Lodging · Mount Aspiring National Park
A four-bunk hut beyond a steep gorge and unbridged river.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Mount Aspiring Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Mount Aspiring 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.
See the Mount Aspiring audio tourRecorded for this place
Cameron Lookout: Turn Around at the Platform“Ahead is Cameron Lookout car park, for a short climb through silver beech forest.”
Plays as you drive up to Cameron Hut in the Parkwolf Mount Aspiring Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“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
Cameron Hut is a remote DOC standard hut on a grassy flat at the end of the marked track in Cameron Valley. The route is 7 km one way from Cameron Creek car park on SH6, and DOC estimates 5–6 hours each way. This is an overnight for experienced trampers, not a short side trip. The hut is first come, first served and has only four bunks; DOC says it can be busy in summer, so carry a tent as backup.
The advanced track climbs over bluffs above the gorge, then crosses a large slip to an unbridged river about two hours in. It keeps climbing and dropping through the valley before descending to the flat. Rain can make the crossing impassable, and spring snowmelt can keep it high even in dry weather. Check conditions for both legs, be ready to turn back, and carry extra food in case you are delayed. Dogs are not allowed.
The hut has four bunks, mattresses, heating, a non-flush toilet, and water from the stream rather than a tap. Plan to carry food and everything else you need for the night. A local tramping club dates the hut to 1960, when it was a New Zealand Forest Service hut.
Wildlife
60 sightingsKeaMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
112 sightingsRockwrenMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
26 sightingsYellowheadMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
13 sightingsTūīMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
27 sightingsBellbirdMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
35 sightingsRiflemanMost seen around 8 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Mount Aspiring. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ChallengingBlue Valley Track to Camp Flat5 km · 5 hr · 4.8 km awaySteep beech forest opens at a grassy camp beside the Blue River.
EasyBlue Pools Track3.2 km · 1.5 hr · 4.9 km awayTwo swingbridges make this easy walk feel like an adventure.
ModerateYoung River Link Track14 km · 3.5 hr · 4.9 km awayA longer Blue Pools walk to the Young River mouth.
ChallengingCameron Track to Cameron Hut14 km · 11 hr · 5 km awaySteep gorge bluffs lead to a remote four-bunk hut.
EasyCameron Lookout Walk1 km · 20 min · 5 km awayShort climb through silver beech to a Cameron Creek lookout.
ChallengingYoung River Track to Young Hut32.5 km · 13 hr · 5.4 km awayA remote hut trek with a dangerous river crossing and unstable slips
ChallengingGillespie Pass Circuit56 km · 22 hr · 6.4 km awayA wild alpine pass links the Young, Siberia and Wilkin valleys.
ChallengingMakarora Track to Makarora Hut21 km · 14 hr · 6.6 km awayA rough valley tramp to a four-bunk hut beneath Mount Brewster.
Sight · 4.7 km awayCameron LookoutA short beech-forest climb to a platform above Cameron Creek.
Campground · 4.8 km awayCameron Flat CampsiteA simple campsite opposite the Blue Pools track.
Sight · 5.5 km awayBlue PoolsTwo swing bridges lead to blue water, when the weather cooperates.
Gas station · 7.6 km awayMakarora Allied Fuel StopA handy top-up, but keep a backup fuel plan.Parkwolf’s Mount Aspiring ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
