Where the Mountains meet the Sea: Mt Fyffe Hut, the steep one with the best views
Mt Fyffe Hut, Kaikoura
Kaikoura is one place in New Zealand where the mountains meet the sea and what better way to enjoy those views, than to climb up to a New Zealand backcountry hut. This track is a great South Island hike so here’s everything you need to know.
This is the hut to do if you want mountain and seaward views, a quaint wee hut to sleep in and don’t want to deal with any challenging navigation. It is very steep though, so you’ll need to be ready for some uphill on this tramping track.
Mt Fyffe Hut is along the Mt Fyffe Track which heads up to the summit at 1602m above sea level. This full track takes 8 hours return, but it’s only about 3 hours one way to the hut. You can do the Mt Fyffe Summit track in a day if you have plenty of daylight, or drop your bags off at Mt Fyffe Hut, hit the summit and return for a sleep.
Mt Fyffe Walk Kakoura in summary
- Hike to Mt Fyffe Hut: 3 hours uphill
- Hike down: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Elevation gain to Mt Fyffe Hut: a bit under 900m according to my garmin
- Distance to Mt Fyffe Hut: about 6km one way.
What it’s like to walk to Mt Fyffe Hut, Kaikoura
I’m not going to lie, this track is steep and at least for the first hour, its a little boring. But sometimes you have to put in the work to get the goods, am I right?
The Mt Fyffe walk heads up a 4wd style track. So its a mix of gravel and dirt, was a little muddy when we were there, but easy to navigate. You won’t get lost on this trail, so if you are a beginner hiker in terms of navigation, you will be fine.
The first hour or so is a pretty hard slog. We took a short morning tea break at some picnic tables an hour in and there was a nice little view here. But another 10 or so minutes up the hill there is the official lookout.
I would show you the amazing view, but we had a cloud immersion layer, so all we could see where clouds. However in the other direction there were some nice views over the mountain.
We climbed this in Winter (July), however the temperature was pretty mild. There was a high of 8C, but the steepness of the trail meant we were all down to single layers as we climbed. It was hot work. If you hike to Mt Fyffe in Winter there can be snow, so keep this in mind.
After the lookout, either as muscles were more warmed up, or the trail was slightly less steep, but it did seem a little easier.
The views over the Kaikoura mountain range was really nice along the way and you could see how high up you were, with views down to the river below.
There’s not much to note on the trail up. You’ll note what looks like a tall mountain up ahead and wonder if you are going up to that, which you almost are.
We had lunch at a nicely placed bench, but found this was only about 20 minutes to the hut.
All in all, my garmin clocked 2 hours and 50 minutes of walking, then add on a morning tea stop and a lunch stop. I’d guess around 30-40 minutes in total.
How long did it take to hike down from Mt Fyffe Hut
It took us 1 hour and 45 minutes to hike down to the carpark. We didn’t have any stops along the way. It was quite steep so if you did have hiking poles, I’d recommend that. It’ll help the knees of adults.
There is also an alternate trail: Kowhai Saddle Track that makes this a bit of a loop track. You can see this signposted just before the hut in the signpost at the clearing.
The views from Mt Fyffe Hut
From Mountt Fyffe Hut you can see views over the whole Kaikoura Peninsula. Unless, like us, you discovered a cloud inversion which meant we were above a sea of cloud. I can’t complain really because it was miserable and grey in Kaikoura and we could turn around and see the mountains and a bit of blue sky up here.
But we didn’t get the Kaikoura coastal views, so we will have to come back next time to see that.
Mt Fyffe Summit
You can also walk to Mount Fyffe Summit which is about another 500m in elevation gain. The signpost said that it takes 1 hour and 50 minutes to the summit, however other blogs have mentioned it takes around an hour and a half.
Since we couldn’t see the coast, we chose the flag it this time, so again, another reason to come back.
Mt Fyffe Hut Details
What is it like at Mt Fyffe Hut?
Mt Fyffe Hut is a standard DOC Hut so its not fancy but hut standards and there’s no double glazing. But here’s what is does have
Mt Fyffe Hut
- 8 single bunks with mattresses (no platforms, so you aren’t sleeping right next to someone else)
- Fire
- Ash bucket
- Bench for cooking
- Broom and brush/shovel
- Entrance way with hooks for jacket and packs=
A few notes
- There wasn’t any dry firewood when we were there so although we could get it started with twigs and sticks, we couldn’t keep it going overnight as anything of a decent thickness was just too wet. We brought lots of warm clothes and it was a bit above zero when we stayed and it was completely fine, we didn’t even use all our layers at night with decent sleeping bags
- One blog noted there wasn’t water when they were there. So we brought all our own, but there was. So maybe not rely on it, just in case.
