The current Waitewaewae Hut was built in 1991 on the banks of the Otaki River, It was built to replace the original hut, located 2 km upstream.
The original hut was built by the Hutt Valley Tramping Club in 1950. The new hut is located on the site of Whareiti bivvy - the first hut in the area, which was built in 1936.
The hut is best accessed from the western side of the Tararua Forest Park via the Otaki Forks entrance. Otaki Forks is 19 km inland from Otaki township – 1.5 hour drive from Wellington or Palmerston North. The easiest turn-off from State Highway 1 is at Otaki Gorge Road, just south of the bridge over the Otaki River. The last 5 km of the Otaki Gorge Road is unsealed, narrow and windy – please drive carefully.
Walking time from Otaki Forks is approximately 5-7 hours. Part of the track follows an old tramway. It crosses the river several times, climbing to Plateau Creek then dropping down to the hut on the banks of the main Otaki River. A new track, recently marked, bypasses an active slip and climbs high above the river. This has probably added up to an hour to the trip from Otaki Forks.
At the location of the cache at least a dozen species grow on the old stump including rimu, beech, puka, kamihi, wheke, astellias and at least three coprosma varieties.
This is a trampers journey and most probably an overnight will be needed if coming in just to find this cache. If so, please ensure you have all the correct overnight gear, food, etc, including good boots as the track can be very muddy.