Heritage
Cone Hut is the second oldest hut in the Tararuas. Built by New Zealand’s first tramping club, the Tararua Tramping Club, it is one of the best surviving examples of a ‘slab hut’ in New Zealand.
People have been visiting the Tararua Forest Park for a long time and the huts they built and used are an important link to the Park’s history. Cone Hut was built using local totara timbers, adzed into framing and split into slab walls. This was a very rare form of construction by the 1940s.
By the early 1980s the hut had fallen into a state of disrepair. After assessing the heritage importance of the site and developing a plan, it was decided to rebuild the hut using the same construction method and materials as was done in 1946. The hut was restored by the Tararua Tramping Club with the assistance of DOC.
Situated in picturesque, mature forest adjacent to the Tauherenikau River, this rustic hut continues to be used and enjoyed by trampers and hunters.
Fees
Free
Cone Hut is best accessed from Waiohine Gorge Road end.
Approximate times from nearest roads and huts
- Marchant Road end: 5 hr
- Waiohine Gorge Road end: 2 hr 30 min
- Tutuwai Hut: 1 hr
- Totara Flats Hut: 4 hr 30 min
- Alpha Hut: 3 hr
Tracks to this hut
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Duration: N/A Difficulty: Advanced -
Duration: 2-3 days Difficulty: Advanced
Location
NZTopo50 map sheet: BP33
Grid/NZTM2000 coordinates: E1797244, N5459973
Wellington/Kapiti information
| Phone: | +64 3 546 9339 |
| Email: | nelsonvc@doc.govt.nz |
| About: | Whakatū/Nelson Visitor Centre provides visitor information for this area |