Distance: 7.9 km (3.0 DOC hours) - Road - Easy terrain
Altitude: 118m to 878m. Gain: 53m. Loss: 813m . Gradient: 6 deg (Gentle)
Skills:

Road (1/9)
Formed road, 4WD track, etc

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

None (difficulty: 1/6)
No unbridged river crossings

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

This route is on public land - though it uses former forestry tracks, and the paddock at the bottom appears to be leased out and grazed.

A good cut track runs down the spur west from the top of the clearing at Tangata Maunga. This soon developps into a muddy 4WD track, and beyond the first junction to an old mettled forestry road. Follow the main track down the ridge, ignoring turnoffs. The track swings north and drops to the Waitohu Stream. Just before the fenceline with farmland, cut back east - the main track continues west and becomes private - then head across the first paddock to the gate opposite where a DOC sign marks the park boundary. This is the end of the Waitohu road.

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

From the DOC signpost, head south across the paddock to the fenceline and pick up the track zigzagging onto the spur behind. Follow this track up the spur, first SSW, later ESE, keeping to the main track until you pass pt633 on the map. At the next junction shown on the map, take the smaller, rougher track left continuing up the ridge as the main track swings sown and SW. This track soon deteriorates to a quad track, then a roughly maintained tramping track and leads to the scrubby once-clearing on the summit of Tangata Maunga.