Distance: 14.3 km (6.0 DOC hours) - Marked route - Moderate terrain
Altitude: 1225m to 1912m. Gain: 609m. Loss: 706m . Gradient: 5 deg (Moderate)
Skills: Alpine weather (2/7) - Occasional rivers (3/6) Winter - Snow/ice underfoot, avalanche risk (3/7)

Marked route (6/9)
Uncut route, with markers normally within sight

Primary, unmapped (2/5)
Route not on maps, but is 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

Occasional rivers (difficulty: 3/6)
Occasional rivers - impassible after heavy rain

Snow/ice underfoot, avalanche risk (difficulty: 3/7)
Snow/ice likely on track, tramp crosses avalance paths

Slopes above track are short - but avalanche awareness required in heavy snow.

From Royal Hut, head 300m upruver to the forks, cross Bush Stream and head west up the sidestream towards Stag Saddle. At the 2nd forks marker poles indicate a limb up a tussock face between the two creeks to reach a hanging valley above. Continue up the southern valley over tussock and later scree to make the easy climb to Stag Saddle - the highest point on Te Araroa at 1925m.

Frequent marker poles guide you 300m west from Stag Saddle before swinging south and dropping steadily to Camp Stream below. Once in the valley, back on rolling tussock, the marked become sparse. Follow the western (true right) bank downriver. Going is slow due to large rolling tussocks underfoot.

10km from the pass the route reaches a 4WD track, where signposts point right to Camp Stream Hut, 500m away. Coal Stream roadend and Rex Simpson shelter are right along the same track.

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

From Camp Stream Hut follow the 4WD track north for 500m to the crossing of Camp Stream where a signpost marks the start of the Stag Saddle route.

The route is sparsely poled and follows the river upstream on the western (true right) bank. Going is slowish on rounded tussocks but it's a technically easy walk. As the valley narrows the marked poles become frequent, and the route climbs more steeply to the scree basin west of Stag Saddle, before swinging east to cross the saddle. Stag Saddle is the highest point on the Te Araroa walkway at 1925m.

On the east side of the pass the poled route drops into a tussock basin, before crossing to the north side of the small creek and dropping down a spur between two creeks to a large valley below. Avoid the temptation to drop north into the northern creek - this gorges out and is impassable.

Once in the valley the poles disappear, and the route follows the creek downstream until it hits Bush Stream 300m upstream of Royal Hut. Royal Hut is on the opposite bank. The stream is knee deep in normal flows and will be impassible after heavy rain.

If the river is impassable, a route north to Stone Hut is possible on the western bank, but the smaller Blind Spur Stream would have to be crossed, and you'd need to go over pt1408 to avoid creek crossings above the hut. A bridge just below Stone Hut give access to the hut.