Starting at the car park at the end of Poads Road, walk through farmland for 1km to reach the forest park boundary. You may have to shoo a few cattle out of the way. Here the Ohau Gorge Track enters native bush. This section along the river is easy walking and relatively flat. 

After about an hour there’s a swingbridge followed by the intersection with Gable End Ridge Track. Turn right onto this track and start climbing immediately: you will gain 400m altitude in the next 2km. The track is easy to follow but is rocky and requires some scrambling up tree roots. 

At Mayo Knob (666m ) the track levels out briefly before climbing again to Gable End (903m) where it exits the forest for a section of low scrub. It can be muddy here and the track may at times be obscured by flax. If the weather is clear there are dramatic views of Dundas Ridge to the east and Waiopehu Ridge to the west as the track undulates to Richard’s Knob (985m) at the end of Gable End Ridge.

Head west from here, following signs to Waiopehu Hut, one of which suggests it’s a generous 3hr away. The trail drops into a shallow saddle and climbs again to Twin Peak (1097m), the high point of the loop. On the peak is a memorial beacon for Ralph Wood, a tramper who died in a storm on February 2, 1936. After Twin Peak the vegetation thins out, and 500m later Waiopehu Peak is reached. It is another 500m downhill to the hut.

Spacious 18-bunk Waiopehu Hut, the third iteration, was built in 2002. It has magnificent views that stretch over Gable End and Dundas ridges to the east and Levin and the coast to the west. It catches the afternoon sun and provides a cosy spot for the night, or a rest break if doing the loop as a day mission.

From the hut it’s all downhill along Waiopehu Track back to the trailhead. Compared to Gable End Ridge Track, it’s more gradual with fewer obstacles and allows easy walking. 

About 1km from the hut is the site of the original Waiopehu Hut, now a patch of grass.

Just below Pt515 is the intersection with Six Discs Track. Bear left and continue on the Waiopehu Track. It’s steep until you reach Ohau Gorge Track again. Head left back across the farmland to the car park.