Distance: 1.6 km (1.0 DOC hours) - Unmarked route, hard - Hard terrain
Altitude: 466m to 514m. Gain: 53m. Loss: 83m . Gradient: 5 deg (Gentle)
Skills: - Streams (2/6)

Unmarked route, hard (8/9)
Unmarked route, no clear geographic features to follow

Secondary, unmapped (4/5)
Route not on maps, an alternative recognised access to hut or along range / catchment

Gentle (difficulty: 2/5)
Gentle slopes

Hard (difficulty: 5/5)
Thick scrub-bash / continuous river boulders, waterfalls, or gorges

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

Streams (difficulty: 2/6)
Small streams, danger only in extreme weather

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

Access to the Waiau swingbridge is via private land. Permission is required from Glenhope station.

Scrubby manuka bush covers the east bank of the Waiau. Old farm tracks exist but are so thick with broom that they are best avoided. Pick up good deer trails and follow then down the east bank of the Waiau avoiding clearings of broom and bush lawyer. The swingbridge is where indicated on the map but has no cut tracks leading to it so can be hard to locate.

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

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