Easter 7-10 April 2023

Leader: Owen Cox

Friday 7th – We drove up to Stratford and met up at the Holiday Park where we had space in the bunkhouse.

Saturday 8th – The forecast was good so we made an early start at the Stratford Mountain House road end. It was chilly at first but warmed up as we went past the ski field and around the track to the TV tower above North Egmont. From here we followed the main route up the north side, first on boardwalk and then onto hard scree. It was nice getting off this and onto the rock pavement leading up to the crater. Those in front were quite a way in front of me. A few of us stopped at the crater while most of us did the scramble to the summit. There was quite a throng there as the weather meant it wasn’t very cold. After photos we headed back down. The scree was a bit of a pain as it is no longer soft so you need to be sure-footed to avoid falling.

The last of us got back to the car park about 7pm. We then headed into the main drag of Stratford for pizza.

Sunday 9th – The weather was only mediocre. Not raining but cloud on the mountain and cold. Marcia suggested we do the Mangorei track up to the Pouakai Range on the north side of the Egmont National Park. A couple of people headed to New Plymouth for easier walks. The rest of us drove around to the start of the track. We were surprised to find the track is pretty much all boardwalk and steps to the top. Not the best for walking. We arrived at the hut in time to carry on to the tarn and view point of Mt Taranaki before lunch. It was a case of us and a steady stream of other people. We had lunch in one of the bunkrooms in the hut before the plod back down the steps.

Monday 10th – It was raining in the National Park so there was no enthusiasm for a walk. Instead we headed down to Hawera for coffee and then checked out the nearby Museum at Tawhiti. Not a bad place to visit on a scungy day. After that we headed for home.

Those on the trip were:

Chris Keating, Glenda Robb, Kate Livingston, Marcia Goode, Marian Cox, Owen Cox, Rob Dey, Stephen Bowler, Steve Knowles, Viv Roberts, Yingjun Shelton