Distance: 9.0 km (5.0 DOC hours) - Unmarked route, clear - Moderate terrain
Altitude: 15m to 299m. Gain: 279m. Loss: 369m . Gradient: 4 deg (Moderate)
Skills: - Streams (2/6)

Unmarked route, clear (7/9)
Unmarked route, follows obvious geography (river, spur, trail, etc)

Primary, unmapped (2/5)
Route not on maps, but is principal access to hut or along range / catchment

Moderate (difficulty: 3/5)
Occasional moderate climbs

Moderate (difficulty: 3/5)
Low scrub in open or bush / river rocks

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

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

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

From tracking-tunnel 18 (numbered on the accompanying triangle marker) climb south up the spur leading to pt238. Follow the ridgeline south through low fern to pt313. Drop east to the saddle separating pt313 from pt299 and climb to the eastern ridgeline. From here progress south is easy along an open ridgeline with good deer trails.

Descend south from pt198 - encountering thick fern again for the descent. Take a bearing slightly east of south aiming over pt48 to the large bend in the river to its south. Avoid dropping into a choked gully to the east or to the Wairaurahiriu riverflats - stay on terraces 20m above the river.

South of pt48 cross a small but sharp side-creek not shown on the map and follow the western escarpment of the Wairaurahiri south until you intersect the South Coast Track just west of Wairaurahiri Hut. Progress is reasonable through generally open bush on good deer trails with occasional bands of fern. The hut is on the opposite side of the river, across the swingbridge.

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

A reasonable route runs up the west side of the Wairaurahiri from the south coast track at the swingbridge by Wairaurahiri Hut to join traplines at the flats south of Crombie Biv.

From Wairaurahiri Hut, cross the swingbridge and follow the South Coast Track up the escarpment to terraces above. Leave the track and follow the edge of the escarpment north picking up good deer trails. Progress is occasionally choked by crown-fern but generally good. Cross the unnamed stream 500m north of the track and continue along the main river escarpment until the sharp bend in the river immediately south of pt48 where a steep-sided gully is met (sot shown on maps). Head north up the side-creek until a good crossing point is found. From here a bearing of slightly west of north will take you to the base of the spur climbing to pt198, avoiding dropping into a steep, choked gully to the east indicated by contours on the map.

The ascent to pt198 is slow with thick fern, but travel along the ridgeline good and open on clear deer trails once the tops are reached. An impressive population of kaka were in residence when I visited.

After crossing pt299 look out for the shape of pt313 to the west and drop west to the saddle separating the two, climbing to pt306. From here north travel is slower with low fern on the ridgeline, but the route is obvious to the northern end of pt238. Drop north from the northernmost limit of the ridge to flats below. A well marked but poorly cut trapline runs east-west across the base of the spur - look out for its yellow triangles and assorted flagging tape.