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DOC Land
Altitude: 400m to 1551m. Gain: 935m. Loss: 1224m . Gradient: 11 deg (Moderate-hard)
Skills: Alpine weather (2/7) - Streams (2/6)
Note: this route would be impassable after heavy rain due to the repeated crossings of Scrubby Flat Creek required. Scrubby Flat Creek is a small creek with a big personality.
From Makarora Hut, set off up valley, staying roughly on the TL and fording branches of the Makarora River as needed (shin deep in average summer flows after some rain the previous day). This far up its catchment, the river would not be a problem in anything but the most extreme conditions.
Opposite Pt. 777, look for the two marked streams on the map, and enter the bush between them. Climb through steep but relatively open bush, scrambling over occasional boulders and small bluffs. There is a good boot path that rises through the bush, although my tramping partner and I became separated, and he had a much tougher time after losing the track and becoming mired in scrubby underbrush and juvenile beech. Near the bush line, at about 1125m, a small grassy clearing bisected by a picturesque stream makes a good spot for a snack.
Continue climbing through tussock and scrub, then snowgrass, towards the obvious saddle above. Small bluffs just below the saddle can be easily sidled to the left or right, or there is a straightforward scramble via a grassy gut between the bluffs. My tramping partner that day felt safer sidling, but in retrospect the scramble would have been fine.
From the saddle, the descent into Scrubby Flat Creek is steep but relatively straightforward in clear weather. A good route exists, but in the head of the valley there are bluffs and small gorges among the various branches of the creek, which aren't always clearly apparent from above, so take care. Cross creek branches and pick a way down through vague terraces to the basin in the upper valley, which is, as promised, scrubby.
Now begins a descent of Scrubby Flat Creek. Initially travel is via open gravel flats, but the creek quickly becomes steep and boulder-y, requiring frequent crossings and travel in the water (though flows are very manageable in average conditions). As the creek descends, it becomes more like light canyoneering.
At approximately 850m elevation, at the bush edge about 50m above the creek on the TL, a large orange triangle marks the start of the former Scrubby Flat Creek Route, which has not been maintained by DOC in many years — one of a number of routes through public lands in the lower Hunter Valley that are no longer maintained. The route climbs the valley wall to sidle above the gorged lower sections of Scrubby Flat Creek. Orange triangles and old permolat from the NZFS days still mark the way, but in 2026 the track was very overgrown, with frequent windfall and some sections that were indistinct from the surrounding bush.
There were two significant slips where side streams had washed away the track entirely, necessitating careful down climbs into steep, flood-scoured ravines — my partner and I each slid/fell about 3m down one of these slips. A rope for lowering/raising packs would have made things easier. Overall, travel along the unmaintained route is slow but manageable.
At about the 200m contour, the track leaves the narrow Scrubby Flat Creek gorge and turns onto the corner spur above the Hunter River. The track widens and the bush becomes markedly more open and much easier, faster going. The track descends through bush to the valley floor, where it emerges alongside Scrubby Flat Creek. Cross the braids of the creek (knee deep in average flows, but fast — this creek picks up a lot of energy in its drop through the gorge) and join the 4WD track that runs along the valley floor.
Scrubby Flat Hut is 1.5km down valley, located on a small hill near the bush edge. The toilet is about 50m south of the hut and may not be immediately obvious when approaching from the north.
Scrubby Flat Hut is a private station hut, $40/pp/night in 2026. Hunter Valley Station was very responsive via email and staying required us to fill out a health and safety form (available on the station website). The hut water tank was dry and the presence of stock on the valley floor and around the hut makes the Hunter River unappealing as a water source, but you can follow the small side creek north of the hut to where it emerges from the bush in a little waterfall (about 100-200m from the hut).