Elder hut

The 4wd road is pretty rough now,it really needs some maintenance.It will take you a good couple of hours plus to get to Renata Hut,then from there another 2 or so hours to get to Elder.The track used to be really rough but apparently now its been cut and remarked recently.The worst bit used to be the leatherwood past Elder but this now has been recut as i said.Ive never been much past Elder but i imagine to get to Kime would take a few hours.A nice and underused part of the Tararuas.

The 4wd road is ok to the top but if you are taking a 4wd in you need to be able to use it properly and not worry about the odd scratch. Dont take a car in there and dont leave one overnight at the carpark on Akatarawa road unless you actualy want your insurance to replace your radio tyres and glass. I have heard that you can leave vehicles at Staglands for a small fee but dont know details. From Akatarawa summit its 11km along the 4wd road to Renata saddle where you can park a 4wd sort of safely. This is where the walking track goes off on your right to Renata hut which is about 40 minutes then on to Elder. On the other side of the road is the track to Kapakapanui or you can continue down the road to Waiartarau hut. This is about an hour and a half walk or you can drive if you are game. The 2 tank traps just after the summit are realy to discourage the less adventurous but if you dont mind hairpin bends with nothing on the inside vertical rock faces to climb and slips that have you leaning out over an abyss its fine to drive

The times i quoted are if you walk from the Akatarawa road.

Hi - yes i am walking all the way. Thanks for the information, it's helpful. Cheers