Distance: 3.4 km (1.8 DOC hours) - Tramping track - Easy-moderate terrain
Altitude: 750m to 1034m. Gain: 389m. Loss: 308m . Gradient: 12 deg (Moderate)
Skills: - Occasional rivers (3/6)

Tramping track (4/9)
Cut, marked tramping track: natural, rough ground surface

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

Moderate (difficulty: 3/5)
Occasional moderate climbs

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

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

From the Iron Whare turnoff, the track to Middle Hill leaves the plateau and descends steeply into the North Makahu River. The route down is rough, basic - a ridge at first, later little more than a gut/streambed. Marked ok, but not a cut track by any means.

The ascent of the far side is 50m upriver (not 400m downriver as shown on some maps). A steep climb through slippery beech litter, before finding a zigzag track and following that to the escarpment on the north side. Beech forest starts, and a 2km wander across flats follows, crossing one small stream before reaching the signposted junction with the Camp Spur track.

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

From the junction the track south drops to the first of two small streams, returning after each to the plateau that makes up much of the eastern Kawekas. The descents and climbs are easy, the track broad and well cut through open beech.

A couple of km later, the beech again makes a sudden change to manuka. The track starts to drop steeply down a mud-gravel spur. A deep V-notch valley opens in front, below. The 2m wide cut track vanished, replaced by a narrow foot-worn trail, zigzagging down ridgeline, slip, and finally dropping steeply though slippery beech forest to the North Mahaku River.

The river is unbridged but low - I was to cross easily with still-dry feet, though the deep riverbed hints of impassible flows after storms. Large triangles lead 50m downstream to where the narrow trail resumes, climbing what appears to be a steep streambed before finding a ridge to follow back up towards the plateau above. Nearing the summit we leave the thick scrub and enter a landscape of fiercely orange clay-pan, a landscape that could only be here. Cresting the plateau a signpost marks the junction with the track to Iron Whare to the east.

(On topo50 map series 1 this section is completely wrong, showing the track leading upriver some 400m to another spur before climbing).

Having 4 days on my hands, I’ve been looking forward to the challenge of tracking down the historic Iron Whare, some 1km off the main track. I’m slightly disappointed then, to crest the plateau and find a standard engraved-steel Kaweka signpost saying ‘Iron Whare’ and pointing east down a well-cut DOC track. Them’s the breaks.