Windy Tops

Tag: bagged:holly hut

  • Trip: Waiaua Gorge to North Egmont

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    The Stony River catchment.

    I visit Taranaki often these days, but rarely have lengthy amounts of time between commitments to devote to lengthy tramping efforts. I’m gradually working on visiting the different sides of Egmont National Park between other commitments, though.

    Between Christmas and New Year of 2014, I manage to visit another small section of the park where I’ve not previously managed to see. This time I’ll be generally around the western side. The plan? To be dropped off at the end of Ihaia Road and hop up towards Waiaua Gorge Hut for a night, then make my way clockwise around the western side ending at Holly Hut for a second night, before finally sliding out via North Egmont and being collected.

    Being all on fairly highly used tracks it’s not a complicated navigation route, unless you count repeated climbing up ladders and down ladders on typical Egmont sidling tracks to be complicated. My main concern is the potential rain, and a possibility of being blocked by side creeks, or (most annoying case) trapped between them.

    The forecast suggests a big drop of rain today (Monday), followed by a Tuesday without much happening, probably meaning the typical murky overcast sometimes-light-rain type of weather, and then a Wednesday with more rain and high winds starting to kick in. Also, the predictions have been changing lots over the last few days, which is often a sign that meteorologists aren’t very confident about what a system’s going to do, exactly where it’ll go and when it’ll go there. I’m arranging things so that the most uncertain and lengthiest part of the trip, with multiple big side creeks, will be on Tuesday. Hopefully that’ll work out.

    Dates: 29th – 31st December, 2014
    Location: Egmont National Park, Ihaia Road to North Egmont Visitor Centre.
    People: Just me.
    Huts visited: Waiaua Gorge Hut (1 night), Kahui Hut (0 nights), Holly Hut (1 night).
    Route: Up from Ihaia Road to Waiaua Gorge Hut for the night. Then clockwise around Eggie, via Kahui Hut, ending at Holly Hut, then out via North Egmont.
    [Photos]
    [map:https://93a12629bf06.ngrok-free.app/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/20141231-west-of-taranaki.gpx%5D

    This post is a trip report. You can find other trip reports about other places linked from the Trip Reports Page, or by browsing the Trip Reports Category.
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    For logistic reasons we leave New Plymouth much earlier than I’d planned. Before lunch. The end of Ihaia Road is not much, but a couple of other cars are still crunched up against the grass-covered ditch. From here it’s a short walk over farm land, along a marked fence-line, then a surprisingly gentle walk up the 240 or so vertical metres towards Waiaua Gorge Hut, named after the nearby Waiaua Gorge and River.
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  • Trip: Pouakai Circuit (slightly modified)

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    It wouldn’t be right to visit Egmont National Park in an uncommon state. That’s why I was thrilled to see that after three continuous weeks of dreadful looming sunshine, our planned weekend would be smothered with buckets of welcoming hydration. With a five hour drive from Wellington behind us, rampant precipitation began to gravitate at the approximate time we arrived at the Mangaoraka Campsite, about half way into the park up North Egmont Road. We duly set up our giant tent fly, perfectly designed to channel the all-important drops of moisture into one end and out the other.

    Dates: 19th – 21st November, 2010
    Location: Egmont National Park, from Mangaoraka Campsite below North Egmont.
    People: John, Bevan, Frank, Ian, Brian and me.
    Huts visited: Kaiauai Shelter (0 nights), Pouakai Hut (1 night), Holly Hut (0 nights).
    Route: Starting from Mangaoraka Campsite, follow marked traks over Henry Peak to Pouakai Hut (for Saturday night), then to Holly Hut, and continue along various tracks down to Mangaoraka Campsite.
    [Photos]
    [map:https://93a12629bf06.ngrok-free.app/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/20101121-pouakai-circuit.gpx%5D

    This post is a trip report. You can find other trip reports about other places linked from the Trip Reports Page, or by browsing the Trip Reports Category.

    Frank, Bevan and myself had this wonderful aquatic shelter to ourselves, thanks to considerate sacrifices by the other three. Ian had brought his enclosed tent, obviously inferior to the open fly. John set up a smaller fly nearby, tailered to allow some outside air to enter, but not having such a widened gap. Brian made the greatest sacrifice, offering to spend the night in the back seat of our van.

    And so we spent the night. With a prized place on the end, I made sure to leave my feet out in the open to allow the dampness from the ever-increasing drizzle to seep into my sleeping bag.

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    An artist’s impression of what was probably happening on Mt Taranaki as seen from Henry Peak on Saturday 20th November 2010, as carefully extrapolated from a genuine photograph and various other references.

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  • Trip: North Egmont Overnight

    For the record, here are some more details of my overnight trip around North Egmont, during which I managed to make my knee injury a bit worse. Spending christmas with Stacey’s family in Taranaki was a perfect excuse to go for a wander around Egmont National Park.

    Dates: 29th – 30th December, 2006
    Location: Egmont National Park
    Huts visited: Pouakai Hut (0 nights), Holly Hut (1 night), Maketawa Hut (0 nights).
    People: Just me.

    [Photos]

    This post is a trip report. You can find other trip reports about other places linked from the Trip Reports Page, or by browsing the Trip Reports Category.

    (more…)