Modified Pouakai Circuit (aka Mangorei Road to Bells Falls return) – Mt Egmont National Park

Summary: Friday 12 April: Saturday 13 April: Sunday 14 April:

Mount Taranaki Summit

View from top of Mt Taranaki

We’ve regrouped at the top of a 300m long stretch of steep scoria on the way down the north ridge of Mount Taranaki. The sun blazes from a cloudless sky, there’s no wind and it’s hot – a heat haze shimmers off the dusty slope. Having climbed over 1500m today our legs are tired and … Read more

“Where’s Sarah?”

The eight of us met at platform nine at 5 pm in an attempt to get away for a slightly early departure for the long drive up to Taranaki. Despite our best efforts, including Dan sneaking out of the office while his boss wasn’t looking, a crash on SH2 and then roadworks on SH1 meant … Read more

Taranaki, A Loop Walk

A late arrival to the north Egmont visitor centre saw us setting up a free camp in the car park area. …nice and easy, although a tad busy in the early hours as all the summit climbers arrived in the dark. It was a clear and mild night, 3 of us under the club fly … Read more

Good Rock – Organ Pipes

New Zealand is a new country geographically speaking. The Southern Alps grow every year, and Aoraki has a go at shrinking every year. For a NZ rock climber, the primary goal is to find “good rock”. Not to seek out nice “starred” routes with lovely outlooks and beautiful sequences. No, the goal is to find … Read more

Pouakai Circuit, Egmont National Park

Most of my tramping gear is kept in the attic, to be fished out every month or two. There are several pairs of everything up there, which can lead to mix-ups on occasions. One of those occasions was when I agreed to lead the Pouakai Range circuit trip in Egmont National Park in May. The … Read more