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Watching the sunrise from The Pinnacles summit is the closest I’ve come to waking up on a mountain. We got lucky with the weather - even though we went to sleep with overcast skies, by the time we started walking to the summit just before 5am, the Milky Way was there in all its glory, daring us to turn off our headlamps.

Our hike to The Pinnacles started the day before, having met up with Kuya Rommel (my cousin) and his friend Ian at the Kauaeranga Valley Information Centre car park.

Turns out the track car park was another fifteen minutes away, and my poor Betty (my Rav 4) was to get an even thicker coating of the dusty gravel road. The car park was pretty much full by the time we got there, and I ended up parking on the side of the road a couple of minutes away.

It was already midday by the time we started hiking towards The Pinnacles hut. There was no rush really, the hut was three hours away and with daylight savings, we had plenty of light left.
I was already sweating even before we started hiking - the temperature was in the mid-twenties but felt hotter because of the humidity.

You can do The Pinnacles as a day hike or like us, stay a night at the DOC hut with the option of doing a sunrise hike to the summit. It took us just under three hours to hike up to the hut and the summit is just under an hour from the hut. With the sun setting after 7pm during daylight savings, you can even experience both sunset and sunrise at the summit. For $20 the hut has great facilities: A cold shower, plenty of gas cookers in the kitchen, a gas bbq, lots of toilet paper and a symphony of snoring to serenade you thrown in for free.

The hike itself was definitely challenging, especially with a bigger pack. Oh gosh all those bloody stairs! There were man made ones, cut into the rock ones and some that nature added into the mix. It was hard on the legs, but the views made it so worth it. Especially when the track suddenly opens up and you find yourself looking down into the vastness of green that is the Coromandel Forest Park.

I really enjoyed the swing bridges along the track - most had a one-person limit, and I could only imagine the wait times to cross during peak-season. Although, there are definitely far worse places to be standing in line for with the views of the river and surrounding bush. Our longest break on the track was at a beautiful waterfall halfway up - a nice a relief from the searing heat.

I knew we were getting close to the hut as the vegetation started to change - the trees and shrubs were typical of higher altitude (approx. 750m a.s.l), they were shorter though still as dense.

We were greeted by Johannes (the hut warden) when we arrived at an already bustling hut. After going over the hut rules, we claimed our bunk beds and checked out the facilities. I knew that the hut was fully booked, and was pleasantly surprised to see so many families with younger children. As we sat down for our merienda (afternoon tea) of condensed milk flavoured Skyflakes, we talked about our plans for the afternoon. Kuya Rommel and Ian wanted to hike to the summit to watch the sunset, and I unsurprisingly wanted to nap. So I did, and of course, it was glorious.

After my nap, I decided to check out the Kauri Dam, which was about ten minutes from the hut.
I found a little track that took me down to the abandoned dam and sat down in the shade of the giant pillars. Apart from the chatter of the small nearby campsite, it was quiet enough to hear the trickle of the creek below. I closed my eyes and did my best to shut out the human noise - somewhere in the forest I heard Tūīs and the rustling of leaves.

I was already awake before I heard Kuya Rommel’s alarm go off at 4am - we had a quick coffee before heading off to the summit. The hut was sound asleep when we left just before 5am so we assumed no one else wanted to watch the sunrise that day. It turned out there were some hikers even more determined hikers because we had only been walking ten minutes when we saw the lights three-quarters of the way to the top. What time did they get up I wonder?

Sunrise wasn’t until 6am, but we knew that if we left too late, we could get stuck behind other hikers and miss it altogether. By going earlier than most, we were also guaranteed the pick of the best viewing spots. There was a group of four that sat on the rocks that were above the main viewing platform, so we walked around the corner. It may not have had a 360 degree view, but would guarantee a much quieter sunrise as it was further away from the platform.

After sunrise, we made our way back down to the hut. We were keen to pack up and make our way down early as we still had to drive home that day. My knees suffered a bit going down, and I probably looked more like an old woman shuffling along with a zimmer frame than a hiker. The car park was just as packed as we left it the day before, and there was still a constant stream of cars circling, hoping to get lucky with a park from returning hikers heading home.

Whether you’re wanting to hike The Pinnacles in a day, or staying overnight at the hut, make sure to bring lots of water and good snacks to give you plenty of energy. It’s definitely challenging, but I feel for most it’s achievable.

fivefootronna is Ronna Grace Funtelar - a thirtyish adventurer, graphic designer and writer.
A woman with a curious mind who lives for hiking mountains, outdoor adventures and eating pizza. She has a unique brand of optimism that is a combination of her great enthusiasm for life and cups of coffee during the day.