Backcountry Huts

New Zealand has a fantastic system of backcountry huts operated by the Department of Conservation. These come in several varieties: Basic (usually free), Standard (cost $10, as at Oct 2024), Serviced (may have extra amenities and cost $25) and Great Walks huts (high-demand huts on the Great Walks and which cost more again).

For the standard and some serviced huts you can use a 12-month backcountry pass purchased in advance from the Department of Conservation (DoC) for $160 (as at October 2024). You can purchase single-night tickets from DoC too, but this is much less economic if you are going to be through-hiking and staying in most of the huts. The serviced huts include Greenstone (Southland section), Hamilton (Canterbury), Anne (Tasman-Marlborough), the Nelson Lakes huts (Blue Lake, West Sabine, Upper Travers, John Tait and Lakehead) and, in Northland, Peach Cove and Puketi Forest huts. Note that the Backcountry Hut pass does not cover the Greenstone, Nelson Lakes serviced huts, nor the two Northland huts from 1 October to 30 April.

Great Walks accommodation includes the Mangatepopo Hut and its nearby campsite on the Tongariro Track and huts or campgrounds on the Whanganui River canoe trip (including the Whakahoro Bunkroom at its start). These are not covered by the DoC or TA Trail Pass or hut ticket system in the summer walking season. You need to book online for them.

You also have to book online for Hamilton, Anne, Boyle Flat and Hope Kiwi huts in Canterbury, the Nelson Lakes huts, the two Northland serviced huts and Pahautea Hut (Mt Pirongia, Waikato). Basic and standard huts are generally first-come, first served, so if you want to get a good bunk (or a bunk at all at popular times, like public holidays), it is best to arrive early. From the 2024/25 season the serviced huts will be bookable.

The TA Trust, in association with DoC, is running a special hut and campsite pass covering all the huts and campsites that TA walkers are likely to stay in. This simplifies things, though only slightly. It gives you a 20% discount on serviced huts. See the TA website for details under Walk/The Trail Pass, which has a table of all the relevant huts. Things have become so complex, and changing, in recent years that it probably a good idea to save this list for reference. Note that you need to link the pass up to the DoC bookings system by emailing DoC once you have created a log-in for bookings and this may take 3 to 5 days.

In the South Island you could be staying in up to 32 huts. In the North Island there are at most eight huts. Is it better to buy the DoC pass, the TA Trail Pass, or use hut tickets? Definitely a pass if you plan to stay in 16 or more standard huts. But which pass? The cost probably works out much the same for the passes when you consider that the TA pass covers stand-alone campsites as well. Also, the TA Trust say that funds from their pass go towards trail development. So, I’d get this one. Unless, perhaps, you plan to do a lot of off-trail hiking over the same 12 month period, as the TA Trail Pass won’t cover huts beyond the trail.

If there is a flat space, you can often camp outside a hut. You can use the water supply and toilet, but are expected to cook outside. It is free to camp outside basic and standard huts, and $10 for camping outside a serviced hut. Both passes cover this though. But the DoC hut pass doesn’t cover camping at camping-only sites, such as Lake Middleton in Canterbury and the campsites on the Queen Charlotte Track in Marlborough (but the TA Trail Pass covers all these).

If all the above sounds confusing, here is a rough summary of the payment and booking situation for huts on the trail:

	Hut Ticket	DoC Hut Pass	TA Trail Pass	Need to book?
Basic Hut	N/A (free)	N/A (free)	N/A (free)	No
Standard Hut	Blue	Covered	Covered	No, except Pahautea
Serviced Hut	Not for bookings required huts	Not from 1 Oct to 30 April for TA route huts	20% off all, except Peach Cove	Hamilton, Hope Kiwi, Anne, Nelson Lakes huts, Peach Cove, Puketi Hut
Great Walks Huts & Camps	N/A	Not covered	Not covered	Yes

The huts are basic. They usually have bunks with plastic mattresses, though some have sleeping platforms and mattresses, which allows couples to sleep side-by-side. There used to be some sort of male and female segregation of sleeping areas but these days it is up to you to choose where to sleep (and identifying who the snorers are might be your first consideration). There are no showers and the toilets are long-drops, aka pit toilets (bring your own toilet paper). The DoC Great Walks huts generally have wardens, gas cooking, and sometimes solar powered lighting and flush toilets. But that’s not the case for the huts you will be using, except the Greenstone Hut, in the South Island (flush toilets), and Mangatepopo Hut (gas cooking), in the North, both of which have wardens. And just to be clear, even at these two huts there will be no-one to cook your food for you, and no-one to clean up your mess: it’s your job to wipe the benches down, turn the mattresses on their sides, sweep the floor, empty the fire ashes and makes sure the door and windows are securely closed when you leave.

