Mt Taranaki is a 2518m high dormant volcano situated near New Plymouth on the North Island. Other than the volcano this is one of the flatter areas in NZ. Consequently, Mt Taranaki is a very imposing and impressive sight and is visible from a long way away.
I had seen the mountain in the distance many times on my travels but never tramped in this area before, so when the Wellington Tramping Club arranged a trip up to Lake Dive I was first in the queue.
I was picked up from Wellington Station on Friday after work and joined eight other trampers for the five-hour drive to the road-end at Dawson Falls. The trip up itself was uneventful, with just a quick stop for some pretty dire Fish and Chips at Bulls. If only I had gone to the Kebab shop next door!
We stayed the night at a Lodge in Dawson Falls. It was raining lightly when we got there, but turned much colder overnight, the result being a very picturesque covering of snow in the morning.
We took the “low level” track to Lake Dive, which starts right near the lodge and basically sidles around the base of Mt Taranaki at around the 1000m mark. The time posted to Lake Dive was 3hrs, but it took the group 5hrs to get there. The snow while looking lovely also made things rather slippery, which certainly slowed us up, it was also very cold. Though the track overall stayed at roughly the same altitude, we were constantly either ascending or descending, often on ladders, into deep gullies; the track was rarely ever flat.
When we finally arrived at the hut, it was a real pleasure to find that it had it was equipped with a stove and a plentiful supply of coal. This was a real godsend as the temperature outside dropped well below freezing at night, and the hut would have otherwise have been unheated. To put this in perspective, the majority of DOC huts have no heating at all.
A very pleasant evening ensued at the hut, with some great food followed by 20 questions and charades. Games are not really my thing, but it was nice watching the other guys and girls enjoying themselves.
The next day we basically took the same route out back to Dawson Falls. There was some talk of taking the alternative “high level” track. In the end we decided against it as there was a lot more snow and ice further up, and though I’m sure we would have been OK, it could potentially have been hazardous without crampons.
All in all this was a very enjoyable trip and has certainly inspired me to walk up to the summit itself this summer.
There were a fair number of ladders and stairs on route.
This is Mt Taranaki with the sun setting behind it. Not the best picture I am afraid. This applies to most of the pictures I took on this trip as my camera was playing up. Nothing to do with an incompetent photographer - honest!
Yours truly outside Lake Dive Hut.
Lake Dive Hut.
Some of my fellow trampers on the top of Hasties Hill.