I attempted to hike the five-day Pua-a-Tāne Circuit in the Whirinaki Pua-a-Tāne Forest in early January 2025. Unfortunately after day two, I realised the distance and terrain was just too big for my current fitness level and I walked out to the Pukahunui road end on day three. The Department of Conservation (DoC) have reclassified the section of the Taumutu Stream Track (between Central and Upper Whirinaki Huts) to Mangakahika Hut as a route. This includes the Pukahunui road end.

Route description: Routes are unformed, marked or unmarked, and often with steep grades. Suitable only for people with high level backcountry navigation and river-crossing skills and experience. Sturdy tramping/hiking boots required.

The track description on DoC’s website probably needs an update and I recommend reading the more up-to-date reviews on the NZ Mountain Safety’s Council’s Plan My Walk before heading out. 

Central Whirinaki Hut

26-bunk serviced hut | Not bookable | Track: 16km, 6 hours

This was my third time staying at Central Whirinaki Hut, part of me slightly impatient for the ‘real’ hiking to begin. I had waited three years to finally attempt the Pua-a-Tāne Circuit, an 80km, five-day loop that starts and finishes at the River Road car park in Minginui. To say I was chomping at the bit to finally experience a new part of the forest is an understatement.

This was a solo hike and looking back, my pack definitely could have used a few less kilos in that terrain. Even if I did hike five days, I still reckon I would’ve had cheese to spare.

I was surprised by how many large windfalls there were across the track. There were a handful on the Whirinaki Falls loop, but the messiest ones were a long way from the car park. Picture a turtle trying to climb over a large boulder, that’s me at 152cm as I scramble, grapple and my least favourite, the precarious straddle over tree trunks. They’re always in the most awkward angles, aren’t they? What I’m trying to say is, if you’re a shortie like me, be prepared for some windfall action.

The track is well marked with plenty of sections under the canopy. There are plenty of small streams or river access for a water top up. I spotted a handful of Whio (native blue duck) too which is always a treat - I usually hear them before I see them, sometimes even giving me a fright! I did love my encounter with a young Whio standing on a boardwalk about a couple of hours from the hut. It was the chillest of the chill and didn’t even move until I had almost tip-toed past it. If you encounter Whio, please give it plenty of space and for goodness’ sake, don’t try and pat it.

I had a quick snack and toilet break at Vern’s Camp before carrying on. It’s a great shelter with a couple of mattresses, a table and fireplace. There’s also plenty of space to pitch a tent. It’s less than 3 hours from the car park and probably a cool spot for astrophotography.

There was a solo tent pitched outside when I got there around 5pm. I can socialise later, I thought to myself. Tired and hungry, I couldn’t wait to get my heavy pack off my back. Turns out I would have the hut all to myself that night, although Sharon and Kathrine did pop inside and joined me for dinner and hiking yarns.

They also planned to walk the circuit. After feeling deflated from my day’s effort, I seriously considered going to Mangamate Hut instead, but I wanted to see how my body felt in the morning before making that decision. Even though the hut was dark long before the sun set, it still took me ages to fall asleep. It turns out creaks and a tap dripping are much louder without a snoring bunk neighbour.

Overnight camp on the Upper Whirinaki Track

After saying goodbye to Sharon and Katherine the next day, my plan was to stay the night at Upper Te Hoe Hut, approx. 18km to the south. I’ve walked the Taumutu Stream Track a couple of times before, I’d say it has good markers, but there were a few times I found myself walking in the stream and not quite sure where the track had gone. With a bit of patience, I would eventually spot an orange marker and be on my way.

I arrived at Upper Whirinaki Hut late morning.My legs felt good so I decided to keep going and try to cover a few more kilometres.

The hut quickly disappeared once I crossed the stream. Finally, the real hike begins, I thought to myself. My plan was to see what the track conditions were like and if I found it too hard going, I would head back to Upper Whirinaki for the night. The first couple of hours followed the stream, it was lovely and almost quite relaxing, which gave me a false sense of optimism of what was ahead. Each time I came across increasingly sketchy eroded sections, I told myself that if I did turn around, it meant having to get through those sections again. No thanks.

I’ve always believed that the most beautiful parts of a forest are never near a road end and I’m yet to be proven wrong. Most of the track barely fit a solo hiker, overgrown and at times did give way beneath me and sent me sliding down to the river. Climbing back up a steep, crumbly, muddy riverbank is never fun (not to mention bloody exhausting), so after a couple of unplanned river dips, I decided my safety was more important than a bed at the hut. On the plus side, the track was marked a lot better than I expected.

