Getting there Plan and prepare It is important to plan and prepare New Plymouth your trip and be well equipped. Before Mt Taranaki you go, know the Outdoor Safety Code 0510 ¥3A 5 simple rules to help you stay safe: Kilometres Summit Climb ¥3 1. Plan your trip: Check the DOC Oakura Visitor Centre for updated track Egmont Village Nga hīkoi o Mounga Taranaki conditions. Inglewood 2. Tell someone responsible where ¥45 Egmont National Park Okato you are going and your estimated return time. oad See www.adventuresmart.org.nz. Egmont R nt ¥ National Park mo 3

3. Be aware of the weather: Check Trampers heading up the Eg weather forecasts before you go on Translator Road. Photo: T. Weston. Mt Taranaki North Egmont/ 0900 999 24 or www.metservice.com. Summit Climb Waiwhakaiho

4. Know your limits: Mountaineering experience is required Mt Taranaki or Egmont for this track in snow and ice conditions. 5. Take sufficient supplies Further information • Map and compass • Waterproof raincoat and trousers For park information, hut tickets, and Konini Lodge bookings: • Sturdy tramping/hiking boots Taranaki / Egmont National Park Visitor Centre (North Egmont) • Warm clothing, gloves and hat (Open daily) • Sunhat, sunglasses, sunscreen Egmont Road Inglewood • First aid kit Phone: (06) 756 0990 • Food and 2–3 L of water (no water available on the track) E-mail: [email protected] • Cellphone/mountain radio/personal locator beacon (hire from Taranaki / Egmont National Park Visitor Centre) • Walking poles (optional) CK Check, Clean, Dry E

• Putties/gaiters (optional) H C Stop the spread of didymo and other L

C

E freshwater pests. A

• Ice axe, crampons in snow and ice conditions Y

N R D Remember to Check, Clean, Dry all items Your safety is your responsibility before entering, and when moving In an emergency dial 111 BETWEEN WATERWAYS between, waterways.

Published by: Cover photo: Mt Taranaki. Guides and transport Department of Conservation Photo: DOC. Ngāmotu / New Plymouth Office DOC approved mountain guides can be hired to take people PO Box 462 www.doc.govt.nz to the summit of Mt Taranaki. Transport to the start of New Plymouth 4320 the track can be arranged through several local transport New Zealand June 2014 providers. Contact Taranaki / Egmont National Park Visitor Centre. No scheduled transport service exists. Editing and design: Publishing Team, DOC National Office

This publication is produced using paper sourced from Dogs well-managed, renewable and legally logged forests. Dogs and other pets are not allowed in Egmont National Park, even inside vehicles. 9 421005 172386 > Welcome Mt Taranaki or Mt Egmont Mt Taranaki Summit Climb 2518m Time: up 5–6 hr; down 3–4 hr. Distance: 6.3 km one way. Nei rā te mihi atu ki ā koutou i raro i te korowai For non mountaineers, the best time to climb the mountain is ō tō tātou nei tauheke a Taranaki. during January to March when the mountain is often clear of Greetings to everyone who sits under the cloak snow and ice other than in the crater. Warning The Lizard of our ancestor Mounga Taranaki. This is a full day strenuous hike for fit, well-equipped trampers. This map is not to scale Allow plenty of time and leave early. Times stated are and is not suitable approximate only. Mounga Taranaki is a mauri, or for navigation. It is Caution: no water is available on this track. life force and a spiritual tupuna recommended that park Warning: Climbing the mountain in snow and ice conditions users refer to the NZ scree slopes or ancestor for Taranaki Māori. requires mountaineering experience and equipment, and Topo50 map Mt Taranaki Please respect this by not a different route into the crater than that described below. standing directly on the summit or Mt Egmont BJ29. b Qualified guides are available for hire. peak or camping, cooking, or im Crossing the Crater. l C littering in the summit area. Photo: T. Weston. it m North Egmont (946 m) to Tahurangi Lodge (1492 m) um (1.5–2 hr, 4 km) to Stratford Plateau S Hongi Valley Mounga Taranaki (1 hr) From Taranaki / Egmont National Park Visitor Centre the Summit Track follows the boardwalk up to a locked gate. Cross the stile Rising above the clouds, the majestic Mt Taranaki or Mt Egmont Tahurangi Tahurangi Lodge (private) and continue up the gravel Translator Road (walking access only) offers some spectacular scenery to those who make the Translator Tower to Holly Hut challenging 1.6 km vertical climb to its peak. (2 hrs) to the privately owned Tahurangi Lodge. Sections of this track are very steep. There is a public toilet 100 m below the lodge and a The 2518 m high volcano lies in the centre of Egmont National small day shelter room at the lodge. Park. At around 125,000 years old, it is the park’s most recent volcanic peak. It’s last eruption was Tahurangi Lodge to the Summit (2518 m) around 1755 AD. The mountain is now (3–4 hr, 2.3 km) considered dormant. S The track passes in front of Tahurangi Lodge and continues

u Local Māori believe Mounga m upwards via the poled route through the rock-covered Hongi Taranaki once stood with the m Valley. A series of steps leads out of the valley onto steep i

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mountains of the central North C

a V scoria (gravel) slopes. Continue uphill to the Lizard (2134m), a l l

i h i m e m u r Island. After a dispute over the b o r prominent rocky ridge which leads you to the crater’s summer i n b a n g i n c maiden Pihanga, Taranaki fled u g a p entrance. i L t h T o his ancestral home, carving out ro r o u a p The route then crosses the crater ice to the final short climb up to g n Maketawa Hut T h s the bed of the Whanganui H H l r o a a n o the summit rock. g (16) t c i o l k River on his journey V . l all n r y ey sto . P e R hoto: T. W H d to the coast. u Warning: There is ice in the crater all year round. Crampons

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r and/or an ice axe may be required to cross the crater at any a k c c k time. a r

T Camphouse p

o Be prepared to turn back if the weather deteriorates or you are Taranaki / Egmont M

o (bookings required)

a L National Park k finding the climb too difficult.

e o r Visitor Centre. t

a o t Photo: DOC. w

a Remember: reaching the summit is only the half way point. a g NORTH EGMONT/

T N r Allow yourself plenty of time to descend safely before nightfall. a WAIWHAKAIHO c k E 946m g Tramping Track: Mostly unformed but has track directional Taranaki / Egmont m o n markers, poles or cairns. National Park t N Ro Visitor Centre ad Route: Unformed. Suitable only for people with extensive backcountry skills and experience.