Galatea foothills and Tawhiuau

The first part is across a paddock: spot the orange marker on the other side of the paddock that shows where the trail goes into the trees. From there follow the trail, which is mostly straight forward. The foothills track doesn't stray too far away from the farmland and runs along the fenceline in some parts. It can get a little confusing to follow the trail here due to the long grass- just keep going along the fenceline until you see another orange marker.

After roughly 8 kilometres you will see a wooden sign saying "Tawhiuau" pointing up the hill. This is a roughly 700m climb that's very steep and technical - turn back now if you're not up for it.

The trail up is mostly easy to follow, and there are blue marks spray-painted on trees that show the way. Once you've reached the top, take a moment to enjoy the view, then retrace your footsteps. Be careful on the way down as the trail is steep and the roots on the upper portion of the hill are extremely slippery.