Distance: 4.5 km (2.0 DOC hours) - Unmarked route, clear - Moderate terrain
Altitude: 357m to 423m. Gain: 195m. Loss: 151m . Gradient: 4 deg (Flat)
Skills: - Prolonged rivers (4/6)

Unmarked route, clear (7/9)
Unmarked route, follows obvious geography (river, spur, trail, etc)

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

Flat (difficulty: 1/5)
Flat

Moderate (difficulty: 3/5)
Low scrub in open or bush / river rocks

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

Prolonged rivers (difficulty: 4/6)
Frequent river travel - impassible after rain, risk of getting trapped

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

I'm not sure if the track shown on the topo map along the river is meant to exist, or if it just says you can walk along the river (while cross it many times).

Anyway, I walked it, there are no markings, and there are parts (maybe 50%) which you can walk just off from the river (the east side). As there are no markings, you just have to keep an eye out where others have walked. Some bits it's clearly a path, other bits fades away and you may end up in a bunch of native nettle.

I tried to find the inland route just before Lawrence road end (I was going North to South / down stream), but there was too much native nettle blocking any potential tracks up.

If you bring the right foodware, crossing the river isn't hard when it's low (like it was for me in Feb). Expect to cross it at least 6-7 times.
But personally, I find the inland track up and down the hill easier to walk.

It took me 2 hours, but I took my time, and tried to find as much land route as possible. It should be faster if you just commit to walking the stream bed and crossing it when needed. For comparison it took me about 1h 10 mins to do the inland route. Starting and finished at the same spot.

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

No description