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DOC Land
Altitude: 640m to 807m. Gain: 75m. Loss: 238m . Gradient: 7 deg (Moderate)
Skills: - Occasional rivers (3/6)
From the Duck Pond, follow the creek downstream to the confluence just upriver of the waterfalls shown on the map (500m above Ngamoko Hut). The creek is 2-4m wide and generally ankle to knee deep in normal flows. The valley is gorged and there are no sidle options if the creek is up after rain.
Just downstream of the confluence shown, marker tape on the southern bank marks the start of an up-and-over track bypassing the falls by climbing some 100m to the spur on the southern valleyside. Climb out of the river, then nose your way up/west till you hit the spur at a flattish area. You may find old permolat markers / tape to follow, but it's patchy and the ground-trail is faint.
From the flat area on the 780m contour, the track drops north down the spur. This section is much better marked with permolat and normally possible to follow. This drops back to the creek 80m above the confluence. Cross the creek, and climb the low (20m high) spur opposite, and then drop into the Pohongina opposite the hut. The Pohongina is much larger than Apiti Stream, and though this is a good crossing point, it can be impassible after rain.
Ngamoko hut sits across the river, on a low terrace inside the bend. It is reached by a marked track, just upstream of the hut in the middle of the large bend in the Pohongina.