Cullen Creek Hut

This private 4 bed hut is the only hut in the eastern Richmond Ranges. Sadly it is locked and no contact details posted. However, a reliable water supply is available 100m up the track from the hut, and camping spots exist nearby. The dunny is excellent: an A-frame 'school bus shelter', with no door and a view of the whole valley!

The hut lies near the head of Cullen Creek, on the Waikakaho Cullen Creek Track, and is marked on the P27 topomap as 'hut'. The track runs from the Queen Charlotte Drive between Picton and Havelock to Waikakaho Road off the north bank of the Wairau.

Following the Richmond Ranges main ridge west from Picton after 8 weeks without rain, I was forced to drop off the ridge seeking water; despite numerous streams shown, this was the first and only water supply found, some 500m below the ridgeline! As a further warning, the 'clear' face opposite the hut shown on P27 topomap is in fact 3-4m high manuka / fern scrub mix, and very tough going.