Distance: 4.6 km (2.0 DOC hours) - Benched track - Easy terrain
Altitude: 168m to 323m. Gain: 346m. Loss: 296m . Gradient: 8 deg (Gentle)
Skills: - Streams (2/6)

Benched track (3/9)
Benched, maintained, marked tramping track or pack-track

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

Gentle (difficulty: 2/5)
Gentle slopes

Easy (difficulty: 1/5)
Grass / prepared surface

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

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

Unknown (difficulty: 0/7)
Not specified

To reach Nikau, we continue straight along the terraces on the true left from the track junction. The bushedge is present ahead, and we drop right to the edge of the terrace above the river, where a gate and a signpost mark the start of DOC land and the track to Nikau Flats.

Coming from the Urutawas, the place feels familiar – great going along another old, benched sidle track up the valley. This starts sidling low and flat above the river, glimpses through the bush show deep, still pools separated by gentle rapids. Later the track climbs to around 100m above the river, before dropping again to the side creek just downstream from the hut. The stream is low in normal flows, but there are accounts of people spending an extra night at the hut when it is up.

After the side creek a slip has wiped out the original track which sidled low (somebody has died trying to cross it, so best not to attempt it) and instead another brief climb and descent is required to bypass the slip and finally reach Nikau Flats and the hut.

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

From Nikau Flats Hut, the track climbs briefly to pass a dangerous slip, before descending to a side creek which it crosses. The stream is low in normal flows, but there are accounts of people spending an extra night at the hut when it is up.

The track climbs quickly to around 100m above the river, where it sidles for a km or so before dropping back closer to the river. On reaching farmlamd follow the fenceline at the back of the flats until you pick up the farm track leading to the roadend. The junction with the Kotepato Track is at the downriver end of these flats,