Port Craig School Hut

A 20-bunk hut inside New Zealand's last surviving Port Craig schoolhouse — a day's walk from Rarakau Lodge, with Hector's dolphins often working the bay along the way.

Port Craig School Hut is the old Port Craig schoolhouse, converted into a 20-bunk serviced hut on the South Coast Track. It's an easier, more accessible first stop than the huts further along the track — most walkers reach it comfortably in a single day.

The hut sits on a terrace above Mussel Beach, the only building left standing from what was once a busy timber town of more than 200 people.

Rarakau Lodge sits right at the trailhead, about 20 km and 7 hours' walk away — see our South Coast Track page for the full route.

Bunks20, with mattresses

TypeServiced — booking required

Cost$25 adult / $12.50 youth

Distance≈20 km · 7 hrs from Rarakau

A School Turned Hut

Port Craig was built almost overnight in 1916, when the Marlborough Timber Company set up what was then New Zealand's largest and most modern sawmill on this remote stretch of coast. At its peak the settlement had a school, a wharf, a bakehouse and homes for more than 200 workers and their families.

The mill closed in 1928 as the accessible timber ran out and the Depression bit, and the town was abandoned almost as quickly as it had appeared. Of everything that was built, only the schoolhouse survives — now maintained by the Department of Conservation as a hut for trampers.

A short interpretive walk near the hut winds past relics of the old mill, including the rusting remains of a Lidgerwood hauler once used to drag logs out of the bush.

Lidgerwood hauler photo by Thorney (CC BY-SA 3.0). Port Craig sawmill, 1921, Auckland Weekly News (public domain). Via Wikimedia Commons.

Sleeping & Facilities

20 bunks with mattresses
Wood burner — wood supplied, may need cutting to length
Non-flush toilet
Tap water from a rainwater tank — boil before drinking
No lighting — bring a torch or candles
No cooking facilities — bring a portable stove

Booking is essential: this is a Serviced Hut and DOC keeps no space for trampers arriving without one.

On the Way: Percy Burn Viaduct

The old tramway that once hauled logs out of Port Craig is now part of the track itself, crossing four historic wooden viaducts. The largest, Percy Burn, is 125 m long and 36 m high — the largest timber viaduct left in New Zealand, and one of the most memorable crossings on the whole route.

Percy Burn Viaduct photo by Tomas Sobek (CC BY 2.0), via Wikimedia Commons.

Hector's Dolphins

Te Waewae Bay, which the track follows for much of the first day out of Rarakau, is one of the best places in New Zealand to see Hector's dolphins — the world's smallest and rarest marine dolphin, found only in New Zealand waters. They're a regular sight from the beach, often working the shallows just offshore, and are one of the real drawcards of the walk to Port Craig.

Hector's dolphin photos by Tomas Sobek (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Avenue (CC BY-SA 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons.

Getting There & Booking

Port Craig School Hut is a Serviced Hut, which means booking is essential — DOC keeps no space for walk-in trampers. Book online through the Department of Conservation before you set out, and see our South Coast Track page for the full route from Rarakau.