Distance: 2.6 km (2.0 DOC hours) - Tramping track - Easy-moderate terrain
Altitude: 1051m to 1445m. Gain: 397m. Loss: 252m . Gradient: 15 deg (Moderate)
Skills: Alpine weather (2/7) - Streams (2/6)

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

Moderate (difficulty: 3/5)
Occasional moderate climbs

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

Alpine weather (difficulty: 2/7)
Tramp on open tops, exposed to alpine weather

Streams (difficulty: 2/6)
Small streams, danger only in extreme weather

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

Heading south from Otutu Hut, keep an eye on the eastern bush edge. The track is poorly defined and featured only a coupe of poles on my visit. Crossing the highpoint south of Otutu then swinging east it drops to the bushedge, where a good marked, cut track starts - indicated by a triangle on the bushedge.

The track drops steeply to the small creek (normally easy - dry feet - but could flood in really heavy rain), then climbs the opposite valley side, soon emerging into clearings. A climb up the tussock ridgeline, dotted with beech follows to reach the Manson tops. The poled route crossed the Manson highpoint & drops to meet the main track at a signposted junction 200m east.

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

From the open top junction NE of Manson, climb 200m SW to the top of Mansion via a poled route. Over the next 1km the route drops SW-W along a tussock ridge, passing through a short beech grove & down a short rocky gut to the bush edge, marked by a large orange triangle. A well-used track develops in the bush & drops steeply to a stream junction in Mason Creek which can be crossed normally with dry feet. The track then sidles very briefly up the true right of the main branch of Manson Creek before climbing very steeply for 200m up a well-marked & well-cut track to the bush edge. From here a sporadically poled route swings NE through beautiful tussocks & open tops to a high point south of Otutu Hut, before descending close to the eastern bush edge to the hut & a nearby weather station.