Distance: 3.0 km (1.5 DOC hours) - Unmarked route, clear - Moderate terrain
Altitude: 304m to 1334m. Gain: 1220m. Loss: 190m . Gradient: 29 deg (Steep)
Skills: Alpine weather (2/7) - Streams (2/6)

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

Secondary, unmapped (4/5)
Route not on maps, an alternative recognised access to hut or along range / catchment

Steep (difficulty: 5/5)
Steep climbs of >1000m

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

A steep route runs down the spur directly above Kingston. Much of it is through knee high scrubby tussock and it would make hard going as an ascent, but is a reasonable descent. There is just one viable route down this face - and this is it. All others bluff out.

Drop down the initially broad spur north of pt1290, being careful not to end up on either of the two sidespurs dropping south into the creek. Travel down to 800m is reasonable - quite steep on knee high soft scrub/tussock. At 800m the spur becomes much steeper and scrub taller, but quite open. Good deer trails lead you down - aiming for the spot where the map shows bush on the face meeting that in the creek. As you descend the spur the main deer trail becomes a roughly cut track. You hit the bushedge at the top of a large rock / bluff. The track cuts left of this (look for the cairn). The descent in the bush is extremely steep, finally cutting right across the creek and joining the DOC lookout track. The section from the bluff to the DOC track is marked with red tape (2016).

Heading left down the still-steep DOC track takes you further down the face until eventually you reach a bench at the end of a gentle benched track. This leads in a series of zigzags down to a carpark just behind Kingston jetty. DOC signposts park the start of the track at the bottom.

Views back up show you the immense system of bluffs you have just navigated. Glad you didn't get it wrong?!