- I did have cell phone service on this hike. Spark is my mobile service provider.
How to book Mt Fyffe Hut?
Mt Fyffe Hut is a Department of Conservation (DOC) standard hut and it is not bookable. A standard hut is not serviced so does not have firewood helicoptered in, nor is there a warden who visits and looks after the hut (not that they would in winter anyway)
You cannot book Mt Fyffe Hut online, instead you will need to purchase a standard hut ticket which as at 2024 was $10 per adult and $5 per child. You can buy DOC standard hut tickets at outdoor stores such as Macpac or Kathmandu and at some visitor I-sites or DOC Visitor Centres.
When you arrive, you just pop these in the hut ticket box to “pay” for your night sleep. People often ask how I manage with kids and getting a bed. I know some adults will take a tent in case you don’t get a bed, but with kids, thats a lot of extra carrying for us adults.
My plan to nab a bed is to avoid busy times such as school holidays, summer weekends etc, and/or leave really early in the day so you aren’t the last to arrive.
We visited Mt Fyffe Hut in the winter school holidays and I took a gamble that no one would want to visit so much in winter. We also arrived just after lunch so even if it was full, we had time to go back if we had to. A couple of contingencies just in case.
Another option would be to carry some packable sleeping mats and then potentially sleep on the floor of the hut if you had to.
Hiking Mt Fyffe Hut with Kids
I took my 6 year old and 8 year old on the hike to Mt Fyffe Hut and they loved the hut, the loved the views, but they didn’t really rate the walk. My 8 year old is a mountain goat and will walk anywhere, he was completely fine. Emilia who is 6 found it a little tough, but she was fine.
It just wasn’t super interesting for that first hour and at least there were some views after that. I would recommend this for kids who have hiked harder or longer distances before as opposed to kids who are just starting out. Mentally, even for an adult, the monotony of the trail was a little tough. So have a few under your belt before this one and for those who understand that it’s hard now, but the views will be worth it.
They really enjoyed tending to the fire and playing outside. They had a great time and slept really well, which is every parents dream isn’t it.
How to get to Mt Fyffe Hut
The Mt Fyffe Hut carpark is located about 15-20 minutes out of the Kaikoura township. You head north of town, as if travelling towards Blenheim, turn left onto Ludstone road and follow the signs to Mt Fyffe hut track start.
There is a toilet in the Mt Fyffe Hut carpark and space to park a number of vehicles.
Where to stay in Kaikoura
We stayed at: Kaikoura Quality Suites
We found some great family friendly accommodation in Kaikoura in the Kaikoura Quality Suites. We stayed in a suite with a larger super king bed and a single, which was great for the three of us, with a kitchenette and bathroom.
The lady at the desk was really lovely and accommodating and it had everything we needed. We found a good deal on booking.com for $158 for the night. It wasn’t luxurious but was clean, pleasant and we had a great sleep.
Kaikoura Hotel: Sudima Kaikoura
If you’re looking for a longer stay with a little luxury, the Sudima Kaikoura are the new kids on the block. They have an outdoor pool, amazing views over the sea and so close too.
Kaikoura Luxury Accommodation: Hapuku Lodge and Treehouses
For something extremely memorable, the Hapuku Lodge and Treehouses can’t be beat. It’s been on my bucket list for ages but its often been booked. They’re treehouses are idyllic and everything you need for a peaceful stay.
Kaikoura Campsites
If you are road tripping or prefer to camp, you could try at the Alpine Pacific Motels and Holiday Park. We’ve stayed there and they have hot tubs and some simple cabins too. Or the Kaikoura Top 10 Holiday Park is another popular option
There’s also a DOC campsite a bit north of town called Puhipuhi campsite but only has spaces for 6 vehicles/tents so in the summer it would be worth getting there early.
Jennifer
Founder of Backyard Travel Family
Jen is a super organiser when it comes to travel. Having travelled extensively in Europe and Africa, has lived in London and the USA and holidayed in many parts of Asia, she is not a newbie to the travel space
Jen has three young children, 10 and under and travels around New Zealand with them.
