DOC campsite at the Lawrence roadend. Features toilets, a shelter and grassy flats and picnic area. Accessible by 2wd from the Napier-Taihape road at the signposted turnoff by Blowhard Bush. Final descent to the roadend is steep and might not be advisable in RVs or lowered pocket rockets.

There’s a swingbridge over the river from the picnic area. The bush is solid mature manuka – tall trees rather than low scrub. On the far side of the Tutaekuri with dry feet, a 2m-wide recently recut track heads downriver before climbing up 100m onto the ridge. It is an easy, gentle climb to the saddle where a signpost marks the turnoff to Mackintosh Hut.

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

From the Mackintosh Hut track junction, the broad marked, cut track sidles gently down to the Tutaekuri River, which it follows briefly upstream to cross on a swingbrige at the picnic area.

From the track junction, a good cut marked tramping track heads west over a knob and down a spur to the Donald River. Good campspots exist beside the river on the eastern bank.

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From the river crossing, markers point across small flats to the spur to the east, where a cut, maintained, marked tramping track climbs 100m to the ridgeline. Crossing a small knob it reaches the signposted track junction after 800m.

The river is small, but wet feet seem guaranteed, and could flood after very heavy rain. The climb up the far side to the Mackintosh plateau is 450m and steep, despite benched zigzags which manage to more than double the distance without seeming to reduce the gradient. On a summer's day, sweat is expended, climbing through a banking landscape of manuka scrub..

The manuka has diminished in size by the time you reach the plateau – sparse scrub remaining, contorta pines filling the gaps. It’s an alien landscape. The map shows the track following the escarpment towards Mackintosh hut, but on the ground it feels more like the middle of a large plateau. The map shows a steady descent to the hut, but on the ground this in barely perceptible and soon the hut appears sitting in a cleared area across a small creek.

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From the hut the track wanders east the south across the broad plateau. Sparse manuka remains, contorta pines filling the gaps. It’s an alien landscape. The escarpment shown on the mapo is invisible on the ground, walking through a canyon of low pinetrees.

Suddenly, the easy flat going ends, and the track hist the end of the plateau. It drops steeply in a series of zigzags to the Donald River below - through good manuka now, pines left behind on the plateau. The river at the base is small, but wet feet seem mandatory, and it could flood after heavy rain. Good campspots exist on the far, eastern bank.

Standard Hut

Taking the track north from Mackintosh Hut leads through a mixture of pines and beech forest towards the base of the main range. Taking the left turn 300m from the hut the trackj continues a further 400m across the flats to a 2nd signposted junction - the turnoff for the track to The Lakes via the former Kaweka Biv site.

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From the Kaweka Biv track junction, the MAckintosh Hut track heads SSE across beech and pine covered flats. A junction 300m before the hut is the turnoff for Makahu Saddle Hut. Mackintosh Hut sits on the edge of an area of beech overlooking a large clearing.

Leaving the track junction, the beech gives way to manuka at the base of the hill, which is soon overwhelmed by contorta as the altitude rises. The track continues wide and well-cut: a tunnel through pines, opening to red clay-pan and rock, closing in again. Always climbing. The climb is only 450m and soon we're there where the pines stop abruptly at the summit of main ridge

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A wide, well-marked & well cut tunnel of a track drops through a land of contorta pines as it winds its way down Mackintosh Spur. At one particular point the track climbs up & over a gnarly rocky knob. Note: the track was cleared of large amounts of windfall on 2 Aug. 2018. Lower down the spur, pines are replaced by pole-thin manuka's & the track soon emerges onto flats at the base of the range. At a track junction a stamped metal signpost announces Mackintosh Hut is 20 minutes away & 'The Lakes' car park (via the former Kaweka Hut) is to the right. Another track junction, 5 minutes later, indicates Makahu Saddle car park to the left.

North of Mackintosh Spur, the poled route follows the Kaweka Main range 500m north through a small saddle to pt. 1408. A signpost on the summit marks the turnoff for the southern access to Studholme Saddle Hut.

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From the stamped metal sign post atop pt. 1408 the route heads south along the main Kaweka range, dropping into a small saddle before ascending to the Mackintosh Spur junction on the next immediate knob. The junction is marked with a stamped metal signpost, indicating Mackintosh Hut to the east & Kiwi Saddle Hut to the west.

