The Pinnacles via the Kauaranga Kauri and Billy Goat Trails

Veröffentlicht am 16.12.2006 von Martin
View from the Kauaeranga Kauri Trail to Tabletop Mountain.
The rock formation on the left is the inner plug from a 15 million year old and eroded volcano.

We started of early in the morning, picked up Eva and Chris and went to meet Jess, her sister and some friends of her on the Coromandel for a little hike up to the Pinnacles. The Trail starts at the DOC parking in Kauaeranga Valley where everyone gathered for a farewell picture before picking up backpacks, cameras and lots of food. The trail then follows the Kauaeranga river and leads gently up along a lush green mountain slope covered in treeferns and nikau palms. Then, all of a sudden the trail starts to ascend. This is quite a bummer on an otherwise pleasant hike, and because I am huffing and puffing already I contemplate turning back.

Two of the trails leading to the Pinnacles (Basemap Google Earth)

Having decided not to be a wuss and to try to make it up to the hut I hurl my backpack up once more and give it a second go. For a while the trail tethers on through a forested, cool ravine. It is pleasant to be out of the sun and a little stream runs swiftly along adding a refreshing note. I make my way slowly up until I reach a scenic resting place where the trail crosses over Webb creek and goes up solid rock stairs and into the forest on the other side. There is a sign here talking about the old logging path ascending steeply along the mountain side, for there used to be huge and beautiful kauris in the forest until they were all clearcut by the 1920s. Now the forest is claiming back the mountains again and Kauris are being replanted by the DOC, but it will take more than a lifetime for them two grow to their former glory. This would be the last place to turn back, but then again, how bad can a few stairs be…

Sméagol: We lead them to the winding stairs.
Gollum: Yes. The stairs. And then?
Sméagol: Up, up, up, up, up the stairs we go, until we come to…
And up they go. Just when you have travelled 100 stairs up and think you cannot possibly move another step forward you get to the next bend and are rewarded with the magnificent view of another 100 stairs. By the tenth time this becomes a little demotivating, but thankfully the DOC has provided for some small kauri trees to hold on to while catching ones breath. Some of the group have already reached Hydro Camp, an open space were work crews used to rest. The trail afterwards is a picnic, except for that it is full of more stairs, there is no food and the sun burns down merciless on the shrubland at this higher altitude.

The road goes ever on and on, through manuka shrubs towards the Pinnacles.

Looking to down to ones feet while catching some breath, something I am doing quite often by now, the numerous carnivorous plants catch the eye. Maybe the soil is poor in nutrients due to erosion or some other for some other reason these plants always seem to thrive on mountain sides. Especially in places that are damp and boggy. Thinking about Humbolt’s voyages and that when one travels up in the mountains on the southern globe one automatically also travels further South in terms of climate and plant zonations keeps me occupied for a happy five minutes. At least two of New Zealand’s seven species of Sundew grew next to the trail, Drosera binata and Drosera spatulata. Before getting carried away to join the New Zealand Carnivorous Plant Society with their martial slogan „Beautiful, but deadly!“ I lumbered slowly onwards and upwards to the hut.

Caution! Or you just might step on Drosera spatulata, deadly threat to alpine insects.

Speaking of beautiful, but not quite as deadly! Jess, Mell and Eva say cheese. (Photo Chris)

While I am quite happy to make it to the hut the others simply cant get enough of steps and hike up to the Pinnacles, being rewarded with a spectacular view of the Coromandel and five thousand additional steps. In the meantime I sit in the sun, enjoy some water and think of how wonderful it must have been here for marine biologists 150 million years ago when the Coromandel hadn’t risen and still belonged to the seafloor. Na, actually I love hiking, I’m sadly just really out of shape. At night everyone gets to feel like scum before sleeping in the bunk beds of the hut.

The Pinnacles, close to the summit.

In the morning we are again surprised by the amount of food that our Kiwi friends have hauled up the mountain in their back packs and grateful for their sharing of the bountiful feast. Especially because we only had some dry bread and trail mix left ourselves (badly, badly organised!).

Breakfast in the hut. (Photo Chris)
Back on the track we decided to walk down the Billy Goat Trail instead of the Kauri Trail so we took a left at Hydro camp. Constantly fighting for the pole position on the track with three elderly ladies that did not enjoy our choice of hiking songs as much as we did, we gradually moved along steep ridges with lots of panoramic views.
Guess what is around the next corner on the Billy Goat Trail? (Hint: it is not a goat).
For all of you that have thought „hm, probably more steps“: You have won! And can now congratulate yourself, lean back, take a deep breath and savour the moment with a glass of goat milk. Or not if you prefer.
The way back down was almost as strenuous as the way up, but the many views where well worth the effort. Back at the parking lot knees still trembled and every last one of us was ready for some coffee and junkfood in Thames. For me it was really a demanding hike, but all in all good fun. Can’t wait to get back to shorter hikes along the Waitakeres and say, hey, this is easy in comparison.
A last view of the Kauaeranga Valley and River before descending.
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