Child friendly rating: 3.5 stars

Distance: 9.4km

Signposted time: 3 hours

Bookings Required? No

Suitable in Winter? Yes - but only if very experienced and can avoid younger kids getting wet boots.

Camping Available? Limited flat spots at hut

4wd required? No

Parking: Park at the Hawdon Shelter Campground. Close to the shelter is a good spot close to the track start. There is an intentions book at the shelter.

The Track: This track is great for kids with lovely bush, however there are several river and creek crossings. So it's best to do the track in summer when it's warmer to avoid getting too cold. It also means you can't do this track after heavy rain, as the creeks and rivers may be too deep to cross. I usually like to check the Waimakariri River levels using the below website. This is the details on the river flow of the Waimakariri River at Otamara, which is near Springfield. Normally summer flows are around 50 cubic meters.

As to what flow rate is the cut-off, there is no hard set rule. It depends on personal comfort, and also where exactly the rain is falling. Sometimes rain can fall downstream of Hawdon, but upstream of Otarama, which means the flow at Otarama doesn't directly relate to the flow at Hawdon.

I definitely would not attempt this trip with small kids in tow if the flow is over 100 cubic meters a second.

https://www.ecan.govt.nz/data/riverflow/sitedetails/66442

The first river crossing is the deepest, so if you can cross the first river, you will be fine with the rest. Remember the first rule of river crossings: "If in doubt, stay out".

The Mountain Safety Council has many great resources on safely crossing rivers. You can also get a book and DVD combo from the library called River Safety (ISBN 9780908931248), which has all the info on crossing rivers safely.

It can be easy to loose the track after some of the wider river crossings. After each crossing, confirm you are on the right track. Following the wrong track may send you via the 4WD track instead. This is ok to follow, however you'll end up doing more river crossings than necessary, the track is slightly longer, more boring, and more exposed on a hot or windy day. If you did want to follow a different way in vs out, you could follow the 4wd track in. The 4wd track is marked with cairns, and the walking track is marked with orange markers.

The track is wide enough to hold a toddlers hand most of the way when walking, and most of the track is relatively flat.

Hut: The hut is still relatively unknown considering how easy the access in is. However it does often get large groups like scout groups or the university tramping club.

Recommendations:

While this could be a great first hut to visit, the river crossings do require extra care. If in doubt about crossing the first crossing, turn around. You do also need slight navigation skills to find the track again after the river crossings. This makes it a slightly better hut to visit at least 2-3 hikes in, and also in Jan/Feb when the river levels are lower.