Huts generally have either a rainwater tank or a nearby stream. Such water is usually safe to drink but you may prefer to take no chances and boil or purify it. Most huts have a fireplace, sometimes in the form of a wood burning stove, but these should be used only when needed so there is always some fuel for the poor souls who might arrive tired, wet and frozen on a dark and stormy night. If you burn some wood it is good etiquette to cut or gather at least as much as you’ve used, and especially to set aside some twigs for kindling in a dry place, as dry kindling can be hard to find in pouring rain.

Other, hopefully obvious, hut etiquette points: don’t walk inside in dirty boots or in wet clothes; don’t party all night if others are trying to sleep; put your gear in the dining area (if the bunk rooms are separate) if you are planning to get up before everyone else so you don’t drive people crazy rustling plastic bags and flashing your torch about before dawn; and finally, take all your rubbish with you (if each person took one piece of someone else’s rubbish with them the huts would all be rubbish free!)

Camping

There are a few locations on the trail where there is no hut, so a tent is necessary. There are at least seven such points in the South Island but many more in the North Island. It is worth thinking how many times you will be camping and choosing your level of tent comfort, weight and price accordingly. If you are minimising camping then no point carrying an expensive, heavy, luxury tent around. A bivvy bag may even be an option to consider. If you are only camping rarely then the chances are that you won’t get a rainy night (if you check weather charts you can work out the probability for different locations – see the Weather and Hazards page). But if you plan to camp a lot, then clearly it’s worth getting a really good tent.

Also, as the TA grows in popularity it will be increasingly difficult to find a bunk in some of the huts. That’s where a tent is useful. And as you are going north and most of the TA people are going south, you can never be sure how many people are heading towards the same hut you are. On holidays or weekends you may also find a hut full with a tramping club party, though most of the TA is not on the more popular routes (the Greenstone Hut and Nelson Lakes being key exceptions.)

Where Can You Camp?

You can’t legally just camp anywhere in NZ. There has been a big crack-down in recent years on ‘freedom camping’, which is generally taken to mean campervans, but also includes staying in a tent (under the 2011 Freedom Camping Act). This Act says you can’t camp within 200m of a formed road, a vehicle accessible area (a car park, say), the low tide line on beaches, or a Great Walks track. However, you can otherwise generally camp on Conservation land, though another piece of government legislation, the Reserves Act, prohibits camping on certain types of such land: scenic or recreation reserves unless there is an area specifically for camping. This DoC page on freedom camping has more information and links.

Hostels

Once in towns or settlements there are usually hostels and camp grounds within easy walking distance of the trail. There are usually plenty of more expensive places to stay as well but it is not so often that TA-ers are likely to use these, so I have not bothered to list them. Plus, they are easy enough to find either by a Google search or by looking on Airbnb, Booking.com, BookaBach, etc.

You can get a discount at the BBH network of hostels. Their card costs $35 and you get 10% on bookings, so you need about nine to break even and I count 12 localities on the route with BBH’s at Oct 2024.) (Update 28 Oct 2025: The BBH website has stopped working within the last month. I don’t know if that means they have folded or if there is just a website problem. It has been down a week so far, so I think that might be the end of BBH.)

Getting a bunk in a town can be as much of an issue as getting one on the trail. New Zealand is currently undergoing a boom in tourism and accommodation is often booked out well ahead. This is a problem for TA-ers as you often can’t guarantee when you will turn up. However, a cancelled booking typically only costs 10% of one nights accommodation if made 24 hrs ahead. So that’s just $4 or $5 for a hostel. Better to make the booking and call or email if you aren’t going to make it. Usually you will have cellphone coverage 3 or 4 days ahead. Of course, if you are going to be a day later for one hostel, then this will flow through to all the following ones, so the cost might be higher than I’ve suggested, but major tourist centres like Te Anau, Queenstown, Wanaka, Tekapo and Arthur’s Pass can easily fill up a week or more ahead. And small centres like Lake Hawea or St Arnaud, with limited accommodation, can be booked up with a wedding party or sports event.

