Description

Tailings Hut is 12-bunk hut located in Oteake Conservation Park in the Central Otago area. Fees apply. Bookings not required - first come, first served. Facilities include heating, mattresses, non-flush toilets and water from a stream. This hut has a fireplace and it is a good idea to take wood with you as there are few trees in this tussock landscape. The 4WD track is open to vehicles between Labour weekend and 30 April, but may be closed at any time if susceptible to damage. Tailings Hut has a shared-use arrangement with concession holders grazing Mt Ida Conservation Area. The Mt Ida syndicate are prioritised to use the hut from 7 January to 30 April for mustering purposes. Call the DOC office to check availability. The trip to Tailings Hut is an adventure in itself; the 4WD track has numerous river crossings and steep rocky sections. Travelling through this vast tussock country with big skies reveals a Graham Sydney painting in every direction. Tailings Hut is a product of three huts with different histories. The two bunkrooms were once single man quarters used for construction of the Roxburgh Hydro Dam. The larger building, built in the 1930s by farmers who previously held the occupation licence for the site, is now the kitchen. From Naseby turn into Mount Buster Road. Continue to the end of Mt Buster Road on the 4WD track to Tailings Hut. It is 2 hr travel in a vehicle from the start of Oteake Conservation Park to the hut. Leave gates as you find them. Before you go, buy 1 Standard Hut Ticket (blue for adults, yellow for youth) for each night's stay. Put this in the honesty box at the hut. Or buy a Backcountry Hut Pass that gives unlimited use at most Standard and Serviced huts for a 6 or 12-month period.