New Zealand has some pretty amazing sights. Travelling around the country I often find myself staring at the hills and valleys wondering what is on the other side. This is especially true of travelling through the central North Island. The environment around the Desert Road is as impressive as it is unique. Looking west from the highway the view is dominated by Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro. Large and imposing, especially in the early winter, they have a lifetime of exploring across their flanks. Draw the eyes to the east however and there is an equally intriguing area – the Kaimanawa Ranges. These bush clad hills rise steeply from the Rangipo Desert and stand in defiance to the peaks to their west. Unlike the mountains, the Kaimanawas are not encircled by road, nor do they have the same well known track network. Matt and I took an early winter weekend to get acquainted with Kaimanawas.
Matt and I shot down to the central plateau from Whangarei on Friday night – making the most of a weekend. We took on the mountains first with a variation on the Tongagriro-Ngauruhoe-Northern Circuit-cross country loop. On Sunday we loaded up to head up into the Kaimanawas. Our plan was to take in Urchin and Umakarikari, two of the better known and easily accessible ridges in the area, with a night at the hut before coming back out a similar route.
The climb flew by. We could get glimpses of the tops before we breached the treeline. Both of us love getting up high, so it was a tempting goal looking for the tussock. Once on top we had an absolute bluebird day, with views as far as we could see. Traversing over the top was straightforward, a section of bush covered ridge connected Urchin with Umakarikari. The track was easy going and pretty fast. We daydreamt about trail running races traversing the loop.
We spent the night down in the hut. It is positioned behind the first row of the Kaimanawas. The hills continue to extend a long way back and we really felt like we just scratched the surface. We rose early and shot back up the ridge for dawn. We grabbed a quick breakfast in the soft dawn light. The hills around us and lakes in the distance took on very different faces as the sun rose further bringing with it different light.
We finished the loop with a fast descent through the bush and a run around part of the Tree Trunk Gorge loop. The weekend was a success. Plenty of K’s banked for Godzone, some perfect weather and a feeling of what lies behind the hills so often seen when passing through. Though only seeing part way in has us hungry for more of what the Kaimanawas has to offer.
Tom Reynolds 