Dog Kennel Bivouac
The place
Very basic DOC bivvy at 889 m in the Te Kahui Kaupeka Conservation Park (Mid and South Canterbury, South Island, New Zealand). No marked DOC access — you must plan your route and navigate yourself (map, compass, GPS recommended). Coordinates NZTM2000: E1423180, N5171994 (NZTopo50 map BX18). No sleeping platform or mattress — just a few closed-cell foam mats and a black polyethylene tarp, with a packed-earth floor. Graffiti from a deer hunter in 1943 above the door; the hut does look rather like a kennel. The approach can be surprising if you don't know you need to climb above the gorge: climb above the treeline and follow the barely visible trace to the end of the gorge. Unbridged watercourses — know how to cross safely, and do not attempt in flood.
Getting there
Off-trail, independent navigation (map/compass/GPS), Te Kahui Kaupeka.
The setting
Te Kahui Kaupeka Conservation Park, South Canterbury, historic 1943 bivvy.
