Chaffey Hut

From Richmond, head west along State Highway 60. After you’ve driven over Tākaka Hill, turn left at Upper Tākaka onto Cobb Dam Road, and follow it up Cobb Valley. The road is narrow with steep drop-offs to the Tākaka River below, and it is unsealed beyond the turbine house. It reaches 1100 m elevation at Cobb Ridge, meaning snow and ice can be present throughout the year. When you reach the small collection of houses near the reservoir’s edge, turn left and follow the road past the end of the reservoir, to Trilobite Hut, where there is a parking area.

Cobb Valley Track begins at Trilobite Hut, and heads up the floor of Cobb Valley. Staying on the true right of the Cobb River, the track alternates between open grassy meadows and beech forest on the flat-bottomed valley floor, and follows a very gentle uphill gradient. Along the way you will enjoy views of the ranges that bound the valley, with Mt Benson particularly prominent ahead.

Chaffey Hut is located a short distance from a bend in the Cobb River. It was originally named Hannah Creek Hut after the nearby watercourse, but was renamed Chaffey Hut after Henry Chaffey. The hut was built in 1953, a year after Henry Chaffey’s death, by forest ranger Jack McBurney. It was built from hand-cut red beech logs. In the following decades it fell into disrepair until 2012 when it was restored by the Golden Bay Deer Stalkers Association.

Beyond Chaffey Hut, Cobb Valley Track continues up the valley to Cobb Hut and Fenella Hut (2 hr 30 min away).