Overview
About Wainui Hut
Why stop
- A straightforward four-bunk overnight among the valley’s beech forest.
Heads up
- The onward route crosses an unbridged river immediately beyond the hut.
Map
Where it is
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Abel Tasman Tour Guide
Your drive to Wainui Hut, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Abel Tasman National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
More stories near here in the app
- Canaan Downs
- The Beach Bought by Thousands
- Why Fantails Follow You
- The Sweet Drops on Beech Trees
- 23 audio storiesacross Abel Tasman’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Kea, New Zealand Fur Seal, Little Penguin, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 43 trails, 65 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
More about Wainui Hut
A simple inland overnightWainui Hut is a small, four-bunk standard hut in a grassy clearing near Wainui River, partway…
Wainui Hut is a small, four-bunk standard hut in a grassy clearing near Wainui River, partway along Wainui Track. It suits a basic night in the forest or a long day walk into Wainui Valley; the appeal is the inland setting, not a big viewpoint. Bunks are first come, first served, with no booking required.
The walk inFrom Canaan Road car park, plan roughly 1½ to 1¾ hours for the 5.6 km walk.
From Canaan Road car park, plan roughly 1½ to 1¾ hours for the 5.6 km walk. The track drops from Wainui Saddle into Wainui Valley, then levels across the valley floor. Expect rough, rooty beech forest beside mossy riverbanks and several unbridged creeks. Canaan Road is unsealed, winding and narrow for the drive to the car park.
What the hut providesThis is a basic backcountry stop: four bunks, mattresses, a non-flush toilet and an open…
This is a basic backcountry stop: four bunks, mattresses, a non-flush toilet and an open fireplace. Bring your own food and water, and pack all rubbish out. There are few reliable water sources on the Inland Track; treat any water collected from the river before drinking.
Before continuingIf you’re heading on toward Birds Clearing, the track fords Wainui River immediately beyond the…
If you’re heading on toward Birds Clearing, the track fords Wainui River immediately beyond the hut, with no bridge. High water after heavy rain can make it impassable, so don’t press on through a swollen river. Dogs aren’t allowed on the Inland Track, and wasps are especially common from December through April.
A familiar backcountry designWainui Hut follows the old New Zealand Forest Service SF 70 pattern, a hut design repeated…
Wainui Hut follows the old New Zealand Forest Service SF 70 pattern, a hut design repeated across South Island backcountry.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Abel Tasman
10 sightingsKeaMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
54 sightingsNew Zealand Fur SealMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
20 sightingsLittle PenguinMost seen around 9 PMSighting map
21 sightingsSouth Island KākāMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
526 sightingsWekaMost seen around 9 AMSighting map
16 sightingsTūīMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Abel Tasman. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
