Routes
Huts / campsites
Roadends
Summits
Passes / crossings
Scenic features
Junctions
DOC Land
Altitude: 651m to 1473m. Gain: 873m. Loss: 940m . Gradient: 15 deg (Moderate)
Skills: Alpine weather (2/7) - Prolonged rivers (4/6)
If you want a more direct route to Whare Creek, it would make sense to follow the 4WD track from Cheviot Downs Hut up through the scrub and along the northern base of the hills, climbing towards the ridgetop between scrub belts towards Pt1449.
To head to Tower Peak, once through the fence and gate that surrounds Cheviot Downs Hut, cross the grassy slopes southeast of the hut and make for an obvious initially-scrubfree ridge between two dry creek beds. As you climb steadily up the ridge, you'll soon encounter scattered dead pine trees, the slopes above covered in them. Initially, you can weave your way around the fallen trunks easily enough, but as you climb higher, the dead forest remains get denser and denser. At about 1000m, you'll want to start traversing eastwards, climbing through a couple of small gullies, to clear the worst of the dead pines. Once out of the trees, open scree and grass slopes lead up to finally hit the crest of the ridgeline just west of Tower Peak. It's a straightforward scramble up to the summit.
The ridgecrest between Tower and Excelsior Peaks is far more rugged than the topomap indicates, with numerous gendarmes blocking the ridgetop. Traverse eastwards across scree slopes north of the ridge crest, summiting the ridge near the tarns south of Pt1532. Descend scree to the northeastern tarn, there are a couple of small tent spots here for camping if you wish, the southwestern tarn is surrounded by large scree and without any flat ground.
Head east from the tarn and then descend steep terrain, keeping roughly parallel to the obvious ridge heading southeast off pt1532. At 1100m, swing more south between bluffs on your right and scrub on your left. As you near the main scrub belt which surrounds Whare Creek, keep an eye out for a random patch of light coloured scree a couple of hundred metres away from the creek draining Pt1532 above... it stands out amoung the surrounding scrub well to the northeast of the creek, and you want to aim for this scree. From here, begin descending the hillside through the scrub, following the lines of least resistance. There are enough grassy gaps between the scrub to almost reach Whare Creek itself.
On open grassy terrain near Whare Creek you should encounter a very obvious animal trail running up/down valley parallel to the river. It is almost essential to locate this animal trail, otherwise you WILL have a bad time in the man-eating scrub of Whare Creek! Follow the trail downstream as it pushes through the scrub around the creek draining Pt1532, crosses over it, and then briefly follows Whare Creek above its riverbank before descending into the river bed. From here, head downriver, crossing as required for the best travel.
Just before the bushline is reached, Whare Creek doglegs to the east and descends into a gorge. Standing on the true right side, the river bank towers 3 metres above the river covered in scrub, but look for the animal trail starting up again as it sidles up the river bank and plunges into the scrub at the downstream end of the dogsleg. Once in the dense scrub, follow the trail as it heads in almost a straight line, and then out into beech forest, sidling across the face of a steep hillside. A fallen beech tree lies on the path of the animal trail, which skirts through the hole where the roots were before reaching the crest of a ridge. Coming upriver in the reverse direction, you really want to find this fallen tree and pick up the animal trail here, otherwise you'll have a hard time finding the spot to climb down into Whare Creek upstream of the gorge.
Reasonably easy open forest travel continues downstream. Continue to follow the animal trail as best you can, but it's no longer essential to stick to it. The river flats shown on the map are reached after about 30 minutes of bush travel from the dogsleg. From here it's simple to walk in the riverbed, crossing as required for the best travel. Whare Creek Hut is marked by a large orange triangle mounted up a tree branch on the true left. A light trail starts near the triangle and heads through some felled beech trees to the hut, which is on a small terrace just in the bush edge.