Posts tagged nztrails
East Coast road trip and climbing Mt. Hikurangi
East Coast road trip and climbing Mt. Hikurangi

Mt. Hikurangi stands at 1,752m.a.s.l. (5,748 ft) and is the first place to greet the sun in mainland Aotearoa / New Zealand. The trail starts at Pakihiroa Station in Ruatoria, 80 km north of Gisborne or 50km southwest of Te Araroa. The track to the summit wasn’t always as accessible as it is today, having listened to stories of bush bashing and backcountry orienteering. Nowadays the track is well marked until the final boulder/scree uphill to the summit, where a fair bit of scrambling is needed. We booked a night at the hut (1,250m.a.s.l.), then planned to summit and walk out the next day. My body was definitely not mountain-fit enough for the hike we had planned (we ended up walking for about 11 hours on the Sunday), and my legs especially found the steep downhill exhausting.

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The Local Tourist, East Coast, North Island, Coastal, HutRonna Grace Funtelarthelocaltourist, newzealand, nznatural, hobbyhiker, femalehiker, dayhikes, mthikurangi, ruatoria, pahikiroastation, northislandhikes, eastcoast, alpine, nzhikes, nztramps, nztrails, overnightComment
Tongariro Alpine Crossing: The hobby hiker's Goliath
Tongariro Alpine Crossing: The hobby hiker's Goliath

The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is in the Tongariro National Park and about 3.5 hours drive from Whakatane. We had a house in Turangi for the weekend, which was a bonus, especially as we got home late on Saturday night after the walk. Our day started early (I was up by 5am) - we managed to leave the house just after 6am and made our way to the Ketetahi End car park.

We had booked a one way shuttle with Tongariro Crossing Shuttles, which cost $30 each. You can book a two way shuttle pick up, but we wanted the flexibility of taking our time, and in hindsight, was the best option for us (you’ll read about it later!). There is very limited parking at the Ketetahi End car park, so many sure to arrive 30 minutes before your shuttle is due.

There were four of us on this adventure: Myself, my friend Jem and another hiking buddy, as well Jem’s son, Joe, who was my road trip buddy from Whakatane. I have to mention that Joe’s only 12 years old and was the only one in our group who didn’t wake up with aching legs the next day!

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The Local Tourist, TongariroRonna Grace Funtelartongariro, tongariroalpinecrossing, tongarironationalpark, hobbyhiker, thelocaltourist, newzealand, nztrails, naturewalksnz, nznatural, fulldayhike, fulldaytrek, fulldaywalk, mustdo, nzmustdoComment