Tag: independent trip

Daywalk: Waiohine Gorge, Reeves, Tutuwai and Cone Hut

Looking inwards from near the top of Mt Reeves.

For the first time in a while I had a free Sunday, as well as time to think about it in advance. With some minimal effort I was able to convince Craig, my neighbour, to come along for a walk around a loop in the Tararua.

Date: 16th November, 2025.
Location: Tararua Forest Park, Waiohine Gorge.
People: Craig and me.
Huts visited: Tutuwai Hut (0 nights), Cone Hut (0 nights).
Route: From Waiohine Gorge across Coal Stream, up Mt Reeves, down to Tutuwai Hut, along Tauwharenikau River to Cone Hut, then via track back to Waiohine Gorge.

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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.

We left Wellington at around 6.15am, expecting a drive of maybe an hour 45 minutes which was roughly accurate. After a brief rearrangement of attire, this enabled us to be crossing the bridge over the Waiohine River shortly after 8am.
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22 November, 2025
Daywalk: Holdsworth Jumbo Circuit

Friday was the beginning of a long weekend, but circumstances meant I could only negotiate a single day out. I chose to spend it the the Tararuas, visiting the Holdsworth Jumbo Circuit. I walked this in a day back in 2010, but that was with a group. Then it took around 9 hours including about an hour’s stop. This time I thought I’d just go ahead and do it by myself.

Driving up from Wellington and turning left just before Masterton, I arrived at the road-end a little before 9am. The place was already buzzing with holiday-makers, and families emerging from large tents which I guess had been put up the night before. There was still some parking left in the main area, but it was a popular place.

Date: 30th March, 2018 (Good Friday).
Location: Tararua Forest Park, Holdsworth Road End.
Route: Start at Holdsworth road-end, around Donnelly Flat to the base of the River Ridge Track, up to Mountain House, then to Mt Holdsworth (.1470) via Powell Hut. North to Jumbo (.1405), Jumbo Hut, down Raingauge to Atiwhakatu Hut, and back to Holdsworth road-end via the main valley track.
[Photos]

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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.

Despite the stirring buzz around the campgrounds, there were fewer people around soon after I started moving beyond Holdsworth Lodge and across the bridge over the Atiwhakatu River. The previous evening I’d noticed the River Ridge Track marked on the LINZ Topo50, which I’d seen previously but never with a name. Some brief asking around had suggested it was steep and muddy, with lots of slippery tree roots. I decided to check it out as an alternative to climbing via Rocky Lookout, which I’ve already been past a few times. The base of the track is a short set of very steep, narrow steps, but it rapidly levels out slightly.
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30 May, 2018
Daywalk: Dobson Loop and Lower Marchant Ridge

Thursday and Friday were remarkably sunny days. This made the browsing of the surface pressure and rain forecast maps more annoying: they showed rain approaching for the weekend. Not that I mind walking through wind and rain, but it can complicate plans, and my free time’s been limited lately. I had a day of free time, nevertheless, and with that free time I resolved to visit the Kaitoke end of the Tararuas. Saturday looked like the better day.

I’d not been there for a while. The most recent occasion was whilst walking out from a moonlight Southern Crossing. Earlier than that I’d been for a walk around the Dobson loop. This time I thought I’d try something similar, but would try to leave earlier and get a bit further than I had previously.

Date: 7th October, 2017
Location: Tararua Forest Park, Kaitoke Road End.
Route: Start at Kaitoke, walk to Smith Creek Shelter (via Puffer Saddle), then check out the Tauherenikau. Back to Smith Creek Shelter, up to spot-height 656, hover around Marchant Ridge for a while, then back to Kaitoke via the main Southern Crossing track.
[Photos]

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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.

It rained. Not torrential. Just steady. The forecast had it getting worse later in the day.

The base of the track from the current car-park.

DOC has created a better car-park since I last visited. Previously the Kaitoke road-end was an isolated dead-end, and subject to repeated vandalism. The new car-park is directly outside the gate of the YMCA campground. I’m unclear on whether it gets much vandalism, but it doesn’t feel as isolated. It’s behind a gate, but not a locked gate.

There’s always been an informal track from the campground up to the main Marchant Ridge track. With its replacement car-park, DOC has connected into it and formalised it.
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30 November, 2017
Trip: Waiaua Gorge to North Egmont

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.

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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27 January, 2015
Daywalk: Up Mount Reeves

Meow.

With a day to spare in Wellington, I had a thought of attempting to find Snowy Hut in the Tararuas, which I’d be keen to see some day simply through virtue of it not officially existing. To do so would involve some river travel, though, and with a forecast that would allow little if any room for error or mistake, lest becoming totally screwed by a severe storm due to come in by evening, I reluctantly decided it’d be a bad idea. This led to plan B, which was a jaunt up to Mount Reeves, which is mostly under trees, involves no rivers, and should be easy enough to retreat from if the storm came in early. I’ve never been up Reeves Track before. (Maybe there’s a reason.)

Thus on Friday morning, I drove to the end of Waiohine Valley Road, behind Greytown and near Woodside Railway Station, and parked next to a herd of unrestful cattle. So far, so good. No sign of stormy weather, and a little sunshine.

