Sunday 23^rd. March.

Get an early start and drive the 30 Km. up to the North Egmont Visitor Centre at 946 metres, the highest point that tourists can drive to on Mount Taranaki. Dissapointed to see the top ½ is capped by cloud, whilst all around is mostly clear blue sky. Looks as though it will burn off won’t it? At least I got a good clear view yesterday: impressive too. More impressive though when it is snow covered for a good part of the year, and often likened to Mount Fuji. Mount Taranaki is a volcano that is still regarded as active, but last erupted in 1755, and seemed very dormant to me. I sign the book just as they open at 8.30 am. and am immediately joined by a Kiwi, Vic from Auckland who has made the 5 hour drive to climb Taranaki. I assume that he just wants to be a friendly guide to a lone tourist, and wants company for himself. He had tried it last week, but it had been raining, and one of his friends was getting serious cramps early in the climb. Well he turns out to be no guide, as he sets a good pace – for all of about 15 minutes – and then stops for a breather. This continues. I put up with this for quite a while, and as we get higher I can tell from his breathing he is nowhere as fit as me, and I gently try to hint that he would better emulate the other lone Brit we had overtaken plodding slowly but surely onwards. “No, no, this is the way I do it” Another quote “I’ve done a Half Iron Man in the past”? We are walking up a moderately steep Landrover track, which services a telephone mast and a Mountaineering Club Hut, through low brush, and we do it in less than tourist guide time, but the steadily plodding Brit arrives whilst we are having a bite.

 

 

The way now goes through a rocky gorge and then the scree starts. There are about 100 metres of ascent on a wooden staircase, built to prevent erosion in the fragile alpine vegetation zone. We are now entering the cloud and I wait at the top of the steps to get Vic in a photo to add perspective.

 

After this I leave Vic behind and catch up with the steady Brit, and we stick together through the increasingly awkward scree to stop for a long lunch before we tackle the final third on mostly good rock. Vic never catches up with us.

 

As we walk and scramble up the top rock section we emerge above the cloud, which diminishes and breaks over time, but never entirely clears. We, and others of all ages are feeling the effects of altitude, but there are a few youngsters who are exceptionally fit and stride onwards forcefully.

We are still well ahead of tourist guide time, and have another long second lunch and take photos of the striking rock and crater formation at the top, and the distant views, but the increasing cloud is being gathered by the mountain. Mountain height 2518 metres. So 5.5 km. and 1572 metres of ascent (my GPS reads 1722) in 5 hours including stops.

 

Still no sign of Vic, and we head off down into the cloud, emerging below it again at the top of the steps above the gorge.

 

 

 

Still no sign of Vic so we assume he had given in, but as I arrive back at the car park he bounds up to me. He had gotten to the top of the rock scramble just below the crater, and decided enough was enough, as he was feeling funny. I could tell that it was the altitude, but he didn’t seem to understand the concept. He still had a 5 hour drive back to Auckland that evening and work the following day.

 

All in all an 8 hour day for the climb and descent.