Taranaki Maunga stands sentinel over the province that bears his name. Symmetrical, exquisite and accessible, it’s no wonder that a trip to the crater is an ever-popular summer’s day hike.
The Summit Route proper starts from Tahurangi Lodge. Most day-trippers start from North Egmont but a ranger recommended starting at The Plateau, following the Manganui Gorge Track to Tahurangi. It was sage advice. While slightly longer in distance, East Egmont offers the highest road-end in Egmont National Park at 1172m.
The path above the bush line indulges walkers with interesting alpine plants and provides a magnificent perspective on the park’s unusual circular boundary. This boundary extends 6 miles out from Taranaki’s summit and starkly contrasts untamed gorges disappearing under ancient rimu, totara and rata with the highly modified pastoral landscape of the Taranaki ring plain. York Track, where a railway was built over 100 years ago to service a long-abandoned quarry deep within the park, cuts like a razor through Taranaki’s lower forested slopes.
The decks of Tahurangi Lodge provide welcome rest before pushing onto the crater, 1,000m above. Head up the Hongi Valley, a barren gulch of dark lava, to a set of impressive wooden stairs that lift you onto the scoria spur that is North Ridge. This is ‘two-steps-forward, one-step-back’ territory. After an arduous hour you’ll be at The Lizard, a lava formation that leads to the crater 400m above you. You’re now on solid ground and the route becomes more fun with the Pouakai Ranges and Ahukawakawa Swamp—the latter unique for its vegetation—opening up before you. Take your time to snack, rehydrate, and enjoy the views.
A quick scramble around a bluff leads into the crater. Here, cool winds caress the bright snow and ice, even on the brightest of days. Although the summit is tapu (sacred), there are other vantage points. Head through the crater saddle (2460m) to Mackay Rocks. Peer over the lip into Manganui Gorge. Your car will show up as a mere fleck of paint, one mile below.
Having taken in the views, it’s time to retrace your steps. In front of you, the central North Island volcanoes float on the clouds. Seeing these peaks from the North Ridge conjured up memories of my first encounter with a scoria, where a side-trip up Ngāuruhoe from the Tongariro Crossing ended in disaster—I was helicoptered away, having broken several vertebrae and escaping paralysis by a whisker. Understandably, I was cautious on the knee-popping descent down North Ridge. Pumice and rock bounces mercilessly, testing one’s balance with each step.
Back at Tahurangi, wide-eyed walkers looked worn. I too was thankful to amble towards East Egmont. Even on such a calm, sunny day—where only in the crater were woollies required and Taranaki was in his full glory—does the mountain deserve respect.
As locals say, ‘If you can see the mountain, it’s going to rain. If you can’t see the mountain, it’s raining already.’ It’s easy to see how brutal things might be when the sacred mountain is less forgiving.
Staircase leading out of Hongi Valley Summit route up North Ridge Hiking on The Lizard
Need to know
Head to The Plateau carpark at East Egmont (Pembroke Road end).
Moderate—a long, tough and tiring day. Allow 1.5 hours from The Plateau to Tahurangi Lodge, and 4-5 hours from there to the crater and back. Allow 9 hours return. Total distance is 15.5km return and total ascent is 1310m.
NZ Topo 50: BJ29 Mount Taranaki or Mount Egmont