A crispy August morning, moon stunning in the sky.
Saturday
7am meet ups on platform 9 at Wellington Train Station. Dividing the gear up and getting ready to head off. Driving towards the rising of the sun across the bay, fog resting heavy on the road.
Winding turns and beautiful views while crossing the Remutakas. A cruisey stop at the Putangirua Pinnacles for a quick 45 mins walk to the lookout, with some adventurous river crossings and a solid muddy trail. Beautiful forest walk with a few benches along the way. Generous amount of steps all along the trail leading up to the lookout. The lower track, a few meters before the lookout for the loop trail, was closed due to environmental changes and rock fall. Unsure if permanently closed. (Editor’s note – Check for latest updates on the DOC website: https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/wairarapa/places/putangirua-pinnacles-scenic-reserve/.
Great laughs and getting to know each other all while trying not to slip and fall in the mud. Fun fact – the Putangirua Pinnacles were a filming location for the Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King movie.
Heading out from the Pinnacles toward a small town called Ngawi, to see some seals and Cape Palliser lighthouse. The drive along this stretch of coast has beautiful views, and black sand beaches. While in the distance across the water, a breath-taking snow-capped mountain range.
Seals were on point, ready for their photo shoot as many gathered to capture their unique and cute moves, growls, grunts and howls.
Ready, set and off we go to our next stop – the lighthouse with a stairway to heaven. All of us realising we have not yet started the hike we had actually planned to do – we laughed this off and headed up the stairway to the lighthouse. Not as bad as initially thought and a nice warm up for the easy trail ahead.
After all of our adventuring, lunch was definitely much needed before starting the actual hike. We stopped off at the only cafe for miles, in the Waimeha Camping Village called Cape Palliser Bar and Grill. What a cute and cosy place, food was amazing. We had the chicken schnitzel meal and schnitzel burger.
After some great food, a chill and chats we head off on the actual hike to Mangatoetoe Hut. The time at this point was around 3 pm.
We headed to the Hut via Mangatoetoe Stream, with a little bit of bundu bashing through bush and mud dips that swallowed your feet every now and again. The Stream was flowing nicely and the water level was shallow. Wet shoes were definitely on the cards, no way around it.
On the right side of the Stream, as we walked towards the hut, an orange DOC marker. We make our way back up the tree line towards the hut. At an intersection on the trail, we met a herd of cattle stampeding through the forest – such an amazing sight. We stopped dead in our tracks and allowed them to make their way without any disturbance, but also for our safety. Before we knew it the Mangatoetoe Hut was in sight.
Arriving at the Hut, we met two gentlemen who were staying and hunting for the weekend. After removing our wet bottoms and getting cosy, we gather wood for the fire and settle in for the evening. For dinner we shared a nice mushroom tofu miso broth and rice – so delicious and a perfect homey wholesome meal – while sharing stories and getting to know the men around the fire. Spoilt with dessert, we had lovely rich brownies and cream. After soaking up the nice atmosphere around the fire, we had an early night.
Sunday
Early morning rise and shine, we left the Hut at around 9am and made our way back on the trail.
The hunters had advised us the previous night that if we did not want to follow the stream back, we could follow a pest trail instead – which is marked by orange ribbons. We followed this trail, on the right side of the stream, heading back towards the car park. The trail is flat, easy, dry and allowed for some beautiful encounters with little lambs and their mamas.
The trail had a slight elevation, nothing crazy or steep, but just enough to be able to enjoy views of the stream we had walked beside the day before and the rolling mountain landscape.
After taking in the views and chatting about the adventure, we make our way around a tiny bend and see the car park ahead. Not sure if we were disappointed at how quick the hike was or if we were happy to see the car. You need to cross the stream right at the end of the pest trail to get to the car park.
Arriving at the club van, we get comfy and head back to Cape Palliser Bar and Grill for a morning coffee. We then hit the road back to Wellington just after 11 am. We had a refreshment stop in Martinborough and arrived back in Wellington just before 2 pm.
A really great adventure. Thanks to our leader for the great idea of exploring the surrounding area before our walk to Mangatoetoe Hut – as the walk only takes 2 hours (maybe even less).
This is an easy, short, fun and comfortable hike, and definitely one to add to your list of adventures. And if you are not in a hurry and have the time, I definitely recommend exploring the area.
Thanks for reading.
Timings:
- Putangirua Pinnacles walk: 1 hr 30 mins (45 mins each way) [was not officially part of our tramp]
- Carpark to Mangatoetoe Hut: 1 hr 50 mins
- Mangatoetoe Hut to Carpark: 1 hr 45 mins
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