Distance: 17.5 km (5.0 DOC hours) - Road - Easy-moderate terrain
Altitude: 90m to 236m. Gain: 60m. Loss: 187m . Gradient: 1 deg (Flat)
Skills: - Occasional rivers (3/6)

Road (1/9)
Formed road, 4WD track, etc

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

Flat (difficulty: 1/5)
Flat

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

From the Pinchgut roadend, head 2km south down the dirt road. After 2km a far dry gravel riverbed runs alongside the road. Drop down into this and follow the river downstream. A good ATV track forms on the riverbed, becoming a 4WD track below the Grey. This 4WD track leads all the way to the Ashley, with many river crossings - all below knee deep when I visited in February, but clearly not a route to take after heavy rain.

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

A rough 4WD track heads up the Okuku riverbed, crossing frequently. Travel is on a mix of soft river gravel and more solid banks. At the Grey River forks, the majority of the 4WD tracks head off up the Grey, but if you push on up the Okuku you'll pick up a reasonable ATV track continuing up the riverbed. 2km before the Pinchgut Track roadend a dirt road drops to flats on the north-east side of the river. The riverbed gorges out here, and a cairn marks a dry side-channel leading out to the road. Follow the road the final 2km to the roadend, marked with a DOC signpost.