Chaffey Hut

#75 – 26th February 2016

This hut has been on my list for a while now and I think it easily meets my criteria for being a favourite!! It’s practically the cutest hut Ive ever met – all made of birch wood right down to the bunk beds, with the stone steps at the entrance.

The hut has three bunks and is an easy 1-2 hour walk from the road end in the Cobb Valley, Kahurangi National Park. It’s also along a track well worth continuing on, up the valley to both the Fenella Hut and the Cobb Hut further up. Additionally, there is old tent camp further up this valley (which I believe is the last of its kind)  which has also been recently restored that is well worth seeing too.

Chaffey Hut is a unique build of horizontal slab birch, built originally in 1952 and recently restored by the Golden Bay branch of the NZ deerstalkers association. The hut was in bad shape before this and it took 1500 hours of volunteered time and $12,000 to give it back this new lease on life. The restoration features in a short clip (beginning at about 12:10) brought to my attention by Hugh from ‘The best hut ever built’. Check it out!!

We visited this hut on our way up to Fenella Hut stopping here for morning tea and to enjoy taking in the beautiful little clearing in which it sits. We met a handful of daytrippers that passed by and also a man who had walked through from the Douglas Range on a multiday trip.

Chaffey Hut.

The view out the window!!

Bunkbeds.

Lounge-ware 🙂

Chaffey Hut in its beautiful clearing 🙂