Alright, Pinchgut Hut is quickly becoming my favourite hut for tramps with kids around Christchurch. The track is pretty entertaining, and it’s far more sheltered and less popular than Woolshed Creek Hut, which is always busy. It’s been less than a year since we last visited the hut, but my son Elliot, though only ten months older, felt about four years more capable this time. He walked much faster and had absolutely no trouble keeping up – quite the opposite, actually! I even had to jog a couple of times to stay with him.
The kids had a fantastic time. They played in the river, climbed up to a waterfall, cut heaps of windfall and gorse, made a fire, cooked sausages, and learnt to use a hand saw and loppers – all the good stuff. The track is a bit exposed in places for kids, so keep a keen eye on them if you venture there.
This time, I brought my lovely Fiskars geared loppers, which provided great entertainment for the kids. They just loved working with them, cutting gorse and clearing windfall. The huge, roughly two-metre-tall pile of gorse that Elliot and I cut on our last visit to the Pinchgut Hut campsite was nearly gone! It seems campers had been helping themselves to the easily accessible, highly flammable firewood. So we started a new pile – a bit smaller this time – yet still managed to cut heaps of gorse, making the Ōkūkū River much more accessible than before. We’ll probably need about two more visits to finish the job… and then? Well, then we can probably start again.
Stats: 7km, 5 h 20 min, 320 m ascent (in). 5 h 45 min, 240 m ascent on the way out.
Participants: Michal + Anna + Elliot, Miranda + Mia + Bernard
Tramped on 16-17th November 2025.
Photos
Map – in
Max elevation: 412 m
Min elevation: 219 m
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