Rees-Dart Combo: Linking Two Classics in One Trip
Eight days, two trailheads, one rest day — how we link the Rees-Dart and the Routeburn into one of the best trips Mt Aspiring offers.
The Rees-Dart Track is sometimes called "the Great Walk that is not a Great Walk" — four days through Mt Aspiring National Park, over Rees Saddle (1471 m), and out the Dart Valley with a side trip up to the Cascade Saddle viewpoint if conditions allow. It is a real alpine trip, and pairing it with the Routeburn turns a holiday into something close to a pilgrimage. Here is how we plan the combo.
The two routes, separately
Rees-Dart (4 days, 75 km)
A loop from Muddy Creek (Rees Valley) up over Rees Saddle to Dart Hut, optional side trip to Cascade Saddle, then out the Dart Valley to Chinaman's Bluff and a road-end shuttle back to Glenorchy.
Standard pacing:
- Muddy Creek → Shelter Rock Hut (22 bunks). 17 km, 6-7 hr.
- Shelter Rock → Dart Hut (32 bunks). 11 km, 5-7 hr. Over Rees Saddle. Snow possible most months.
- Cascade Saddle side trip (round trip from Dart Hut). 6-8 hr. Steep, exposed, weather-dependent. Do not attempt in cloud.
- Dart Hut → Daleys Flat Hut (20 bunks). 16 km, 5-6 hr.
- Daleys Flat → Chinaman's Bluff carpark. 16 km, 5 hr.
Most parties take 4 days by skipping the side trip or combining days 4 and 5. We strongly recommend 5 days if you want Cascade Saddle.
Routeburn (3 days, 32 km)
Covered in detail in our Routeburn post. Three days, two huts, Harris Saddle, Conical Hill if the weather holds.
The combo — 8 days, two trailheads, one rest day
The most satisfying way to do both is back-to-back, with a rest day in Glenorchy:
| Day | Walk | Hut |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Muddy Creek → Shelter Rock | Shelter Rock Hut |
| 2 | Shelter Rock → Dart Hut | Dart Hut |
| 3 | Dart Hut → Daleys Flat | Daleys Flat Hut |
| 4 | Daleys Flat → Chinaman's Bluff | Drive to Glenorchy |
| 5 | Rest day in Glenorchy | Camp / motel |
| 6 | Routeburn Shelter → Falls | Routeburn Falls Hut |
| 7 | Falls → Mackenzie | Mackenzie Hut |
| 8 | Mackenzie → The Divide | Shuttle to Te Anau or Queenstown |
Why the rest day matters: you have just done 75 km with a saddle crossing. Your feet, your legs, and your shoulders need 24 hr of food, sleep, and hot showers before you start the Routeburn. Skipping the rest day is the single most common mistake we see on combo trips.
Logistics — this is the hard part
The Rees-Dart and Routeburn use four different trailheads, none of which are the same:
- Muddy Creek (Rees Valley start)
- Chinaman's Bluff (Dart Valley end)
- Routeburn Shelter (Routeburn east end, Glenorchy side)
- The Divide (Routeburn west end, Te Anau side)
You need shuttles, not your own car. Buckler's Travel and InfoTrack are the two main operators that handle Glenorchy-side connections, plus the Glenorchy → Te Anau shuttle to retrieve a car from The Divide. Book before you book the huts.
Rough cost (2026): NZ$200-300 per person for the full shuttle web, depending on group size.
Key tip: Cascade Saddle is one of the most beautiful and most dangerous side trips in the Mt Aspiring NP. It has killed experienced trampers, mostly via slips on wet tussock. The DOC trackmark stops 100 m below the actual saddle viewpoint — going beyond requires alpine judgement. If the rock is wet, do not go up. The view is not worth it.
Bookings and seasons
- Rees-Dart huts — non-bookable, standard backcountry tickets. First come, first served. Dart Hut fills up December-February.
- Routeburn huts — bookable, Great Walks system. Open May, sell out within hours for peak summer dates.
- Best season: Late November to early April. Outside this window Rees Saddle and Cascade Saddle hold serious snow.
What is unique about the Mt Aspiring NP side
You are walking through the largest single area of unmodified beech forest in New Zealand, with kea on the saddles, blue duck (whio) on the rivers, and tarns most people will never see. The Dart Valley in particular has braided river travel that feels more like Patagonia than the Coromandel.
It is also one of the few places where a multi-day trip can take you past genuinely remote terrain — the side valleys off the Dart, including the Cascade and the Snowy, lead into territory where no track exists at all and parties are measured in years between visits.
What to take that is combo-specific
- Camp shoes for the rest day. Your boots will be wet, sore, and possibly bloody.
- Resupply box in Glenorchy — leave it at your accommodation, or arrange with Buckler's. You do not want to carry 8 days of food.
- Two pairs of socks minimum, ideally three. Wet feet for 8 days will end the trip otherwise.
- A real first-aid kit. Tape, blister kit, painkillers. Day 6 is when feet revolt.
The Rees-Dart on its own is a great trip. Combined with the Routeburn it is one of the best multi-week tramps in the country, and arguably the deepest experience of Mt Aspiring National Park you can have without an axe and rope. Plan it once, walk it twice in your memory.