Pouākai Circuit New Plymouth: Two to Three Day Hut Loop on Taranaki Maunga

The Dieffenbach Cliffs are towering lava columns, the Boomerang Slip is an active erosion scar, and the Kōkōwai Stream can run red with manganese oxide seeping from the ground.

The middle of the loop crosses Ahukawakawa, an alpine swamp that DOC says formed around 3,500 years ago. Sedges, sphagnum moss, red tussock, small orchids and other flowering plants grow there, and the divaricating shrub Melicytus drucei is found only in Ahukawakawa and on the Pouākai Range.

DOC says the circuit needs moderate to high backcountry skills: map reading, experience on similar tracks, average or better fitness and confidence on steep, rough ground.

A lookout ten minutes past the first junction marks the start of the alpine section; if you can’t see the maunga or aren’t equipped for the weather, DOC suggests returning down the Veronica Loop.

Holly Hut is a five-minute walk from the Ahukawakawa Track junction. The Minarapa Stream just before the hut has no bridge and can be impassable after heavy rain.

Holly Hut to Pouākai Hut: 4.5 km, 2 to 3 hr

The shortest day crosses Ahukawakawa on a boardwalk, with water and mud in places. After the headwaters of the Hangatahua River, the track climbs a ridge through mountain cedar to the Pouākai Track. Pouākai Hut sits five minutes down the Mangorei Track from the next junction.

Pouākai Hut to North Egmont: 13 km, 5 to 7 hr

The longest section heads back up to the Pouākai Track, crosses open tussock past the Pouākai Tarns, skirts Maude Peak and climbs Henry Peak (1,220 m). It then drops down the Kaiauai Track past the Kaiauai Shelter, crosses swing bridges over the Kai Auahi Stream and the Waiwhakaiho River through lowland forest, and climbs the Ram Track back to the North Egmont road end.

DOC requires bookings for both huts all year, and no spaces are held for walkers who turn up without one. Same-day online bookings are possible until 8 pm if spaces remain. Fees vary by season, and Backcountry Hut Passes are accepted at both huts.

There is room for about three tents outside Holly Hut, and camping there must be booked online. DOC does not allow camping around Pouākai Hut or near the Pouākai Tarns, and the helipad must be kept clear.

From the Pouākai Track junction, a 1 hr 30 min return detour climbs to Pouākai Trig (1,440 m), with views on a fine day along the coast and inland to the Central Plateau mountains.

If the weather turns, there are ways off. The Kōkōwai Track leaves the first section for Egmont Road, the Mangorei Track runs from Pouākai Hut to the top of Mangorei Road (allow about 2 hr), and the Veronica Loop returns to North Egmont early on day one.

You can also join the loop from the Kaiauai car park, 2 km below the visitor centre, or from the Dover Track off Carrington Road.

The track is steep in places and can be muddy and wet. Taranaki weather changes fast at any time of year. Besides the Minarapa Stream, a few small tributaries of the Waiwhakaiho River between Henry Peak and North Egmont are unbridged and can flood.

Several rockfall zones, including the Boomerang Slip, should be crossed without stopping and one person at a time. Springs along the first section are significant to iwi and hapū, so don’t wash in them or walk through them.

In winter the section between North Egmont and Holly Hut needs an ice axe, crampons, snow gaiters and goggles, and the skills to use them, and none can be hired in Taranaki.

When there is snow on the maunga, check the avalanche advisory and only go with an avalanche transceiver, probe and shovel and the skills to manage the risk. You can hire a distress beacon at the North Taranaki Visitor Centre. Tell someone your plans, and use Plan My Walk before you set out.