Distance: 2.5 km (1.5 DOC hours) - Tramping track - Easy-moderate terrain
Altitude: 507m to 926m. Gain: 436m. Loss: 20m . Gradient: 11 deg (Gentle)
Skills: - Occasional rivers (3/6)

Tramping track (4/9)
Cut, marked tramping track: natural, rough ground surface

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

Gentle (difficulty: 2/5)
Gentle slopes

Easy-moderate (difficulty: 2/5)
Tussock / river-gravel / open bush / cut track

None (difficulty: 1/7)
No alpine skills required

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

Unknown (difficulty: 0/7)
Not specified

A poled route leaves the Rees-Dart track and crosses the Rees about 1km north of Twenty Five Mile creek and leads to the bushedge below Kea Basin.Once in the bush a good cut, marked track zigzags far more than the topo map indicates as it climbs onto the marshy, clear knob at pt777. A second shorter climb follows to a marked track junction. Earnslaw Hut is 20m down the right-hand track. The lefthand track continues to zigzag for another 200m before emerging from the bush into Kea Basin. The first of many rock bivs is located just left of (below) the track as you emerge into the basin proper.

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

A good cut marked track zigzags down from Kea Basin, passing Earnslaw Hut after 200m. The descent is gentle but about 3 times as long as the map suggests owing to the zigzags. Once at the bushedge, a poled route leads across farmed paddocks, crossing the Rees to the Rees-Dart track on the eastern side of the valley. Twenty five mile stream is 1km to the south.