From the main Otaki Forks carpark, cross the swing bridge and climb to the river terrace. After crossing the terrace the track drops to another swing bridge over the Otaki river. The track then climbs again until it crosses the top of a large slip. From here the track sidles across to Papa Creek and continues towards Plateau Creek.

The track then follows Plateau Creek down to Saddle Creek, then reaches the Plateau which is approximately the half way point. On the far side of the plateau the track drops down following the true right of a small stream. At the point where the track eventually crosses the stream you will find a junction marked with large orange triangles. The main track crosses here and sidles around a large bend in the Otaki River to the hut.

The alternate track which continues down the true right is a short cut to the Otaki River. There is no marked track to the hut from there so navigation and river crossing skills are essential along with low river levels.

The track starts from Otaki Forks. 

Ōtaki Forks is 19 km inland from Ōtaki township – approximately 1 hr 30 min drive from Wellington or Palmerston North. The easiest turnoff from SH1 is at Ōtaki Gorge Road, just south of the SH1 bridge over the Ōtaki River. The last 5 km of the Gorge Rd is closed due to a slip. Access is by walking only.

There is an emergency track that you can walk to gain access to Ōtaki Forks. It is 5 km long and can be accessed 200 m past the locked gate on the Ōtaki Gorge Road. 

• Ōtaki Gorge emergency track
• Map of the emergency track (PDF, 2,290K).

There are several sections on this track are are hard to manoevre and extra care is required.