Over this long weekend, we will look at doing a variety of tramping trips at Egmont National Park (Mount Taranaki).
Initially we travel down to North Egmont where the plan is to stay Friday night at The Camphouse. This is an historic building clad in original corrugated iron from the time of the New Zealand/Maori Wars. From there, on Saturday, our group/s can do parts of the Round the Mountain walk, to the eastern and southern sides (Stratford Plateau and Dawson Falls) or north to Holly Hut and the Pouakais. Depending on the weather and the group/s wishes, pick-ups can be done at the end of each day and some re-positioning can be done as well. Sunday may be a repeat of Saturday, with further options for doing other tracks. This is a time to knock off a few of the tracks you’ve always wanted to do, without the worry of limited hut space as we can stay at The Camphouse each night, or you can book into/stay at huts at the end of each day yourself as well as camp.
This means the driver/s will be doing a fair bit of work over the weekend. Ideally, we will have enough participants to make it economical to have two vans. This means more flexibility in what we do. Otherwise, feel free to base yourselves at The Camphouse and do lots of short walking from there – as well as having a relaxing (easy level) weekend.
Please note: Bookings are essential well in advance for The Camphouse. The whole complex sleeps 34 people in 5 rooms (4 rooms have 8 bunks) and one room sleeps 2. It is largely self-contained with cooking gear, showers, and a communal lounge with heating. The cost is $25 per night (child 5-17 $10.) We are aiming to get two vans with around 20-22 people going on this trip.
NOTE: There is no intention to climb Mount Egmont/Taranaki over this weekend. As it is autumn, there may well be fresh snow on the heights. This is the most problematical time to climb as the mountain will also be quite icy with frozen scoria.
