The piwakawaka hut is a great, short, overnight trip. Spend a night in the Kaitake Ranges in the North Island’s Taranaki region.
I am always keen to find some new huts or areas to explore, especially close to where I live in Taranaki. Recently, we spent an easy overnighter at a super nice hut – Piwakawaka. This unique hut, located in Pukeiti Gardens of the Kaitake Ranges, is overseen by the Taranaki Regional Council as opposed to DOC. This treetop hut is an easy one hour walk in and offers a nice night out with family or friends. The entire hut must be booked in advance, making it perfect for groups.
Piwakawaka Hut Walk – Overview and Logistics
Highlights – treetop views, birdlife, lovely covered porch and table, and sunset views over bush.
Location – Taranaki area of North Island, Pukeiti Gardens.
Length Of Walk – One to one and a half hours.
Difficulty – Easy to moderate (depending on rain and how muddy track is).
Season – Year round.
About The Piwakawaka Hut Walk
The track to Piwakawaka hut begins from the Taranaki Regional Council’s Pukeiti gardens. This is a nice garden with many criss crossing trails full of introduced rhododendrons as well as native lowland coastal forest (broadleaf/podocarp). There is a nice carpark at which to leave your car.
Start the walk by going down the stairs, passing the cafe, and to the trails. Then follow the Matthews walk to the Ireland walk to get out of the developed part of the park and arrive at the swing bridge, where the fun part begins.
The swing bridge is a narrow bridge with good views of a small stream. After the bridge, climb up a little bit to a track junction and sign with a map. Next, follow the Te Iringa track as it slowly descends down through some nice native bush.
The track passes by native tree ferns, towering rimu, and a mixture of other trees, such as tawa. Keep your eyes and ears open as you are certain to see or hear many of the common native forest birds, such as tui, kereru, piwakawaka, tomtit, grey warbler, and shining cuckoo during summer. You may see or hear a hawk or even a falcon.
About half way into the walk is a junction of the Te Iringa track and Kaitake track. At this point you turn right and follow the Kaitake track to a turnoff for the hut. Keep in mind that the walk here is through a rainforest, so the tracks can be very muddy and slippery at all times. The track undulates through the bush as it makes it way to the hut. It passes a stream and then is a short climb to the turn off for the hut.
The hut itself was opened in 2020 and still feels kind of new. When you arrive you’ll just see the outhouse and poles holding up the treetop hut above you. Climb up the steps and then marvel at the amazing covered deck with a big table. There are views out to the coast.
Insider’s Secrets To Piwakwaka Hut Walk
I would recommend that as soon as you read this post or hear about the hut just getting online and booking it. Since the entire hut is booked at once, it can be hard to find a free slot and so you need to book far in advance. Here is the website to book Piwakawaka hut.
You can walk into this hut via a couple different ways from Pukeiti Gardens, both of which are about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Check the map to see the options. Or if you are up for an adventure, you can follow some public trails and then try to make your way across the Kaitake Ranges starting from the Davies Track trailhead. In the future, there may be a public multi-use trail along the Oakura river, but in the meantime it is possible, but not an easy track.
There is a cafe at Pukeiti, which could make for a nice stopping point after your walk out. Swing by for a coffee or snack before hopping back in your car for the drive home.
The hut has a key code lock that will lock and close you out. Thus, be sure to remember the code so that you can get into the hut or you’ll have a long walk back home after a stop on the porch.