I didn’t come across another hiker that day, quite the introvert’s dream really. If Sharon and Katherine did end up finishing the circuit, they would have reached the Pukahunui/Upper Te Hoe junction after me before I didn’t see them again.

After covering about 15km and still nowhere near the Pukahunui/Upper Te Hoe junction, I accepted that I wouldn’t make it to Upper Te Hoe hut that night. I would keep walking as far as my legs could handle while keeping an eye out for a suitable camp spot. I did come across a camping spot from a previous hiker, but I wasn’t quite ready to stop then. Thinking about it, it was actually perfect - it had flat ground, near a stream and even had a place for an open fire.

I found my camping spot for the night when I looked up at a windy, steep incline and my legs noped out. Physically, I probably could have pushed myself until I cried, but mentally, I was done. The terrain wasn’t ideal, surrounded by sloping dirt more suited to deer. I settled on a spot barely wide enough for my bivvy tent and got started on dinner. The first mouthful of the spicy Korean noodles really hit the spot and I felt a bit more human each time. The only thing louder than my slurping was the symphony of birds catching up on the day’s gossip.

After dinner, I decided to move to a flatter spot a bit down the hill. A giant spider kept insisting on being my bed buddy and I just wasn’t having it, so I moved the tent. Luckily, I could just zip up the bivvy and drag it down the hill with everything inside. I could see a distant sunset through the trees, I bet it would have been a great sunset at Upper Te Hoe.

Pukahunui Track to road end

Track: 3km to track junction, approx. 5km to road end | 5 hours total

There wasn’t much water left in my bottle so I decided to skip the coffee. I sat on my flattened bivvy tent eating a muesli bar while trying to rub the sleep from my eyes. The topo app showed that I was still 2-3 kilometres from the junction. My goal for the morning was to get to the junction and decide if I would continue on the circuit. If there’s reception at the junction, I would call my partner and attempt to describe where I was and how to pick me up. If there wasn’t, I accepted my fate and would walk back to the River Road car park. I had plenty of food, so as long as I can find water, I would be OK to camp again another night..

It took a couple of hours to reach the junction. No reception. Upper Te Hoe and the Pukahunui road end were both 5km away. I gave it a good go but now it’s time to head home, I thought to myself. After a quick snack and drink, I turned right and started walking down the Pukahunui Track. The wide, clear track was steady underfoot, a nice break from fighting ferns at eye level.

I don’t know why I stopped at that part of the track, but the eternal optimist in me decided to drop my pack, grab my phone and take it off airplane mode. Notifications started popping up on the screen, a sound I hadn’t heard for a couple of days. Not only did I have mobile reception, there was even 4G! I rang the tall fella, no answer. I tried again. Voicemail. Even after the third time, no dice. I Googled his workplace and got a hold of him that way. I took a screenshot of my topo app and sent it to him, hoping he’d be able to find the road end because it wasn’t on Google Maps.

The lovely walking track soon narrowed into a bench track and slowly wound its way down the range. Once I popped out the bush, I was greeted by a corridor of mānuka trees and pumice underfoot. It was the first time I had been in full sun and the sudden heat made me wish I had brought a bigger hat. I couldn’t remember the last time I had seen an orange marker, but the track was pretty easy to follow…until this one section.

About 500m from the road end, I somehow lost the track. After the last boardwalk, I couldn’t see any orange markers. I made the mistake of following old boot prints up the hill, possibly making the same mistake I did. As I climbed higher, my gut told me this wasn’t the track. I could see the dirt road in the distance, but no orange markers. I must have climbed down in a different direction because I ended up in a stream. Lluckily, the topo app said I was just a few metres from the actual track. It was a hard slog to bush bash my way back to that boardwalk. Exhausted, I dropped my pack to explore the left-hand side of the hill I had already climbed. The track was right there!

Relief washed over me as I set foot Pukahunui Road. With no mobile coverage, I had no idea what time I would be picked up, so I just kept on walking. I probably managed another 2km until my stomach yelled out for food. There were no nearby trees for shelter, and I didn’t want to risk the tall fella missing me when he drove past. So I plonked myself down on the side of the road, took off my shoes and socks, cut some cheese and crackers and waited.

I only got a couple of crackers in when the tall fella pulled up. “That was a hell of a drive babe,” he looked relieved, and later I learned he even brought his hiking gear in case he had to look for me in the bush. “I know, thanks for coming to get me. Want some cheese?”

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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