At Island Gully Hut, the track leads through chest-high tussock and drops down the first bank towards the Wairau River.

Stay on the true right of the Wairau, but be cautious of potholes.

After two kilometres, cross the river and climb the spur protruding from the northern flanks below Pt1660.

On the final climb towards the unnamed tarn below Mt Dora, the landscape becomes sparser. The tarns offer limited options for camping, but a grassy bank above the eastern shore has a few reasonably flat spots.