Day hike to Mangamuka Hut on Te Tuhi Track
Mangamuka Hut in the Kaimai Mamaku Forest.
How to get to the start of the track
Mangamuka Hut can be accessed from SH 29 along the North-South track, or via Te Tuhi track, starting at Te Tuhi Road car park. The track is on the Te Aroha side of the Kaimai-Mamaku Forest, and takes about 1.5 hours drive from Whakatāne. From SH 24, turn-off into Old Te Aroha Road until you get to Te Tuhi Road. It’s a beautiful drive surrounded by farmland. The car park is at the end of the road (there are no toilets). The trailhead is at the bush edge, about 30-40 mins walk along private farmland. Walk past the gate and up the gravel road - there’s an official Depart of Conservation (DoC) track sign about 15 mins up the road. Follow the orange markers to the bush edge.
Approx. 13.5km, 6 hours return
There’s a DoC track sign about 15 mins up the gravel road.
I don’t mind early starts, and the Sunday morning drive to Te Tuhi Road from Whakatāne was lovely. I missed the turn-off to Old Te Aroha Road the first time, but not far enough down the road that I couldn’t turn around. There was plenty of morning fog on the surrounding farmland, but nothing on the road. There was only one car when I got to the car park. I met the couple a few hours later as they were heading back.
It was a foggy morning drive out to Te Tuhi Road car park.
From the car park, I walked up the farm gravel road until I came to the sign and followed the orange markers up the private farmland. It was a nice uphill stroll and the fog on the farmland cleared as the sun warmed up. The day was going to be a stunner, and it was a shame that I would be walking under the canopy for most of the day.
There’s a small creek to cross at the bush edge, but since the water was low, I crossed without getting my boots wet. From here the track goes up, and up, and up. After about an hour, the burn eased off and it became more of a steady climb. The track, although rooty, was well formed and clear of any overgrown ferns. Any windfalls I came across weren’t recent and you can tell people had already been around to do track maintenance.
Lovely walk through private farmland before heading into the bush.
It took just over 1.5 hours to reach the hut junction. There are several stream crossings along the track, and there must have been a bit of rain recently because you can see some mud erosion in parts. On the DoC website, it said that sections of the track may not be marked, but I found the opposite. A few people have warned me that the track to the hut can be steeper and rougher than what the topo suggests. At least from Te Tuhi Track side, this wasn’t the case. It was probably the flattest section of the tramp.
I met a young couple heading down as I was about half an hour from the hut. I assumed it must have been their car parked next to mine. About 15 mins from the hut, the track crosses the stream and will head uphill to the right. The track turns to the left but is only marked by those white, reflective metal strips from the NZ Forestry days. I thought this is what they must have meant about the track not being ‘marked’, but as I walked down the hill and around the corner, the orange markers continued.
It was so good to pop out of the bush into the afternoon sun. I quickly looked for the track that led to the toilet - I had been holding out for a couple of hours and I really needed to drop the kids off at the pool. When I opened the door to the toilet, I was confused. There was no seat, and the hole was covered by one of those black plastic bags. Don’t worry, the new toilet is by the helicopter pad and comes with a lovely view too.
It’s a basic 4-bunk hut - the mattresses are in the wooden chest.
After enjoying my cheese and crackers in the sun, I took my photos and packed up. I met an elderly couple coming back from Te Whare Okioki when I was halfway down Te Tuhi Track. They asked what the track was like to the hut and how long it took me. They were visiting from the South Island and had wanted to check out the hut, but had run out of time.
Even though it was mid-afternoon by the time I got to the farmland, the sun was still bright enough that I put my hat back on so I wouldn’t get sunburnt. I had a gorgeous view of the valley as I made my way back down to the car park. I thought about going to the hot pools in Okauia, but decided to have dinner in Mt. Maunganui instead. Nothing like having Burgerfuel to finish off a Sunday hike.
The door at Mangamuka Hut.
View of the helicopter landing area from ‘the throne’.
Ronna Grace Funtelar is a 40-something desk-fit creative, weekend explorer and cheese enthusiast in Whakatāne, New Zealand. She has a big butt, chunky thighs and shakin’ more jelly than Destiny’s Child. Her creaky knees discovered an appreciation for Type 2 adventures in the bush and mountains in her thirties, and she’s been hiking ever since.
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