The Te Tapui Scenic Reserve includes the two peaks of Te Tapui at 492m and Maungakawa at 495m. The Te Tapui Loop Track to the summit of Maungakawa starts at Piakonui Rd, west of Matamata, northeast of Cambridge and southeast of Morrinsville. It can be walked in a clockwise or anticlockwise direction, although the DoC description recommends the anticlockwise direction.

However, the times and distances on the DoC site do not entirely agree with my experience. The distance is close to 6.5km measured by GPS instead of 4km, and the time of 3 hours should be ample even with a long break at the summit.

Piakonui Rd is mostly a narrow gravel road, but slightly better from the northern end than the southern end. There is a parking area at the start of the track, but no toilet facilities anywhere on the walk.

Walking the loop anticlockwise gives a fairly direct and not very steep route to the summit, on a well-marked track on forest floor, with numerous exposed tree roots. The distance is about 3km, and took about 1h 10m to walk. Total climb is from about 130m to the summit at 495m.

The downward section of the track is very similar to the upward, but slightly longer at about 3.5km, and has some short uphill parts as well as downhill. Total time was almost 1h 10m, or about the same as the ascent.