Date: 2nd March, 2012
Location: Tararua Forest Park, Waiohine Valley Road.
People: Just me.
Huts visited: None.
Route: From Waiohine Road, up the Mt Reeves Track past Rocky Knob to Mt Reeves, then back again.
[Photos]

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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.

Leaving behind the farm.

Soon after sorting my tramping outfit, shortly after 10am, the local farmer drove up on a 4 wheel motorbike. It turned out he was about to move the moo moos to a new paddock. He reckoned where I’d parked the car was fine, but I soon found myself being closely followed up the farm track. There would’ve been a few nice scenic photos of the Waiohine River down below, if I hadn’t been stumbling with camera batteries.
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10 April, 2012
Daywalk: Hovering around Pouakai Hut, Henry Peak and the Pouakai Summit

Looking back from
near Pouakai Summit.

Returning from the West Island for a week and a half, I found some time to wander more in the vicinity of Eggie—also one of New Zealand’s cultural centres of insane mountain running.

I’d been up to the summit a little over a year ago, and this time the weather wasn’t exactly cooperating for that. Instead, I decided to wander up an easy route towards Pouakai Hut and find somewhere to read my book for the day. For a more complete description of the area, there’s a write-up of a variant of the Pouakai Circuit in late 2010, during which anyone who reads carefully will note it did not rain at all.

Date: 28th February, 2012
Location: Egmont National Park, above Mangorei Road.
People: Just me.
Huts visited: Pouakai Hut (0 nights).
Route: Up from Mangorei Road past Pouakai Hut, up Pouakai Summit, then back and up Henry Peak, and down to road again via hut.
[Photos]
[map:https://93a12629bf06.ngrok-free.app/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/20120228-hovering-around-pouakai.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.

Having parked at the end of the public part of Mangorei Road (there’s a 350 metre walk along a non-public driveway to the park entrance), I sorted things out and began the climb up the Mangorei Track at about 10.15am, just as the rain began. No matter, as it’s under trees for some time yet and I waved to one of the nearby residents as they drove past whilst I struggled with my raincoat.
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17 March, 2012
Daywalk: Climbing Mount Taranaki from North Egmont

I’ve visited Taranaki a few times in the past few years, and I used to think that clouds stuck to Mt Taranaki in the middle. Now I know that it’s really the entire Taranaki district that’s clouded over, but the mountain’s as clear as a bell. Of course, you have to be up the mountain to see this.

Looking down on Fanthams Peak and Syme Hut.

Having dragged myself out of bed in New Plymouth at 5.40am, I spotted at least 10 rabbits along North Egmont Road leading up to the visitor’s centre. I guess it’s difficult to control rabbits, and they repopulate so quickly.

Date: 26th December, 2010
Location: Egmont National Park, from North Egmont Visitor’s Centre.
People: Mostly me.
Huts visited: Tahurangi Lodge (0 nights).
Route: Follow the road from the visitor’s centre up The Puffer past Tahurangi Lodge, then up Lizard North Ridge to the summit.
[Photos]
[map:https://93a12629bf06.ngrok-free.app/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/20101226-climbing-mount-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.

The name of the mountain has an interesting recent history. It was been called “Taranaki” by local Maori long before James Cook first visited and named the mountain “Egmont”, after a British politician who’d promoted Cook’s first voyage to New Zealand, but who never set foot in the country. In 1865, during the Taranaki Land Wars, the New Zealand Government confiscated the mountain and other land from local Maori and distributed it between settlers for farming. The exception to this distribution was the radius around the mountain itself, which became a National Park in 1885. The name “Egmont” might have stuck for this reason, even though the mountain itself was symbolically gifted back to local Maori in 1978. Details of exactly what occurred and how it occurred are still controversial in some quarters.

In 1986, the official name of the mountain became “Mount Taranaki or Mount Egmont”—including the word “or”—thanks to an alleged naming mistake that was signed at the time by the Minister of Lands. Supposedly it was meant to be officially named “Mount Taranaki” or “Mount Egmont”, allowing for dual naming and recognition of the historic Maori name. I’ve heard informally that the name of “Mount Egmont” is due to be officially removed 50 years after 1986, but can’t find an online reference for this and I’m not convinced it’s correct.

The only prominent modern publication that seems to use the exact modern naming (complete with the word “or”) is Land Information New Zealand’s Topo50 Map BJ29, happily titled “Mount Taranaki or Mount Egmont”. These days official circles and media typically refer to it as Mount Taranaki, while some others (often locals who’ve grown up with the name) still refer to it as Mount Egmont.

Personally I prefer to call the mountain Eggie.
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11 February, 2011
Daywalk: Dobson Loop via Smith Creek Shelter

I’ve had a lot to do in the past few months. Not having had much of a chance to get outdoors in this time I’ve felt as if I’ve been missing out on some good summer tramping. I guess, at least, if you are going to miss out on good summer tramping, then the time around February, March and April is one of the best times of year to do it. It’s not without a good excuse, though. Stacey, my girlfriend, was happily married last month. This has meant much running around both before and after. I was fortunate enough to have been invited to the wedding, and it worked out really well. Certainly one of the nicest weddings I’ve attended.

