Windy Tops

Tag: independent trip

  • Trip: Lake Dive to North Egmont

    I visited Eggie between Christmas and New Year, and stayed a couple of nights on the mountain. More specifically, I started around Lake Dive and Dawson Falls on the southern side, and made my way around to North Egmont via the eastern side. If you’re after a remote wilderness experience then Egmont National Park isn’t the easiest place to get one. It’s quite small, and very few parts of it (if any) are out of reach of daywalks, especially during the long days of summer. On the other hand, I think it’s definitely worth visiting. Egmont National Park is an isolated circle, literally. It’s as if someone took a compass on a flat topographical map, and drew a circle around the centre of the mountain to define the national park. Trees and native bush outside this line have been removed, and generally converted to farm-land.

    3162781788_bc396e274f_m-3497286
    Lake Dive in front of Egmont
    and Fanthams Peak.

    Dates: 28th – 30th December, 2008
    Location: Egmont National Park, Dawson Falls to North Egmont.
    People: Just me.
    Huts visited: Lake Dive Hut (1 night), Kapuni Lodge (0 nights), Hooker Shelter (0 nights), Waingongoro Hut (0 nights), Maketawa Hut (1 night).
    Route: Lake Dive Loop from Dawson’s Falls (lower track then upper track), then around the eastern side of Egmont from Dawson Falls to Maketawa Hut on the lower track, and out via North Egmont.
    [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.
    3162714028_bca194a43c_m-3029183
    Mt Egmont seen from New Plymouth,
    with the Pouakai Range to the right.

    As with most parks in New Zealand, Egmont has its own colour and character; this park is sharply defined by a solo cone-shaped volcanic mountain in the middle. There is actually a mountain range going through Mount Taranaki/Egmont, which is the consequence of a slowly moving volcanic centre of which remnants can still be seen poking out of the sea off the coast of New Plymouth, then climbing to the south into the Pouakai Range, continuing through Egmont’s discrete 2518 metre peak, and finishing at Fanthams Peak on the southern slope, which is the consequence of the most recent volcanic action. Although it’s been relatively dormant in the past few hundred years, the park is dotted all over with massive domes and bluffs, all of which are symptomatic of the mountain’s violent and continuing volcanic history.

    (more…)

  • Daywalk: Pouakai Hut from Mangorei Road

    I’m presently in Taranaki, where Stacey’s family lives, so I’ve been going for walks around here in the last short while. A few days after I returned from a 2 night solo walk around another part of Egmont (which I’ll write up later), Barry (Stacey’s dad) took me for a quick walk up to Pouakai Hut this morning. I’ve been there before and it’s not really a daywalk so much as a before-lunch walk, but haven’t really written much about it so I thought I might note some things here for the record.

    Date: 1st January, 2009
    Location: Egmont National Park, Mangorei Road end to Pouakai Hut.
    People: Barry and Me.
    Huts visited: Pouakai Hut (0 nights).
    Route: From Mangorei Road up to Pouakai Hut and back.

    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…)

  • Daywalk: Walking the length of the Kaiwharawhara Stream

    I was supposed to be going up to Mt Ruapehu this weekend, but pulled out at the last minute because I’ve not been feeling too well over the last week. I wanted to try and get some fresh air when I woke up yesterday morning, though, so I thought I might have a go at walking along as much of the Kaiwharawhara Stream as I was able to.

    http://www.flickr.com/apps/video/stewart.swf?v=63881
    Bird songs near part of the Kaiwharawhara
    Stream in Otari Wilton’s Bush.

    The Kaiwharawhara Stream is one of the main water catchments flowing into Wellington Harbour, and it’s named after the suburb of Kaiwharawhara, where it finally exits into Wellington Harbour. It collects most of its water from around Karori and (especially after joining with the Korimako Stream) from many of the western suburbs of Wellington below Mt Kaukau. Its path through that part of Wellington is quite diverse. Some parts of the stream have a mildly remote feel to them, whereas others are heavily affected by built-up areas and the engineering projects that have caused it to be diverted and re-routed. Walking along it is a joining-the-dots exercise that I’ve wanted to do for a few months, and I’ve been waiting for a convenient time. Ultimately I found several places where it was impossible to follow because it was piped underground for long distances. In several places the stream had no formed track, and I gave up on following it directly once it seemed unlikely that it’d go anywhere except into another underground tunnel.

    Date: 22nd November, 2008
    Location: Wellington’s Western Suburbs, from Karori Wildlife Sanctuary to Kaiwharawhara.
    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.

    The main part of the catchment starts well up within the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary. There’s a charge to get into the sanctuary, and I’m also not 100% certain how accessible the stream is, so I instead decided to begin from just outside the sanctuary where the stream enters the free world. Note that I’ve put a lot more photos directly in this article than I usually do, because I think the photos tell much of the story of the changes in the stream from beginning to end.

    (more…)

  • Daywalk: Kapiti Island, from Rangatira Point to Tuteremoana Trig

    We finally got there. The third attempt wasn’t cancelled. Kapiti Island was sunny and with appropriate charm. Last Sunday morning we drove out early at the Kapiti Boating Club, from where both ferry companies leave, and caught our ferry over to the island.

    3001370121_6b91f15e06_m-5922008
    Looking South-ish from
    Tuteremoana Trig.