Tops frequently under snow or solid ice in winter

From the Studholme Hut turnoff at pt1408 to Kaweka J, the main range track runs entirely above the bushline - and for the most part above even lichen and tussock. Heading north the track drops through a barren landscape of grey stone towards Studholme Saddle. From the saddle the route climbs steeply gaining some 200 vertical meters to reach Mad Dog Hill, initially on bare shingle, but later entering tussock. 200m south of Mad Dog, another track junction is reached where a track drops down the spur east of Studholme Saddle Hut, leading to the hut form the north.

For some reason the ridge between Mad Dog and Kaiarahi (the next peak south from pt 1406) catches the worst of the south-westerly. I have had days that I can barely stand on this ridgeline, but could lay a map on the ground on the Kaweka summit without it so much as moving.

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From the northern Studholme turnoff at Mad Dog Hill, the main range track drops steadily south to Studholme Sadde, counter-intuitively leaving the tussock above for bare shingle on the saddle below. The slope is quite steep in places and poorly marked.

South of the saddle, a short climb takes you over an intermediate knob then up to pt1408, where a signposted track junction marks the southern access to Studholme Saddle Hut.

For some reason the ridge between Mad Dog and Kaiarahi (the next peak south from pt 1406) catches the worst of the south-westerly. I have had days that I can barely stand on this ridgeline, but could lay a map on the ground on the Kaweka summit without it so much as moving.

North of Mad Dog Hill the ridgeline becomes almost flat & the route meanders along the Kaweka tops to reach the Kaweka J summit, gaining 100m in 1.5km. The route is poled but often the distance between poles is sufficient to lose sight of them in poor weather. Though the ridgeline is obvious in good weather & navigation is straight forward, a map & compass would be advisable in poor visibility. A large cairn & a memorial to Heretaunga Tramping Club members lost in WWII lies just to the NE of the summit & may provide some shelter.

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Heading SW from the cairn & memorial atop Kaweka J, the ridgeline continues broad & flat, meandering along the Kaweka tops to reach Mad Dog summit. The route junction for the northern access to Studholme Saddle Hut is signposted & reached 100m south of the 'Mad Dog' summit itself. Although the main Kaweka Range ridgeline is obvious in good weather, a map & compass would be advisable in poor visibility.

From the Kaweka J highpoint, the main range route runs north across broad, stony tops for 1km to the North Ridge/ Back Ridge Hut turnoff. The route is sparsely poled & easy to lose in poor visibility. The track junction is marked by a signpost.

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From the Back Ridge Hut turnoff, the main Kaweka Range route continues south across broad, featureless, stony tops to the Kaweka J highpoint. The route is sparsely poled & markers could be hard to find in poor visibility. The Makahu Spur track junction is signposted & reached 100m before the summit. By the summit of Kaweka J stands a large cairn & there is a memorial plaque to Heretaunga Tramping Club members who lost their lives during WWII. A nearby stamped metal signpost marks the start of the route west down to Sterns Saddle & on to Back Ridge.

Heading NNE from the Back Ridge Hut turnoff, the main ridge is a broad, featureless expanse of fine stone, narrowing towards the mast at North Kaweka. The sparsely poled route skirts the peak to the west, and swings WNW to drop some 120, to a saddle, before climbing / sidling pt1668 on its eastern face.

Heading north again we drop 100m to another saddle, and climb over pt1638, swinging NE on the summit. 500m beyond the top of Ikaha Spur (rising from the east) is reached, which gives access down to Middle Hill.

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Heading south from Iahka Spur along the main range, the poled route crosses a couple of minor peaks and intervening saddle before swinging SE to make a brief but tiring slog up North Kaweka to the mast – only 120m above the saddle, but it feels like more.

South from North Kaweka, the ridge broadens to flat, stony tops, devoid of any vegetation. Frost action has made wave patterns in the gravel, and in places sorted the rocks into polygons of larger stones. On a good day, all three major volcanoes are visible to the west: Ruapehu, Ngarahoe, and in the far distance Taranaki. To the east, on a really clear day, a distinct grey shape beyond the Uruwera range can only be Hikurangi. This place truly feels like the top of the world.

The track junction for North Ridge / Back Ridge Hut is 600m south of North Kaweka and is signposted on the broad, featureless tops.

From the top of Ihaka Spour, the main range runs NNW, crossing a gentle saddle and climbing again to Whetu highpoint. The track junction for Ballard / Venison Top is signposted 100m SW of the summit.

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Heading south along the main range, the poled route falls then rises 80m with the ridgeline as it crosses a gentle saddle to pt1638. 500m before the summit, where the main range swings SW, a track junction is reached with Ihaka Spur joins from the east - providing a route down to Middle Hill.

A short 600m walk NE from the Whetu track junction takes you to another signposted junction at the top of Camp Spur (rising from the east). The route is sparsely poled over the stony gravel summit of the Kaweka range.

