Te Araroa: Whiowhio Hut in Palmerston North - Aotearoa’s only urban tramping hut

Dutch hikers Marcella (from left), Anouk, Margot and Jasper enjoy a break at Whiowhio Hut last summer.

Anthony Behrens and Fiona Burleigh started walking parts of Te Araroa in 2011 and fell in love with the trail.

The Palmerston North couple also fell in love with the idea of extending their hospitality and home to trail walkers.

Te Araroa is a single, continuous walking trail from Cape Rēinga to Bluff. The Manawatū section travels from Bulls south to Levin. It includes cultural and environmental highlights such as the Feilding Sale Yards, the century-old Burttons Track through regrown bush along the Tokomaru River, views of Kāpiti Island and the South Island, and native bush around the Makahika Stream crossings.

The couple started what Behrens, with humour, calls walker stalking. They invited trail walkers to stay in their home, but were aware they had limited infrastructure in place for those doing the full walk.

Fast forward to 2017, after many tents in the back garden and sleeping bodies on the living room floor, the couple decided to build a hut. Burleigh crafted this from a rotting shed and packing materials from a massive crate.

Whiowhio Hut now stands proud as New Zealand’s only urban tramping hut and runs off koha, which is donated to Ruahine Whio Protectors, a group of volunteers who trap extensively in the Ruahine Ranges to help whio (blue duck) flourish.

The hut has three bunks and campers can pitch their tents outside as well.

The popularity of the trail has increased exponentially with about 4000 through-walkers last season and thousands of day/section hikers.

Behrens, who is part of the Te Araroa Manawatū Trust, says ecologically and logistically, the trail was not designed to withstand this kind of traffic. There is a strong move to encourage walkers to give back in some way, whether through koha or volunteer time, so the trail is better at the end of their experience.

Te Araroa Manawatū Trust and Whiowhio Hut are both members of Environment Network Manawatū. You can find more information about their work at whiowhio.nz.