    Date: 2nd November, 2008
    Location: Kapiti Island, Rangatira Point to Tuteremoana Trig and back.
    People: Stacey and 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.

    Kapiti Island has a varied and sometimes violent history. It was the base from which Te Rauparaha ruled much of the lower North Island and upper South Island of New Zealand. With the island being relatively central and accessible to the Cook Straight, he used its strategic location to secure trading opportunities with visiting sailing ships, and this gave him a huge advantage over other Maori tribes, as well as giving him a higher status. Most of the island has been farmed in the past, and the bush that covers most of it is still re-generating.
    (more…)

  • Daywalk: Walking the Skyline Walkway

    2780261447_503cf08f0d_m-6990143
    The Rimutaka Range seen
    behind Wellington Harbour from
    the Skyline Walkway.

    I haven’t written about the Skyline Walkway before, which runs along the ridges between Karori and Mount Kaukau. This is a shame because on a good day it’s a very nice walk, and very accessible. On a bad day it can be very exposed to strong westerly winds, especially in a couple of saddles towards the northern end. I’ve walked it a few times now, most often starting from the Karori end and once from the Kaukau end. The most recent time was last Sunday when I decided on a whim that I felt like doing something.

    Date: 17th August, 2008
    Location: Skyline Track, Karori to Mt Kaukau.
    People: 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.

    The Wellington City Council advises that it’s a “5 hour strenuous walk”, which is certainly true if you’re planning a family trip or an occasional outing. If you’re the sort of person who does a lot of walking and is reasonably fit, however, you could reasonably expect to get from the Karori end to the Kaukau end inside a couple of hours at a reasonably fit pace and if you had nothing better to do (not necessarily including getting down from Kaukau). It’d be feasible to do it quite a bit faster if you’re a crazy mountain runner, which some people are.

    (more…)

  • Daywalk: Wellington to Plimmerton (via suburbia)

    I haven’t been out tramping for a while and this morning I ended up with a free day on my hands, so I decided to just walk North towards the Kapiti Coast for a while and see how far I’d get. This is actually the third time I’ve done this, and the second time in the Kapiti direction, but it’s the first time I’ve written anything about it.

    The general idea is to just walk through suburbia, keeping reasonably close to bus routes and/or railway lines so it’s easy to bail out and go home whenever it’s convenient. I quite like doing this on occasion because it involves minimal organisation and it’s not necessary to arrange any special gear. Just some contingency money for a bit of food and public transport home is all. It’s also just quite a nice change from walking through the back-country, I think. Suburbia changes quite a lot as you walk through it (at least it does on this route), and I find it interesting wandering along the streets and watching things going on as the day progresses.

    Date: 6th July, 2008
    Location: Wellington suburbs (Northland, Johnsonville, Tawa, Porirua, Plimmerton).
    People: Me.
    Intended route: Start at Northland and walk north along suburban streets in the general direction of Kapiti, keeping near public transport.

    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…)

  • Daywalk: Belmont Crossing – Porirua, Belmont Trig, Korokoro Stream, Petone

    2152975169_ab85c76827_m-5530613
    Bird life at the Korokoro Dam.

    I’ve walked from Petone to Porirua a couple of times now, and both times I’ve gotten lost on a farm on the Porirua side and ended up walking down some random farmer’s driveway. This time I thought I might do it in the other direction, so that maybe I could finally figure out where I should have been going.

    Date: 1st January, 2008
    Location: Belmont Regional Park, Cannons Creek Lake Reserve to Cornish Street.
    People: Just me.
    Intended route: Start at Cannons Creek, walk up past Cannons Head and Belmont Trig, then down one of the routes near the Korokoro Stream, and out at the Cornish Street exit in Petone.
    [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…)

  • Daywalk: Racing around Kapakapanui

    Following the recent daywalk around Kapakapanui, I went back to Waikanae this morning because I was keen to find out how quickly I could do it. I didn’t get many photos this time, except for ones to record timestamps, since I was in a bit of a hurry. I already had a heap during the last trip, and I tend to find photos a bit boring when they don’t involve people. I won’t bother explaining too many details of the track in this report, since I think I did that in my previous post.

    Date: 10th November, 2007
    Location: Tararua Forest Park, Ngatiawa Road-End.
    People: Just me.
    Huts visited: Kapakapanui Hut (0 nights).
    Intended route: Start at the road-end, follow the loop track clock-wise up to Kapakapanui Hut, continue to Kapakapanui Trig, then continue back down to the road-end. Walk very fast.

    I’m calling this a daywalk, which is usually is, but I’m not sure if it still counts if it’s walked in three hours.

    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…)

  • Daywalk: Te Kopahou Reserve Radar Dome to Seatoun

    I wasn’t doing anything specific this weekend, so I thought I might go for a wander around Te Kopahou Reserve. This is the area that includes the hills above Red Rocks on Wellington’s south coast, as well south of the radar dome belonging to the Airways Corporation.

    1678331539_1817068156-5743753

    Date: 21st October, 2007 (8.20am to 3.20pm)
    Location: Te Kopahou Reserve and Wellington South Coast
    People: Just me

    It’s very accessible and I’ve been there a few times before, but I think this is the first time I’ve written anything about it. I got around the reserve in about 3 or 4 hours, and spent the rest of the day walking around the coast to Seatoun.

    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…)

  • 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…)