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

A short 600m walk SW from the Camp Spur track junction takes you over Whetu summit to another signposted junction at the turnoff to Ballard Hut and Venison Top to the west. The route is sparsely poled over the stony gravel summit of the Kaweka range.

There are 2 descents to Middle Hill: Ihaka Spur and Camp Spur, camp spur being the northernmost and better maintained. Turning east at 600m NE of Whetu, the poled route losing 200m in half a km to the bushedge on Camp Spur. The track remains excellent throughout – poled above the bushedge, a 2m-wide avenue though the bush below. From the ridgeline the eastern Kawekas appeared to hold nothing but manuka and tussock, but to my surprise the bush is beech – tall, open and easy going. After 2km the track from Makahu joins from the south at a signposted junction.

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

Climbing west from the track junction, a broad, well cut and marked tramping track heads up Camp Spur, gaining 400m in 2km through beech forest. Gradient is steady to the bushedge, where it increases. The route is well trodden and well marked above the bushedge, climbing over rock and gravel to the summit of the Kaweka Main Range a further 200m above.

From the track junction another easy km remains to the hut. Just as I’m beginning to wonder where the hut is, the tall beech ends abruptly and 3m high manuka takes its place – low dense scrub, rattling in the increasing wind. The beech forest makes a last, brief rally – another 100m-wide band – then stops permanently at a large clearing beyond which low scrubby manuka extends to the horizon. Middle Hill Hut.

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

From Middle Hill Hut the Camp Spur track heads WSW through a mixture of beech and manuka. An easy flat walk takes you 1km over the flats to the start of camp spur where a signposted track junction marks the turnoff to Kaweka Flats Biv and Makahu Saddle to the south.

Standard Hut

From Middle Hill Hut the Camp Spur track heads WSW through a mixture of beech and manuka. An easy flat walk takes you 1km over the flats to the start of camp spur where a signposted track junction marks the turnoff to Kaweka Flats Biv and Makahu Saddle to the south.

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

From the track junction another easy km remains to the hut. Just as I’m beginning to wonder where the hut is, the tall beech ends abruptly and 3m high manuka takes its place – low dense scrub, rattling in the increasing wind. The beech forest makes a last, brief rally – another 100m-wide band – then stops permanently at a large clearing beyond which low scrubby manuka extends to the horizon. Middle Hill Hut.

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.

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

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.

From the turnoff, the good, cut marked track to Iron Whare follows the escarpment though beech forest to the hut. Flat and broad, the plateau narrows to a ridge just shy of Iron Whare, and starts to drop. The hut sits right beside the track, overlooking the Makahu valley.

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

From Iron Whare Hut, the cut, marked track climbs slightly onto the plateau, and follows the escarpment east for 1km to meet the Middle Hill-Kaweka Flats Biv track at a signposted junction.

This is a historic hut, but is in great shape. Cut into the hillside, looking out over the Makahu and the plains beyond, it is in a great spot. The walls of the Whare are rough-sawn slabs of local timber, the rear wall of flattened packaging tins. Roofing iron is the only commercial building product used. The floor is dirt, and two wooden slat bunks make up one wall – sadly without mattresses. Old wooden nail-boxes improvise as chairs. The longdrop – the unwalled, unroofed, sit-on-the-box-and-admire-the-weather variety, is 100m further down the ridge,. Sadly, the striking absence is water. There appears to be none at the hut, and the nearest stream on the map is 40 vertical meters below in the valley floor. Surely there must be water closer than that…?

The route of an old benched track or road heads down the ridge from the hut, passing the longdrop. On satellite photos this track/road is clear, descending all the way to the forks east of the hut. On the ground, however, it quickly become overgrown on leaving the beech, though frequent marker tape helps for a while after which you are left to follow the ridge. Abruptly the ridge stops and drops. On the forementioned satellite photos the track appears to zigzag down the northern face to the forks. For the best route, however, turn south to pick up a side spur heading towards the base of a long slip on the opposite face. The spur is well traveled and marked at it’s lower end with tape– reaching the river just upstream of a small sidestream joining the river from the south. 50m downstream of this confluence, flagging tape again marks a good clear, cut, marked route up the opposite face. This follows the ridge for a bit, then cuts east to the base of the slip. It’s a steep, hard climb at first, the ice-axe again proving useful on slippery clay. As the slope lessens, the clear clay is replaced with scrub, but a cut marked route continues up the ridgeline, exiting the scrub at the fire-dam just west of pt1083.

