Wilkin Valley - East Matukituki Traverse

Follow the track behind the hut and climb, before sidling around above the gorge to the open flats of the south branch. A major slip in the gorge can be difficult to negotiate - take extreme care crossing this section. Follow the flats until you reach the waterfall face 3 to 4 hours from the hut. Waterfall Face is very steep and exposed, with significant fall hazard; snow grass is slippery even when dry. It is extremely dangerous when wet, windy or under snow and should not be attempted if any of these conditions exist. Take care, hazards exist on this route in all conditions. The route starts on the western side of the face, well to the right of the falls. Go up a snow grass fan to the ledges above and to the right. Do this until you reach a narrow sloping ledge and follow it back across to the left to reach the ridge about 150 m above the waterfall. Follow the valley through the alpine herb fields for about an hour, to reach Rabbit Pass (1430 metres), to follow the obvious shelf east, and climb towards Mt Lois for about 30 minutes until a narrow rockslide leading down through the bluffs. The first 30 m of this slide is steep, and dangerous, especially if wet. Beware of falling rock until well clear of the slide and follow the snow grass slopes to the valley floor. It’s an easy 1 to 2 hours to Ruth Flat.

The track down Bledisloe Gorge starts on the true left, at the bottom of the bush spur, about 20 minutes from Ruth Flat. It climbs to the bushline, sidles through snow grass, and re-enters the bush just before Hester Pinney Creek. Here it descends to the river and Junction Flat, 4 - 5 hours from Ruth Flat. Cross the two 3-wire bridges to the track on the true right bank of the East Matukituki River down to the Glacier Burn (2 hours). From here follow the flats to the West Matukituki River, ford the river to Cameron Flat or, if the river is too high to cross safely, use the bridge an hour upstream.

We encourage you to continue gaining the skills and knowledge required for a safe trip. The NZ Mountain Safety Council has lots of free resources and information you can use. These can be accessed via www.mountainsafety.org.nz . We recommend trying these online learning tools: Trip Planning Tramping / field Skills Basic Navigation River Safety Additionally, check out the range of helpful videos available from the NZ Mountain Safety Council YouTube channel .

The weather can change rapidly in New Zealand. Hypothermia is a real risk even in summer. Mount Aspiring National Park frequently experiences very heavy rain from the west. Strong winds from the northwest are also prevalent when rain is expected. Whiteout conditions caused by snow or low cloud may also be present. Be wary of southerly wind changes which can bring rapidly deteriorating conditions. Be prepared by having warm, windproof and waterproof clothing and good quality tramping boots.

No dogs.