Butchers Flat to Devils Creek Hut
Havelock · Marlborough · Point to Point
This walk was suggested by the community and checked against the authority quoted above before it was published. The route line comes from official track data. DOC’s own wording: “Dogs are allowed in this area with a permit. A maximum of four dogs per party is allowed. Contact the Nelson Visitor Centre for permits. (DOC, Wakamarina Track page, whose pill for the track reads "Dogs with a DOC permit only.")”. Evidence: the rule-setter’s own published wording. How we check dog rules.
Good to know
A DOC dog permit is required before any dog walks here. DOC codes this land for the hunting-dog permit, so it is not a casual dog walk. Ask the DOC office before planning to bring a dog.
Opens your email app, addressed to [email protected]. You can also call DOC on 0800 275 362.
About Butchers Flat to Devils Creek Hut
Butchers Flat to Devils Creek Hut is a point-to-point of 6.1 km, near Havelock in Marlborough.
The first stage of the old goldminers' Wakamarina Track, sent in by Dre, whose two hours from the road end is DOC's figure exactly. From Butchers Flat Campsite, 7.5 km up Wakamarina Road from SH6 west of Havelock, the benched track follows the Wakamarina River gently upvalley to Devils Creek Hut, a standard six bunk with a wood burner in a big clearing above the river, about 6.3 km each way. DOC grades the full track advanced tramping, but this lower section is the friendly end: Doom Creek is bridged on the main line, and the going is steady rather than steep. Note the old 4WD section past the Butchers Flat carpark is now closed to vehicles, so you park at the carpark and walk or cycle from there, and the track is shared with mountain bikers. Dogs come under DOC's rule for the Wakamarina: allowed with a DOC permit, at most four dogs per party, arranged with the Whakatū / Nelson Visitor Centre before you go. One warning from DOC worth taking seriously with a dog: this is honeycombed old mining country, and there are unknown mine shafts in the bush, so do not let your dog wander off the track. The known shafts near the track are fenced. From the hut the Wakamarina Track climbs on over the saddle to Fosters Hut, another 3 hours that Dre also mapped for us, and comes out at Kiwi Road on the Wairau side. That page is on the site too if you want to link the two into the full crossing.
Expect moderate going, with around 320 m of climb, and takes about 1 hr 45 to walk.
A DOC dog permit is required before any dog walks here. Arrange it with the managing DOC office ahead of your trip. This walk is on the map because Dre & Hazel suggested it, and we checked it against the source above.
