new zealand: pouakai Crossing and pouakai tarns

Egmont National Park, Taranaki / 19kms one way / 7-10hrs return / Advanced

The Pouakai Crossing is a great day walk version of the popular 2-3 days Pouakai Circuit. You take a slow winding route across the lower slopes of the mighty Mt Taranaki, across a high reaching cliffs and moss covered wet Ahukawakawa Swamp, while witnessing an incredible view across the Egmont National Park throughout the day.

There is an option to add several side trips to the track - such as Bells Falls, and Pouakai Trig to see overview of the Park and the coastline. You can also tick one of the most iconic spots in the park: the Pouakai Tarns (photo above). During a calm day and most of the times early in a morning - this spot is one of the most photographed spot, as the tarns are mirroring a perfect reflection of the Mt Taranaki.

You can walk the track either direction: starting from the Egmont National Park Visitor Centre and finish it to Mangorei Road, or vice versa. When starting from the Visitor Centre, there is less climbing ahead.

The walk is not physically highly demanding, however this is a backcountry tramp. There are rough and rugged sections - as well as muddy and wet sections. A few steep climbs will give you a little bit of a challenge, so make sure you have a good footwear for any occasion.

As any track in New Zealand, during a winter some sections of the track can become impassable due the snow and ice, and heavy rain forming impassable rivers. Make sure to check Visitors Centre for up to date conditions of the track.

ARRIVAL: NEW PLYMOUTH

I was staying in New Plymouth, which is a great coastal town roughly 12 kms from the National Park. This is great spot to access easily any of the walks in the park. Knowing the weather would be great for following few days ahead, I aimed to do the walk next day - staring early in the morning to beat the crowds, as well as have plenty of time to enjoy the walk and scenery. I had also few extra side trips in my mind to add on into the main trek.

Walk

I started the walk at the Egmont National Park Visitor Centre, north side of the park, at 7am. It was still dark, as well humid and foggy. There were no crowds around due the shoulder season and unstable weather reports seen previously, which turned out to be false. Lucky me. A last check of the gear, and it was time to experience this anticipated short walk I missed during my first visit to the park.

The first section of stairs took around an hour with a steady incline through the thick forest, while enjoying the sun rise. Slowly the forest became less dense, revealing the Mt Taranaki hiding behind the mist and fog - occasionally revealing rough, high cliff face as it slowly float pass. Once this was completed, I followed a winding path right on the shadow of the Mt Taranaki, while witnessing ever-changing views of the park, signs of the big rock slides, and little waterfalls coming from the snowy mountain. A little wonders such as a red, almost rusty coloured water of the Kokowai Stream, a high rising lava column of the Dieffenbach Cliffs, as well the Boomerang Slip - are a perfect little reasons to take your time in this section without rushing ahead.

The section from the Visitors Centre to the Holly Hut took about three hours. I chose to stop here for a quick snack, as well to do my planned one hour return side trip to check out the 31 meter Bells Falls. It is a cute little water fall seen from the distance. If you want to get closer of the falls, I suggest you reserve extra hour for this trip. This is also gateway to the other east side hikes, as well as The Around the Mountain Circuit which is a 4–5 day backcountry track.

After this I returned to the Ahukawakawa Track junction right before the Holly Hut, and started my walk to the Pouakai Tarns, which would take about two hours to reach. The walk goes through the wide Ahukawakawa Swamp wetlands. There is a boardwalk, however expect it to be covered with water and mud in some places. I was lucky to have pretty clear path due the low level of rain lately. I had heard stories of crawling thpouhgt the swamp knees deep, yet I assume this is not the case anymore due the work done with the boardwalk. It is important to stay in the track thou due the unique microclimate for many rare plant species - only found here in the entire world.

Once crossing the swamp and Stony/Hangatahua Stream I started a long, steep climb towards to Pouakai Track junction. Great, and somewhat cruel, leg workout once again!

My original plan was to take a detour to the 1440 meters high Pouakai Trig from the Pouakai Trail junction, however I chose to skip this during my hike. I have done the Mt Taranaki Summit Climb previously for incredible views, and thought this time giving myself more time for the Crossing - as well as spending more time at the tarns - instead rushing from one place to another. Also there were not many other trekkers around, which gave me an opportunity to make the most of the every section of the track. And as usual: there is always a next time, as this is just a short walk away from the Mangorei Road entrance.

I took a right turn from the Pouakai Track junction towards the tarns while admiring the views across the swamp and Mt Taranaki. Peaceful, calm, and truly rewarding.

The small tarns, and the area around them, are extremely fragile. Stay on a track and respect this, and DO NOT enter the pools. This is truly beautiful spot and I can only imagine how this looks during the fine, calm weather. Or even better, during the sunrise and sunset as the colours of the mountain keeps changing. ANOTHER reason to return, and complete the whole Pouakai Circuit while staying overnight in the near by hut.

I spent extra time here to enjoy the silence and reflect the past hours of my walk. The photo of the tarns is right at the start of this page.

descent

This long section to the road took roughly one and a half hour with never ending steps thought a thick forest, where trees are covered with a moss and lichen. Locally these types of forests are known as ‘Goblin Forest’. This could have been easily taken out right from the story book describing how enchanted forest with fairies and trolls would look like. Magical. And a great way to finish the walk before arriving to car park, and wait my friends to pick me up.

If you only have half day to spent here, I suggest you start the walk from this side to reach the tarns, and then return. This seemed to be the most popular option as I saw more people during this time than throughout the day I spent on this track.

All and all this is a great track. Variety of the scenery was great, without great effort. Highly recommended walk if you are not able to attempt Summit Climb, or you are limited with time in the area.

quick tips:

Check the weather for the national parks, again and again.

Plan well, allow time to complete the trek, and let someone know about your plans, even thou this is a busy track.

You have an option to make this a circuit, and to finish the same spot as you started. During the summer you have more day light even to make it one day walk, however it is better to make it al least two day trek to fully appreciate an ever changing sections.

Take sunblock in all seasons. As weather can change quickly, other equipment worth taking is a waterproof jacket and pants, warm layered clothing, hat and gloves and a head torch. There are toilets along the way but sometimes no paper, so bring your own.

Take food and snacks to keep your energy up. Just remember to bring ALL your rubbish - including food scraps - back with you. It’s a great practice to learn, no matter where you hike, to support sustainable activities, as well as preserving nature.

Hiking boots are not required. You can do the hike with athletic shoes but make sure they have good support and fit. The track is rugged at times with a steep sections, as well as wet and muddy sections - so it’s better to have strong, rigid footwear. Definitely no sandals.

As always, it is good to have a map and cellphone. Even thou the trail is pretty straightforward and well marked, you are expected to stay on marked paths. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

For further information and quick tip, click here to help with your plans with the crossing, or here with the circuit.

Enjoy, and relax!