Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
track marked by a park boundary sign, and enter the bush. Within 500m the track crosses a
swing bridge to the true right (west) side of Rees River. The track continues on this side of
the river, passes through
Clarke Slip
, over grassy flats, and then begins a climb through
beech forest. Within 2km the track passes the site of the old Shelter Rock Hut, now used oc-
casionally as a campsite. From here it's 1km along the true right (west) bank of the Rees,
through stands of stunted beech, before the track crosses a swing bridge back to the true left
(east) bank to arrive at the new Shelter Rock Hut (22 bunks).
Day 2: Shelter Rock Hut to Dart Hut
4-6 HOURS, 10KM, 487M ASCENT
The climb over the alpine pass of Rees Saddle begins by following the river on the true left
(east) side for a short time, to pick up a well-marked track that rises through alpine scrub.
The track gradually sidles up the valley until it reaches a tussock basin below the saddle,
about 4km from the hut.
Rees Saddle is the obvious low point to the northeast, and you keep to the streambed be-
fore climbing up the steep slope to the top. The final ascent is marked with orange poles and
a well-beaten path, but is still a steep climb of 100m. As you would expect,
Rees Saddle
(1471m) provides great views of the surrounding peaks and valleys, making it the natural
place for lunch if the weather is clear.
Follow the orange poles from the saddle towards Dart Hut. You quickly descend 90m to a
terrace and a group of tarns above Snowy Creek. The track traverses steep, snow-grass
slopes, which can be dangerous when wet or covered with snow.
The route stays on the true left (west) of
Snowy Creek
, then drops suddenly to a foot-
bridge and crossing to the true right (east) side. This steep-sided creek fills with so much
snow during the winter that DOC must remove the bridge in advance, or risk losing it to an
avalanche. The track climbs above the bridge, passes some good views of the upper Dart
Valley, and descends across broken slopes of rock and shrub.
Dart Hut is visible on the true left (south) bank of the Dart River during the final descent,
which ends at a swing bridge across Snowy Creek. The camping spots just before the bridge
signal that the hut is five minutes away.
Dart Hut (32 bunks) was rebuilt and enlarged in 2003, such is the popularity of this spot.
Many trampers spend two nights here so they can hike to view
Dart Glacier
, which has the
tendency to create a bottleneck at the height of the tramping season.