Lack of getting outdoors has been catching up to me over this time, though. A couple of weeks back, I got bored and went for a 30+ km walk around Te Kopahou Reserve and the nearby coastline. It helped me recharge a little, but was still fairly suburban, and so most recently I’ve been for a daywalk into the Tararuas.

Dracophyllum near spot-height 656.

Date: 18th April, 2010
Location: Tararua Forest Park, Kaitoke Road End.
Route: Start at Kaitoke, walk to Smith Creek Shelter (via Puffer Saddle), then up to spot-height 656 and back to Kaitoke via the main Southern Crossing track.
[Photos]

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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.

I’ve never entered the Tararuas at Kaitoke before, just north of Upper Hutt, and I’m unsure why it’s taken so long. I think I considered it once, but was put off by the prospect of leaving a car overnight at the Kaitoke road-end, which has a reputation for being very insecure. In retrospect it’s usually possible to leave vehicles at the Kiwi Ranch Youth Camp, not far away for a nominal fee, and there’s even a connecting track up to the main route of Marchant Ridge. This time, given it was a daywalk (and also a Sunday), I figured it’d be okay to just leave the car parked on the side of the road for a while, and it worked out okay.
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19 April, 2010
Daywalk: East Harbour Lakes Block

Lake Kopangapiripiri.

For some reason I never got around to posting about a walk around the East Harbour Lakes Block back in July 2009, so this report will be more photos and less report. The future mother in law was paying a visit, which was reason enough (as everyone involved agreed) for me to escape and do something else. Back in January 2009 I’d been for a walk out to one of the lakes shortly after hopping off a plane, and I thought I might go and do it properly.

Date: 27th July, 2009
Location: East Harbour Regional Park.
People: Just me.
Route: Walk along the coast to Pencarrow Head, walk clock-wise around both lakes, then back along the coast to the car-park.
[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.

Pencarrow Head, with the older
lighthouse in the top left.

The only down side of the East Harbour Lakes Block is that there’s a good 90 minutes of walking along a long, flat, coastal road on the eastern side of Wellington Harbour, almost to the Pencarrow Head Lighthouses. There have been two lighthouses since 1906, when a second was built lower to the ground after it was noticed that the original 1858 lighthouse would sometimes be obscured by fog. Due to the long hard road, it’s probably nicer in some ways on a mountain bike than walking, or the getting there at least. Once actually to the lighthouse, the ground gets softer and the terrain more diverse, and the walking’s fascinating. Many people stop at the lighthouses, however, and make it a walk to the lighthouses and back. If you’re up early, though, there’s a wonderful walk around the Parangarahu Lakes Area of East Harbour Regional Park.

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10 March, 2010
Daywalk: Ruapehu Crater Lake

The summit plateau during summer,
Dome Shelter partly obscured behind.

If you followed his blog, you’d think that Craig never leaves his bike behind these days. He occasionally gets out in tramping boots though, which is great because he’s probably one of the most skilled people at off-track navigating who I know. Last week Craig mentioned that after riding his bike around Ruapehu in one of those cycling events, he intended to take advantage of a truly awesome weekend weather forecast and wander up to the crater lake of Mt Ruapehu for a look. I’ve not been up that way before, and it piqued my interest enough to convince me to gatecrash. The basic plan was to go up the easy way, which is to drive to the top of The Bruce (that road up to Whakapapa Skifield), and head up from there. As a side note, we visited in the middle of summer. In winter you’d likely need alpine gear and it’s nowhere near as straightforward. It’s an un-marked route in which people can and do get lost and have accidents, and I guess in alpine environments even small problems can have serious consequences.

Date: 7th February, 2010
Location: Tongariro National Park, from the top of Bruce Road.
People: Craig and me.
Huts visited: Dome Shelter, aka Dome Equipment Shed (0 nights).
Route: Walk up from the end of Bruce Road to the top of the Waterfall Express chair-lift, then continue up Knoll Ridge to Dome Shelter at the Crater Lake. Down via Restful Ridge.
Related bits: Craig also wrote about this walk.
[Photos]
[map:https://93a12629bf06.ngrok-free.app/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/20100207-ruapehu-crater-lake.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.

Early morning Ruapehu from
near Ohakune.

Various weekend scheduling issues meant I couldn’t leave on Saturday, and the arrangement meant dragging myself out of bed to leave Wellington at 3am, so as to reach Ohakune at about 7am and wake Craig at DOC’s Mangawhero camp-site. I really wanted to stand outside his tent and blow a whistle really loud, but he was already packing up when I arrived, and nearby campers might not have appreciated it the same way I expect Craig would have with his understanding sense of humour. At least there was still a nice climb ahead during the day. A chap visiting the camp-side from Auckland, whom Craig had befriended, seemed to think we’d knock it off before lunch time. With a 1000 metre climb, I certainly wasn’t confident we’d be up and down within that time.
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12 February, 2010