A trip to Totara Flats will be agreeable to groups of all abilities. It’s reasonably flat and short, with a hut that’s nicely situated and well appointed.

Waiohine Campsite is perhaps the grandest of all gateways to Tararua Forest Park. From it, high above the Waiohine River, the 120m-long Jim Nimmo suspension bridge beckons you on.

Cross the bridge, turn right onto the Lower Waiohine Track and wander through stands of rimu, tōtara and mataī. There are some nice lookouts along the valley, including a particularly inviting one at a nīkau grove. 

It’s about an hour to Clem Creek and a first swing bridge, and the same to the second, at Makaka Creek, just past the junction with the track to Cone Hut. This is the halfway point, and travel is now faster.

The track levels, going through dense bush before dropping to the Waiohine for a rock-hop upstream past a large slip. Alternatively, there’s a flood detour that can be followed. 

Once back on the track proper an open area known as Little Totara Flats is crossed. This is an appealing place to camp. During an easy ramble over a bluff there are arguably the prettiest views on the trip – looking down onto Totara Flats. 

The ease of wandering over Totara Flats through stands of tōtara and kān-uka, and surrounded by bush-clad ridges, distinguishes this trip from other Tararua tramps. The tranquility of these flats feels uncharacteristically benign compared to the natural brutality so typical of the range. 

Totara Flats Hut is bright, roomy and designed to be busy. A covered veranda, large enough for shelter if the two bunk rooms are bursting, wraps around the sunny sides. The common area is large with several tables, and two kitchen areas encircle a fireplace.  

It’s worth walking a couple of minutes to the swing bridge over the Waiohine River, which had an earlier reputation for catching the wind like a sheet on a Wellington washing line. The bridge was replaced in mid-2021 with a more stable structure from which to watch the river surge from its gorge and make a spectacular turn towards Totara Flats. This turn is due to a geological fault that creates a distinct kink in rivers draining onto the Wairarapa Plain, which otherwise run south-east. 

The three-day Holdsworth–Kaitoke Track – which includes Totara Flats Hut – follows the fault, through valleys hemmed in between the Tararua Range’s steep ridges and gentler eastern foothills.  

Totara Flats can be left by the same path, but there are options to head south to Cone or Tutuwai Huts for a two-night loop, or north to Totara Creek Track as a through-trip to Holdsworth.