Edwards–Hawdon Route

This is a 19-mile point-to-point crossing from the Edwards Valley beside SH73, near Greyneys Shelter, to Hawdon Shelter. It climbs through the Edwards Valley, crosses Taruahuna Pass and Tarn Col, then drops to the Otehake and climbs again over Walker Pass before reaching Hawdon Hut and the road. The mapped route is about 30.6 km; the total comes from the connected route line because no official aggregate distance is published. Plan on 2–3 days, about 13–18 hours of walking, and arrange a shuttle. West to east is easier to navigate.

The useful overnight stops are Edwards Hut and Hawdon Hut; both need advance bookings. Edwards has 16 bunks and Hawdon 20. Water at the huts is untreated, so boil it, and bring your own cooker and utensils for Edwards Hut. There are no food stops on the crossing. The shorter Hawdon Hut walk from Hawdon Shelter is a separate three-hour one-way access if you want to visit a hut without committing to the whole traverse.

Start by crossing Bealey River above the Mingha confluence, then follow orange markers around a lower gorge bypass. The route alternates riverbed and track, crosses the East Branch, and climbs and dips around steep side gullies. Expect waterfall glimpses, slippery ground and large drop-offs. Higher up, the canyon opens into a tussock valley; red tussock flats are a maze where the faint line can be hard to pick out. A short forest stretch leads to Edwards Hut.

From Edwards Hut, continue up the valley over tussock flats or riverbed. The grades are easier here, but progress is slow and route markers are intermittent. Taruahuna Pass is a wide field of rubble left by the 1929 Falling Mountain landslide. The steep climb beside the creek to Tarn Col takes about 45 minutes and can be slippery on snow tussock. At the tarn, follow the poles down into the outlet creek; the tempting flat tussock line on the left runs into bluffs. Snow or ice can make this section much more serious.

At the East Otehake River East Branch, turn upstream and south before climbing through scrub to Walker Pass. It is easy to follow the wrong creek, so keep the map and compass out. The pass opens onto a hanging valley and tarn; pause here for a memorable high-country view. The descent follows the tarn outlet through boulders and scrub, past Twin Falls Stream and a rocky knoll, then through beech forest to Hawdon Hut.

The final leg is about three hours one way and crosses the Hawdon and East Hawdon rivers several times. It is only a good option when river levels are low; if the rivers are high, wait at the hut rather than forcing the crossings. Follow orange track markers, not the colored tape and markers used for bird-protection work.