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| Mt Taranaki from near the car park |
The volcanic, 2515 metre summit of Mt Taranaki dominates the skyline from New Plymouth and the surrounding coast. This easily accessible alpine peak has been dubbed 'the most climbed peak in NZ' and rightfully so. Although it spends most of its time hidden in the clouds, the impressive view of the volcanic cone, standing above the farmland would get any wannabe hiker dreaming of a summit attempt. Luckily for us we had a cloud free morning to soak up the giant views.
Along with the normal European first ascent, Mt Taranaki has a deep Maori legacy. Mt Taranaki is said to have once lived further east within the tribe of the other volcanoes. Whilst there, Taranaki fell for a pretty little hill called Pihanga, who unfortunately was also the lover of Mt Tongariro. Just like all other love struck blokes, the two volcanoes had a big battle and Taranaki fled to the east. On it's way, Taranaki carved the deep Whanganui valley, filling it with his tears and forming the river which is now the home to the very popular Whanganui canoe river journey. Due to his sorrow and shame, Taranaki is said to spend most of his time hidden behind the clouds.
Our first view of Mt Taranaki was from state highway 45 as we made our way towards New Plymouth. This giant mass, dwarfed the surrounding countryside, and even though the summit was hidden by cloud we could tell the peak stretched far into the sky. The weather was set to improve the day after, but from the encircling surf highway the dark mass had little promise.
Waking early after the persistent thunderstorm to clear blue skies and an impressive view of our objective for the day, motivation was at an all time high. Clear skies and low winds, this was the time to tackle the mountain if there ever was one. This knowledge had obviously been triggered in a fair few heads that morning. I wasn't counting but we estimated on the way down that we saw close to a hundred people going for the summit that day. Although that's nothing compared to the Alps and European ranges, for NZ were fifteen seems like a lot, this felt like grand central station.
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| Lingering cloud |
8-10 hours return, is the suggested time the summit track takes. Clearly marked on finger posts at the car park, the less daunting summit looks almost like you could reach out and touch it. The ascent is split into three separate stages; lush forest, alpine shrub and volcanic rock and despite some descriptions, it's well marked and trodden. The steep climbing means that height is gained quickly and before we knew it we were above the clouds, rewarding us with big views across to Mt Ruapehu. Shortly after our views the cloud closed in, offering us the pleasure of a cooler and wetter ascent.
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| Big views north |
Mt Taranaki also has a darker side. To complement the mountain as NZ most climbed, Mt Taranaki is also one of NZ's most deadliest. So far 88 people have lost their lives on the slopes, although compared to Mt Cooks 230, this is still regarded as one of the top killers. This is due to a number of factor's; accessibility, under preparedness, popularity and the quickly changing weather and so far we had seen nearly all of these factor's.
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| Steep staircase over volcanic scree |
Scrambling into a volcanic crater has got to be one of my more surreal experiences. Even though the mountain is dormant, standing in an amphitheatre surrounded by rock peaks in thick cloud was an experience I'll remember. Reaching the summit the psychological high of climbing our first volcano meant that we were so preoccupied that we missed a summit selfie. Which probably would have ended up with all the other anticlimactic misty/cloud summit shots I have hidden away on the computer, so it's probably not a bad thing.
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| Our world for a few hours |
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| A clearing in the cloud on the final ridge |
A cracking climb, that with the right conditions and weather, can give a truly amazing experience and a view I can only dream of. On our way down, just as quickly as it came in, the cloud parted for a brief spell, giving us views to the summit and the swirling mass of clouds below.
One magical moment.
This meant that the sun was above us and cloud below. Casting our shadow's onto the grey below us and forming a natural phenomena I have longed to see. A Brocken Spectre. Derived from the German for breaking into ghost, this phenomena has haunted mountaineers around the world. Caused by the light falling on the water particle's in such a way that forms a rainbow around the person's shadow head. Only seen by the shadows caster, the brocken Spectre is a personal memory.
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| Colourful halo round my head |
A memorial trip that is worth it's title of most climbed peak in NZ.
