Child friendly rating: 3.5 stars

Distance: 9.4km

Signposted time: 3-4 hours

Bookings Required? Yes

Suitable in Winter? Yes

Camping Available? Yes - technically campsite is 1km before the hut, but you can camp near the hut instead.

4wd required? No

Parking: Park at the marked carpark near the end of Franklin Road for the easiest walk in. If looking for more of a challenge, there are several other routes to the hut, however these would all score only 1 child friendly star or less.

Track: While considered a very child friendly track, as it is not a technical walk in any way, it is very long, flat, and can be 'boring'. The nearby Pinnacles is a much better first hike if you suspect kids might get 'bored'. It is also a long distance for younger kids to walk.

At 3.1km, you'll come to the Daly's Clearing Track intersection. You can extend the trip by detouring to Daly's Clearing Hut and staying here on your way in to break up the walk, or you can stay here in a separate trip if you're unsure whether your kids will make it as far as Waitāwheta. The disadvantage is that Daly's Clearing is not a bookable hut, so you'll have to head off early to guarantee a bed.

On the way to the hut, there are a few bridges, but one river crossing. There is no way you will safely keep dry feet during the river crossing, unless flows are super abnormally low.

When crossing the river, you can carry kids across to keep their shoes and socks dry. This is especially important if you're visiting in wintertime and want to avoid kids getting cold.

While in general it's best practice to keep shoes on for river crossings, this one is shallow and slow enough that in summertime you can take your shoes off to cross.

In winter, it's too cold and you won't be able to safely cross without getting cold shock if you take your boots off.

If you don't want to cross the river, or are unable to because of high river levels, there is a river bypass track (flood route). If in doubt, take the bypass route.

Hut: The hut has 2 separate bunkrooms off the lounge with platform style bunks.

Recommendations: While this can be a great first hut, it is probably better suited to kids who are around 7yo+ or kids who have done some shorter hikes first so that you're sure they can cover the distance. If you have younger kids, Daly's Clearing may be a better overnight trip.

Make sure you break the trip up and allow time to explore the relics along the way. This will make the trip seem less long and boring.