Before we departed, Sally checked the weather forecast, and after discussing with the Chief Guide, made the proper choice to modify the trip. The weather was forecast to be cloudy, rainy and very windy, and generally miserable to hike in the claggy weather. Natasha had the idea to modify the route so that on Saturday, we walk in to Pouakai Hut via the lower route – Camphouse to Kaiauai Track to Pouakai Track, which would still take us past the best views. On Sunday, we would walk out the Mangorei track, which is a shorter 2-3 hours. They needed to sort out additional transportation in order to return to the Camphouse to retrieve the van to collect the rest of the group.
Needless to say, there were some last minute logistical changes! Natasha found a taxi service willing to meet a minimum of two people at the trail end and transport them to the Camphouse. It was great to see how flexible and accommodating everyone was about the changes, and once we had our plan, we were ready to head out.
Friday
With the club van in the shop (and some last-minute key kerfuffles), Sally arranged a van rental and picked our group up at the Wellington Train Station. We departed around 4:30pm and began our long ~ 5 hour drive to Taranaki. We did the classic stop for dinner in Bulls, where most people ate at the kebab shop. Sally did the first shift of driving, and then Jamie drove us to the Camphouse in Taranaki.
It was a lovely clear night, but also very dark, and there was a bit of an adventure to find the key box to get access to the hut. The visitor center was under construction and there were several temporary buildings around, so we weren’t sure which one was correct! Eventually we sorted it out and got settled at Camphouse.
Camphouse was a spacious hut, with electricity, gas cooktops, hot water and indoor showers/toilets. It is also a quite historic hut – built in 1855, and the oldest in any NZ National Park! It was a luxurious start to the trip and we all fell asleep quickly. While Camphouse had some nice amenities, it was an older hut, and not as well insulated. So it was a bit chilly in the morning!
It was worth it to be up and moving early, as it was a gorgeous morning sunrise. We all got up to enjoy the clear views of Taranaki and the surrounding landscape.
Saturday (Camphouse to Pouakai Hut, via Kaiauai Shelter – approx 7h)
After our morning breakfast, we divided up the group meal ingredients and the club gear, then we all piled in the club van and drove down to the hike starting point. At around 8:15 am, we started hiking, with Hugo being our fearless leader. Our track started out relatively flat and in the bush, with a few bridge crossings but we soon encountered quite a bit of vertical climb.
We finally got to the Kaiauai Shelter in about 2 hours, after climbing what felt like infinite stairs. As we climbed, we started to get good views of Mt Taranaki, but we also could see the incoming clouds. We kept a good pace so that we could reach the tarns before the cloud cover got too heavy. After leaving the shelter, we broke above the bush line and got excellent views. Once we reached the ‘peak’ of our climbing, the trail transitioned from dirt/stairs to a well-made boardwalk. We still had quite a ways to go until we reached the tarn, so we pressed onward. While Taranaki had accumulated its clouds, the rest of the landscape was relatively clear and looked absolutely lovely. It was a bit chilly, but we all had warmed up significantly and most only had their base layers. However, it was still important to layer up after stopping, as the cold would seep in quickly.
After an undulating boardwalk trek, we eventually reached the tarn at 1:10 pm and everyone was famished. The tarn was much smaller than we all expected and quite crowded with day trippers from a different starting location. We all ate our lunches, hung out for a bit, enjoying some people-watching, and took turns getting our pictures in front of the mountain. Sally and Maj-Britt were excellent guardians for the land, as they politely (but firmly) discouraged a couple from flying their drone!
After a long break, we continued the last short bit of the hike to Pouakai hut, arriving at 3pm. The hut was gorgeous! We all enjoyed the stained glass windows and little decorative details. Once we sorted out our rooms, we rested for a brief bit and then reconveined to watch the lovely sunset. The weather was great and clear, and as it got dark, we made dinner. Natasha found a great recipe for tuna chili noodles, and we all took turns helping make it. We had a great meal and some biscuits, chocolate and tea afterwards. Everyone drifted off to sleep after.
This hut was much newer (in fact, the newest – built in 2025) and much better insulated, and we all were warmer at night. It was pointed out that we managed to stay in the oldest and newest huts on this track!
Sunday (From Pouakai hut and out, via Mangorei track – under 2h)
We awoke to very claggy weather – misty, gray and gusty! We were grateful that Sally had checked the weather and made the call she did – it would have been a slog to hike in that, plus everything was completely fogged up! We had our breakfast, and then two of our group – Jamie and Niamh, left ahead of us so they could meet the taxi driver and collect the van. The remainder departed about an hour later, at 09:45am.
The hike was still boardwalk, which was definitely slippery in the rain. It quickly descended into bush, which held off most of the moisture. Jude led us out and we had some great conversation about the best karaoke songs (obviously 80’s ballads). We reached the end at about 11:30 am, ahead of our 3 hour estimate. We fortunately only had to wait about 15 minutes before Jaime and Niamh appeared with our van. We all packed up and headed back, stopping at a nearby cafe for the obligatory post-hike kiwi meal of a flat white and pie. We returned successfully to Wellington Station before 5pm.
We all agreed this was an excellent trip – even with the dreary forecast, we still had a wonderful Saturday with great views, and the return on Sunday was very easy to do in the rain. Taranaki is a lovely place and we all definitely plan to return to try out some other tramps in the area!