I have root access - pretty easy actually. Here is what I did:
1) Install the 4.3 update from sammobile via odin - let it boot
2) reboot and install cwm via odin - you can get the latest here: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=47607315
3) reboot into recovery and install supersu using cwm -I believe the latest is here: http://download.chainfire.eu/204
EDIT: use this supersu instead: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=47884836&postcount=54
Thats it! Now restoring my apps and data using Titanium backup.
I updated via OTA. Can i root with this method? I put the .tar recovery file in the PDA spot and flash in ODIN mode, Odin says success, but when i reboot recovery, it's Android, and not CWM. Am i missing something?