Also, the lack of international backpackers due to Covid-19 restrictions has decimated the hostel industry. Before Covid, NZ has 385 hostels. But with a shock announcement late November 2021 that YHA will be closing 11 hostels (including Te Anau, Wanaka, both in Queenstown, Wellington and Auckland!), along with many other closures, saw the total reduced to 187, less than half.

Camp Grounds

That leaves camp grounds. There are motor camps, typically with a kitchen containing stoves and refrigerators plus a laundry, a shower block and toilets. Many have cabins as well, though these are not so economical for just one person. Cabins tend to go fast, as their numbers in camp grounds are limited but generally you can find a space for a small tent without booking. The summer school holidays are when camp grounds are at maximum occupancy. Then there are basic camp grounds, usually run by the local council or DoC, and with toilet facilities only. There will be an honesty box for the fee, so carry some cash, and someone may come round to check that people have paid.

Free wi-fi is universal at hostels, and motor camps increasingly have it as well.

Motels, Hotels, Cottages, Rooms

These are generally more expensive than all of the above, but for a couple or good friends sharing a room can work out competitively compared to hostels. In some places they may be all that is available. Or you might simply like a bit of luxury now and then. Country hotels, usually with a bar attached, can be a bit run down, but cheap. Beware the ones that have a band playing on Friday or Saturday nights – you mightn’t get much sleep. Motels are found in every town. But in out-of-the-way places or tourist hot spots it can be worth checking Airbnb, BookaBach or Booking.com for rooms or cottages. Occasionally there are cheap ones. (A bach, also known as a crib in Southland, is a holiday cottage.)

Trail Angels

Trail angels are people who often live along the trail route and may offer anything from a cup of tea to a place to stay, as well as advice, rides, etc. They are a great  information source (they will have talked to plenty of other hikers, and you may well meet other hikers staying with them) and are often very interesting people. Most often they have a lawn for you to camp on, and use of toilets and shower. Some have cabins, sleep-outs or shelters as well. Many have a fixed charge (much less than staying in a campground or hostel), others ask for a koha (donation), and some offer their services for free. But in essence, they are offering a service to you out of the goodness of their hearts, so please respect this. You should contact them in advance of turning up, for example, preferably by a text message so they are not fielding calls at inconvenient times. Oh, and bring cash in small denominations to pay them – you can’t expect them to have eftpos machines – nor to have the correct change.

I list a number of trail angels in my walking guides, but they do come and go each year, so it is difficult to keep up to date. Also, like the rest of us, they take holidays, or things come up, so are not always available. There is the Facebook group for trail angels. Many trail angels put posts on this. Use the search function to search on a location, and in the filters at left turn on the button for ‘most recent’ posts. You can also try the ‘tagged location’ under filters, but I’m not sure that this is useful. Many hikers also simply post a request for accommodation for a location and trail angels respond.

Finally, a note on where I get my accommodation listings from. Most I have gleaned from the SoBo pages on the official TA site. As mentioned above, I have tended to ignore the more expensive places because I’ve not met many through-hikers staying in them. They are not hard to find though because they have the money for advertising or commission fees, so a Google, Airbnb, Booking.com or BookaBach search on a location will generally find them. Many other listings on the TA site are out of date and the venues closed down, so in combination with omitting many expensive motels, bed and breakfasts, etc, that is why I have fewer accommodation listings than the TA site. Also, I check weblinks, where they exist, each year; and for accommodation places that don’t have an internet presence, I phone or email them every two or so years. That’s why you will see (Confirmed correct xxx 20xx) after some entries. For ones that have only just come onto the TA site in the current year I assume that the entries are current so just add (New listing 20xx) after them. All this is to make my accommodation listings more relevant and useful for you.

Header photo: Camp Stream Hut, Two Thumb Range