Lonely Planet Hiking & Tramping in New Zealand

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• Publisher: Lonely Planet
• Year: 2018
• eBook ISBN:
  9781788681643
• Print ISBN:
  9781786572691

Taranaki & Southern North Island

Egmont National Park

Around the Mountain Circuit

Pouakai Circuit

Pouakai Crossing

Mt Taranaki Summit

Ruahine Forest Park

Sunrise Track

Tararua Forest Park

Mt Holdsworth–Jumbo Circuit

Cape Palliser

Putangirua Pinnacles

Towns & Facilities

New Plymouth

Napier

Palmerston North

Masterton

Wellington

Taranaki & Southern North Island

Why Go?

The southern half of the North Island might not zing with names like Milford, Abel Tasman and Tongariro, but it’s here that some of the roots of New Zealand tramping lie. Egmont National Park was the country’s second national park, created in 1900, and NZ’s first tramping club was formed in Wellington in 1919.

Like the central North Island, tramping here is dominated by a volcano – Mt Taranaki – and a spectacular, perfectly conical one at that (think, Mt Fuji with a Kiwi accent). The mountain is laced with tramping routes, from a contender for the title of NZ’s best day hike, to a lap around the volcano and a summit climb.

Elsewhere there’s the chance for an easy introduction to the alpine world on the Sunrise Track, there’s hoodoo heaven on a half-day wander into the Hollywood heavy hitter that is the Putangirua Pinnacles, as well as tracks into the rugged and raw terrain of the Tararua Forest Park.

When to Go

Weather conditions in the southern half of the North Island vary greatly, but one common trait across the region is the potential for it to get ugly. In the high-altitude areas of Egmont National Park, the Ruahines and the Tararuas the weather can change in a matter of hours, with blue skies obliterated by raging storms that can bring white-outs and freezing temperatures. If you want to explore high along the peaks, aim to visit between November and April, though come prepared for the possibility of bad weather at any time of year.

Best Huts

A Pouakai Hut

A Sunrise Hut

A Jumbo Hut

Best Views

A Pouakai Tarns

A Mt Taranaki Summit

A Armstrong Saddle

A Mt Holdsworth

A Putangirua Pinnacles lookout

Background Reading

In Ask That Mountain, author Dick Scott vividly captures a seminal period in early Māori–Pākehā relations. Once named among the 10 most important NZ books, it tells the story of Parihaka, a small Māori settlement at the foot of Mt Taranaki, which from the mid-1860s became the centre of a peaceful resistance movement. In response to the surveying of confiscated tribal lands, Māori – led by Te Whiti-o-Rongomai and Tohu Kakahi and wearing the movement’s emblematic white feather in their hair – obstructed development by ploughing troughs across roads, erecting random fences and pulling survey pegs. Despite many Māori being arrested and held without trial, the protests continued and intensified. Finally, in November 1881 the government sent a force of more than 1500 troops to Parihaka in a quest to quash the resistance.

DON’T MISS

Continue the wild journey past Putangirua Pinnacles for 25km and you’ll come to Cape Palliser, the southernmost point of the North Island.

Staking the island into the sea here is the 18m-high, cast-iron Cape Palliser Lighthouse, its candy-striped figure having illuminated this windy and ruthless corner of the island since 1897. The 250-step climb to the base of the lighthouse rewards with a great view, and it’s a good place to linger if the wind isn’t blowing your eyeballs into the back of your head. The surrounding shoreline is home to the North Island’s largest breeding area...

Table of contents

• Contents
• Welcome to New Zealand
• New Zealand’s Great Walks
• Need to Know
• If You Like...
• Itineraries
• Choosing Your Tramp
• Outdoor Pursuits
• New Zealand’s Birds
• Safety in the Outdoors
• Clothing, Equipment & Food
• Regions at a Glance
• Northland, Auckland & Coromandel
• Tongariro, Te Urewera & Central North Island
• Taranaki & Southern North Island
• Queen Charlotte & Marlborough
• Abel Tasman, Kahurangi & Nelson Lakes
• Canterbury, Arthur’s Pass & Aoraki/Mt Cook
• West Coast
• Mt Aspiring National Park & Around Queenstown
• Fiordland & Stewart Island/Rakiura
• Understand New Zealand
• New Zealand Today
• History
• Environment
• Directory A-Z
• Transport
• Accommodation
• Glossary
• Behind the Scenes
• Our Writers