Mt Tauhara, Wednesday 1 October 2025
Banner Photo: The well worn track and water course
In Māori legend, Tauhara was part of a group of powerful male mountains who vied for the beautiful female mountain, Pīhanga. Tongariro, a formidable rival, won the battle and took Pīhanga as his wife. The defeated mountains were banished to travel as far from Tongariro’s domain as they could before dawn.
Tauhara made it only to the shores of Lake Taupō, forever gazing across the water at his beloved Pīhanga. And that’s why tauhara translates as “alone”.
But these days, Mt Tauhara is far from isolated. It often teems with visitors – and today we joined a fair crowd of them.
Seven trampers set off from Park Island, taking the alternative scenic route via the Puketitiri and Glengarry roads. We had a comfort stop at Opepe, knowing that there are no toilet facilities at Mount Tauhara car park or along the track.
A great idea for a disused water tank
The weather was looking decidedly dubious, with grey clouds rolling in and light rain. At the car park at the very end of Mountain Road, we donned jackets, gloves and hats; it was nippy – only 7 degrees with a biting wind. Around 9.30am, we crossed a stile and began the ascent following the marked route on the farm up the ridge; there were sheep and lambs on the other side of the fence.
We soon came to two disused water tanks, plus their modern green plastic counterparts. I couldn’t help thinking how cool it would be if someone chucked a bit of soil into the old tanks and popped in some ferns and mosses to create mini raised gardens.
Leaving the open farmland, it was much warmer in the shelter of the bush and not long before layers were coming off. There were exposed tree roots and quite deep channels, so one could imagine torrents of water gushing down in a rainstorm. Occasionally, we had views out to the lake from small clearings along the way. We reached a sturdy wooden seat and decided it was a perfect venue for morning tea. This is roughly the half-way point.
Glimpses of Taupō through gaps in the bush
The track was interesting, with large rocks, gnarly old trees and plenty of tree roots. There was not a great deal of birdsong but occasionally you could hear the distinctive fantail chatter. Next we came across a small stream on our left, and then further on a 25m narrow cutting through pumice (there is an alternative path beside the cutting).
We soon reached the trig at the summit and had pretty good views of the lake, Taupō township and the Central Plateau, although it was not clear enough to see across to Ruapehu, Tongariro and Ngauruhoe.
We carried on along the ridge track to rocky outcrops, then returned to the trig for a group photo before starting the descent back to the car park. Ted and Tony had gone as far as the wooden seat and were waiting patiently back at the vehicles. The temperature had dropped, so it was a relief to get back in the cars. We considered ourselves lucky to have made it to the top and back without a drop of rain.
At the trig on Mt Tauhara
This had been a first for most of us, as only Ted and Tony had been up Mount Tauhara before; we were pleased to finally check it out after having driven past it on so many occasions. And it was lovely to see how well used the track is – we encountered runners/joggers/walkers plus families and groups of friends.
The track starts at 534 metres above mean sea level and the highest point is 1088m AMSL, so an elevation of 554 metres.
The rain started as we left the car park, so we abandoned a plan to walk the tracks at Opepe Scenic Reserve and instead lunched in the vehicles before heading home; we were back in Napier before 3pm. Thank you to Kate and Michelle for providing the transport.
Trampers: Elly Govers, Selina Chilton, Ted Angove, Kate Fuller, Michelle Finlayson, Tony Pluymers and reporter Shona Tupe
Leave a Reply