Te Iringa, Hawke’s Bay, Wednesday 19 August 2026
Banner Photo: Recent snowfall made this a different tramp
Five hardy trampers set off from Napier and collected two more at Omahu. The weather wasn’t looking good and from the heavy rain and very strong winds the night before, we all thought tramp organiser Alison would cancel. But she suggested we go to the car park and see what it looked like. Alison had obtained permission from HeliSika, which manages the Maori-owned block through which our route passes.
Guess what? The sun came out and the wind wasn’t too strong, at least on the road, but we were going to climb from the car park just beyond the Gentle Annie (on the right-hand side of the road) at 680m to a trig Te Iringa at 1324m.
The snowy bush sections before reaching the trig
It was 2 degrees at the car park; leggings were on, plus beanies, and “we’ll see how far we can get”.
It was just before 9am when we started the muddy and steep ascent; the path looked as if it had been trimmed back within the last few months, but there were bushes and flax overhanging in many places. I was pleased I had waterproof leggings and my good jacket.
We climbed, pushing on through, trying not to slip on the mud. You could see the track in most places. The clouds came and went, the sun shone, then the snow clouds arrived. We came to some slippery clay pans, the path opening up and then into the snow, not thick yet but a brief flurry made us wonder how far we would get.
On the ridgeline, the views were fantastic
There was an open ridge and the wind blew, freezing cold with more snow but we pushed on. On and up a bit more, the wind stopped and the clouds cleared… maybe we were going to be lucky.
John was leading and got covered with snow from pushing through the bushes, and the rest of us managed to collect a fair bit too. We stopped for a brief morning tea to catch our breath and re-energise.
The views were fabulous back to the Bay and across the island. The snow line was clear looking across to the beech trees on the next ridge, and lots of photos were taken. Some easier walking now in thicker snow and ice, and a small pond was iced over. Then it was in and out of the bush several times. More photos. It was so picturesque in the trees and in the open; the water on the plants had clearly frozen overnight. And then, more snow on the top – and more photos!
At the Te Iringa trig
We could now see the trig, arriving there at about 11.45am for a well-earned lunch. Such a beautiful day, no wind, snow all around us… more photos. After about 20 minutes, we started to stand up as our backsides were getting pretty cold.
It was easy to see our way back with our footprints in the snow, but as we got a bit lower the snow was melting so we were pleased we’d taken photos on the way up. It took just over two hours, arriving at the cars at about 2.20pm. No photo stops were required on the way down, making the return much quicker.
A fabulous day out, that nearly wasn’t. We knocked the mud off our boots and had a drink before setting off back to Napier, with clear sky and sunshine all the way.
Thanks to Alison and Campbell for driving and Alison for organising (and not cancelling).
Trampers: Alison Greer, Campbell Living, Sue Trotter, Shona Tupe, Selina Chilton, John Dobbs and Di Reid
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