Leitches Clearing - Tramping

A great area for tramping in the king country with a comfortable hut. 

Hut

The hut in Leitches clearing is in good condition. There are 16 bunks and ample floor space and some extra matresses in the unlikely event that all of the bunks are full. If you prefer to stay in a tent the huge clearing gives you plenty of options.

Clearing/History

The area around the hut was cleared by Sam Leitch when the government had plans to put a road through the area. Once the road building plans were abandoned, Sam gave up farming the clearing. There are some great photo's and stories of this history kept in the hut. The Photo albums and magazines are usually kept under the seats by the window.

Tracks

There are several different tracks that lead to Leitches clearing.

Leitches Road End - Clearing

The shortest way is from carpark on Leitches road, it takes about 3 hours to reach the hut. You begin walking along the fence line on border between farmland and the bush.  As you gain a bit of height you get a great view of the steep, bush encased farmland.  Pretty quickly you are surrounded by bush and the feeling of isolation is fantastic considering how easy the access is.  To reach the hut you gain about 200m of altitude to reach the high point of the track and then gradually lose it again as you descend to the clearing in the Awakino river valley.  Apart from the occasional piece you might not even notice that you're gaining and losing height.

Gribbons Rd 

There is a slighter longer track that follows the Awakino river from the end of Gribbons Rd. This way is good if you're looking to do a bit of trout fishing along the way.

Waikawau Rd 

Waikawau Rd is a longer track and unless you live out that way it's quite a drive just to get to the start of the track. I haven't done this track ... if you have please leave a comment at the bottom of the page to let people know what it's like.

Awakino River

The river up around the hut is quite small, but there are a few good swimming holes. There used to be a really good one right by the hut, but the river as changed and is little more than waist deep now. The closest swimming holes are found by following the river upstream from the hut. Trout fishing can be very good in the Awakino river but you are best to walk downstream from the hut where the river gets a bit larger.