Want to get outdoors but not sure where to go or which huts have space? A new Kiwi-built website can help. 

On a home visit from the States earlier this year, Zachary Fleming had a yearning to get into the backcountry.

Opening the DOC website, he began a search to find a hut with bunk availability for the coming weekend. “It turned out to be almost impossible to plan,” he said. “The DOC booking system is built around already knowing which hut you want. You pick a hut, then check availability. There’s no way to flip it around to check what’s free on the days you want to go tramping.”

Hours later, with dozens of tabs open, the journalist-turned-self-taught-coder decided to fix this issue. He built the website dochutfinder.com, where users can pick when they want to go tramping and see which bookable DOC huts have availability. A link leads to the DOC website where you can make your booking. 

Fleming said he is already getting positive feedback on the website as users find huts they’ve never heard of before and get out on last-minute trips.

“We’re so lucky to have the network of DOC huts in New Zealand. It’s an incredible perk, but a lot of them are underutilised. I think the booking experience contributes to that,” Fleming said. “The same huts get booked out a year ahead while others sit empty. I’d love it if I could help nudge people towards huts they’d never heard of.”