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

Head directly north from the fire dam / reservoir (towards the river) and pick up a narrow, tape-marked route through the scrub. This soon comes out in a mud basin where you cut to your right (east) and pick up the cut track again down the ridge. The track heads down the ridge and is narrow but well cut through the manuka scrub. As the slope steepens, the track come out to the top of a long slip running down the remainder of the ridgeline due north to the river. At the base of the slip, pick up taped markers and a cut track again and sidle left (west) before dropping ot the river just below the forks.

The track up the far side begins 80m upriver, just above the forks and is marked at its lower end. The bush here is open beech, and markers soon stop, but head up the spur to the ridgeline.

An old benched track or road follows the ridgeline west to Iron Whare Hut. This is overgrown where it passes through manuka, and can be a bit scrubby, but is easy to follow. Occasional markers provide reassurance, if not much help.

Iron Whare is on the now-obvious track soon after the start of the mature beech forest,

A short 2km walk down the graveled Whittle Road connects the Iron Whare access at the fire dam to the Black Birch roadend at Littles Clearing. Despite being on a road, the walk is spectacular with the backdrop of the Kaweka main range ahead across the manuka-covered plateau.

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

A short 2km walk down the graveled Whittle Road connects the Iron Whare access at the fire dam to the Black Birch roadend at Littles Clearing.

The Black Birch Ridge track starts across a small beech gully before becoming a wide cut canyon though the manuka scrub to the ridgeline. Here it joins what appears to be an old 4WD track heading south along the summit. First through swamp and tussock, this dries increasingly to barren claypan before the contorta takes over. In places: low, stunted, scattered; in other mature – the track a dimly lit tunnel on a bed of needles beneath the pine canopy. It is very easy going along the stony gravel surface, climbing slowly to the evocatively named summit at ‘G no. 2’. The turnoff west to Black Birch Bivouac lies just beyond. Lying to the west of the ridge, just where the contorta give out to a wall of beech, this is another typical Kaweka dog-box-biv.

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No description

Basic Hut/bivvy

Climbing the short track back to the ridgeline, continue south along the ridgeline on a broad track / old roadbed through contorta pine. Protected from the westerly by the pines, it is a pleasant walk. Soon a large grassy clearing appears ahead, scattered with a few lone mature pines. A signpost points left to the Lotkow road.

The track drops east off Black Birch Ridge the valley below is revealed – an unbroken sequence of native bush. The descent is steep and slippery, but the track well cut as it drops down the narrow spur. Lower, the spur levels, become a ridge dividing the valley into two separate catchments, one flowing north, one south. A gravel road climbs from the valley floor to the north to meet us at the southern end of the track.

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No description

A short 1.5km walk along the graveled road links the Black Birch track to the start of the Lawrence track. Note: A sidetrack cutting up onto the ridgeline 500m south of the Black Birch roadend no longer exists,

The road is open to vehicular traffic, but was blocked to vehicles by a slip 500m from the southern end when I visited (2011).

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

No description

The track climbs south from the northern roadend for a few hundred yards to a saddle, steep and slippery on the bare mud surface. A track branches west, signposted Don Juan. Ahead, the track to Lawrence roadend plummets into the valley head beyond. At first still a roadbed, steeply descending, soon deteriorating to a slippery trail, zigzagging down the slope, benched only by the passing of feet. On reaching the valley floor it sidles the steep and crumbling valleyside, still steep, still slippery. Finally it reaches a large slip and vanishes, the tramper left to scramble down the remaining 10 yards to the streambed and continue there. Most of the next 1km is spent in the river, Then, increasingly, sections of track start to reappear on the river banks. The valleysides become gentler, the valley floor widens beyond the width of the stream. Suddenly the ferns, creepers and cabbage trees end, a dry monoculture of manuka taking their place. The track begins again: a 2m wide cut swathe through the bush, benched in places. A Kaweka norm returns.

We follow the eastern valleyside to a fork where the river swings west, cross a sidestream, and climb briefly to reach the saddle where a signposted junction marks a track heading west towards the Donald River and Mackintosh Hut.

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No description

From the Mackintosh Hut track junction, the broad marked, cut track sidles gently down to the Tutaekuri River, which it follows briefly upstream to cross on a swingbrige at the picnic area.

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

There’s a swingbridge over the river from the picnic area. The bush is solid mature manuka – tall trees rather than low scrub. On the far side of the Tutaekuri with dry feet, a 2m-wide recently recut track heads downriver before climbing up 100m onto the ridge. It is an easy, gentle climb to the saddle where a signpost marks the turnoff to Mackintosh Hut.