Greenstone–Caples Circuit

DOC huts on the loop are Mid Caples (24 bunks), McKellar (24), and Greenstone (20). These huts and adjacent designated campsites require bookings year‑round. Fees: huts—Adult $25/night, Youth $12.50/night, Child free; campsites—Adult $10/night, Child $5/night, Infant free. A service fee applies to phone or in‑person bookings. Backcountry Hut Passes are valid May 1–Sep 30 only (not accepted Oct 1–Apr 30). You can also book nearby NZ Deerstalkers’ Association huts (Upper Caples, Mid Greenstone) separately. Camping is allowed beside DOC huts with a booking, and otherwise only along the bush edge on public conservation land, more than 50 m from the track; no camping on McKellar Saddle or on privately owned valley floors.

The main trailhead is the carpark at the end of Greenstone Road via Glenorchy/Kinloch (about 86 km from Queenstown). The final 11 km is a rough backcountry gravel road with fords and is unsuitable for large campervans. Transport services operate to the track ends, especially in summer.

This is a high‑rainfall area. Summer generally brings the most settled travel and the most transport options. McKellar Saddle is exposed in any season, and avalanches are a risk from May to November, particularly in the lower Greenstone Gorge. Plan conservative days around heavy rain, which can quickly push side streams out of their banks.

Keep an eye out for takahē reintroduced to these valleys, along with kea, kākā, kākāriki, tomtits, fantails, rifleman, brown creeper, South Island robins, paradise ducks, whio, and hunting New Zealand falcons. Forests are mostly southern beech, with glacially carved valleys exposing Caples Sandstone and Greenstone Mélange. Treat stream water—stock graze lower flats—while hut or higher‑elevation sources are generally safer (treatment still recommended). Parts of the track cross private farmland: stay on marked routes and don’t disturb stock. Bury toilet waste at least 50 m from tracks, huts, campsites, and water. Mountain tutu berries are poisonous.