Toaroha Valley to Cedar Flat Hut
Hokitika · West Coast · 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 with a DOC permit only. Contact closest DOC office to get a permit. Other pets on conservation land rules. (DOC, Toaroha, Hokitika, Lower Whitcombe Track page; the Kokatahi-Toaroha hunting area page carries the same rule and the permits come from the Hokitika DOC office.)”. 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.
About Toaroha Valley to Cedar Flat Hut
This long track follows 8.8 km as a point-to-point, near Hokitika in West Coast.
The front door of the Toaroha: the first leg of DOC's Toaroha, Hokitika, Lower Whitcombe Track, from the road end off the Kokatahi/Lake Kaniere circuit road to the twelve bunk Cedar Flat Hut and its two bunk historic neighbour. Dre, who sent in both big loops that start here with Hazel, gives it 4 to 5 hours, exactly DOC's figure. From the car park by the farm sheds a rough farm road drops to river level, orange triangles lead across the open flats to the bush line, and an old logging tram line carries the track up the valley. About an hour of the middle runs on the riverbed under steep gravel faces, with a signposted flood track above it for when the Toaroha is up, then the benched track climbs high above the Toaroha Canyon before easing down to Cedar Flat, where the Cedar Flat Bridge crosses to the huts. The reward for the night: small natural hot springs a short way up Wren Creek, reached over the lower swingbridge on a signposted side track. The dog rule is DOC's for the whole Kokatahi-Toaroha country: dogs with a DOC permit only, the hunting-dog kind, arranged through the Hokitika DOC office before you go. The road end and the first stretch are private farmland where DOC says foot access is allowed, so keep the dog close, leave farm gates as you find them and do not disturb stock. This is the shared opening leg of two long loops Dre has mapped for us, over Zit Saddle into the Kokatahi and over Toaroha Saddle to the lower Whitcombe, and we are building those hut to hut legs one by one. On its own it is a serious day in advanced tramping country: riverbed travel, flood risk and a canyon sidle, so pick your weather.
Expect hard going, with around 552 m of climb, and takes about 2 hr 40 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.
