 litre rainwater tank
toilet . . . longdrop
← Archies Hut | Mount Aurum Recreation Reserve Tautaku Hut | Catlins Conservation Park →