Distance: 4.4 km (4.0 DOC hours) - Unmarked route, clear - Moderate terrain
Altitude: 713m to 1293m. Gain: 575m. Loss: 580m . Gradient: 15 deg (Moderate)
Skills: Alpine weather (2/7) - Streams (2/6)

Unmarked route, clear (7/9)
Unmarked route, follows obvious geography (river, spur, trail, etc)

Primary, mapped (1/5)
Formal route, on maps, principal access to hut or along range / catchment

Moderate (difficulty: 3/5)
Occasional moderate climbs

Moderate (difficulty: 3/5)
Low scrub in open or bush / river rocks

Alpine weather (difficulty: 2/7)
Tramp on open tops, exposed to alpine weather

Streams (difficulty: 2/6)
Small streams, danger only in extreme weather

Unknown (difficulty: 0/7)
Not specified

No description

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

Note: a new track has been cut through this saddle so this description may be out of date and times likely reduced.

Follow the track 400m from Dunn’s Creek Hut to return to Dunn’s Creek, then head upriver, sticking to the riverbed / banks. At the forks, take the southern-most fork heading due west. This section is very scrubby (but a new track has recently been cut through here since my visit). In the absence of a track, wet feet proved a much better solution than bashing through sub-alpine scrub.

Eventually scrub will be left behind and you’ll continue up a now v-shaped tussock valley. Climb to the tussock saddle between Dunn’s and Newton Creeks, and descend to the creek on the far side. Follow the creek back into scrub and bush to the confluence with the larger north-south branch of Newton Creek – it’s a steep and slippery descent especially after rain. Newton Creek Hut is 500m downstream from the confluence, on the true left.