Lodging · Mount Aspiring National Park
A small four-bunk hut at the end of a challenging valley tramp.
Overview
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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
Makarora River Bridge and the Hut Track“The Makarora River bridge is ahead, with access to the track to Makarora Hut. For experienced trampers, it leads through a steep forested gorge to open grassy flats beneath Mount Brewster.”
Plays as you drive up to Makarora Hut in the Parkwolf Mount Aspiring Tour Guide.
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“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
Makarora Hut is a four-bunk backcountry hut at the north end of the main valley flat, near the bush edge beside the Makarora River. It is an overnight destination for experienced trampers, not a roadside stop: the approach is long and technical.
Start at the road bridge between Kiwi Flat and Davis Flat on SH 6. There is a small layby at the bridge; if it is full, do not park on the highway. The walk is 10.5 km one way and about seven hours. It passes Stewart Falls, climbs steeply beside it, sidles above a gorge, and crosses a large unstable slip marked only with tape. The final stretch from the main valley flat is unmarked and may involve several river crossings. This is an advanced backcountry route with scrambling and route-finding.
The hut has four bunks with mattresses, heating, and a non-flush toilet. Water comes from the stream, so bring a way to treat it; carry your own food. Bookings are not required and bunks are first come, first served. Hut tickets or a qualifying Backcountry Hut Pass are required.
Weather changes quickly; dangerous cold is possible even in summer, while snow or low cloud can bring whiteouts. Avalanches can cross the route, usually from May into November. Do not cross high or uncertain rivers, and note that dogs are not allowed on the track.
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
ChallengingBrewster Track5.6 km · 7 hr · 7.2 km awayA steep alpine climb to a hut above the Haast River
EasyFantail Falls Walk0.2 km · 5 min · 7.2 km awayA five-minute return walk to a fan-shaped waterfall.
EasyBridle Track3.5 km · 1.5 hr · 7.3 km awayWalk a graded stretch of the old Otago to Westland route
ModerateHaast Pass Lookout Track1.5 km · 1 hr · 7.3 km awayA short climb to a timber-railed Southern Alps lookout.Parkwolf’s Mount Aspiring ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
