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DOC Land
Altitude: 474m to 617m. Gain: 201m. Loss: 82m . Gradient: 1 deg (Gentle)
Skills: - Occasional rivers (3/6)
From Army Hut follow the remains of the old 4wd track down stream on the true left of the Upukerora river. The 4wd track has been washed out and destroyed in a few places by the river and is no longer maintained, but in general easy travel is to be had for the 2km down stream to the turn off to the Whitestone valley. The one bush section which the river runs hard against has been recently (2019) marked by Permalot Southland, look for pink tape/Permalot markers through the bush. There is no need to cross the Upukerora River.
The route to the Whitestone follows the stream south of Pt676. Older maps show a marked route mainly on the true right but sometimes crossing to the true left before the stream branches north of Pt597. This is now (2021) incorrect. What markers there are (a mixture of old pink tape and some Permalot markers) are entirely on the true right, usually within 20m of the stream, but north of where the stream splits near Pt597, they are so sporadic and vague there's little point in trying to follow them. Simply treat the route as unmarked. Stick to the true right of the stream, and sometimes in it, and you cant go wrong, as its a straight forward bush bash.
There are no markers along the bush edge of the Upukerora for the turnoff to the Whitestone. Look for where the stream exits the bush, and then find a place on its true right to enter the bush. In 2021 there was a decent sized hole in the bush edge about 100m east of the stream. Cross the open bush to the true right stream bank and follow it southeast.
The markers become followable south of the stream over the low saddle of Pt597, and a good route can be followed the few hundred metres to the start of the extensive tussocky swamp which drops down to the Whitestone. In 2013 pink tape markers stayed in the bush around the eastern side of the swamp south to the Whitestone, but in 2021 we just crossed the swamp and followed the bush edge down, not seeing any markers. Keeping to the bush edge avoided the worst of the swamp. An old dilapidated fence was crossed through (no gate) at the last tongue of bush near the Whitestone and then it was down across the wide riverbed to cross to the true left of the Whitestone River.
A medium strip runs along the river bed, keep close to it to minimize trespassing on farm land belonging to Glen Echo Station. The topomap shows a marked route up the Whitestone on the true left starting near where the bush closes in but I think I only saw 2 or 3 old Permalot markers the whole way up. The bush is heavily grazed and completely open so it is easy travel upstream, although crossing the Whitestone in a couple of places makes for faster travel. The open grassy side valley dropping into the Whitestone is the turn off point for parties heading to the Kiwi Burn.