William Chong

On Boxing Day, a group of us went tramping up the Pinnacles, in the Coromandel Ranges. We stayed overnight at the Pinnacles Hut and made a couple of good attempts at the Kauaeranga trail that takes you right up to the summit of the Pinnacles. The views from the top were stunning, and the tramp featured some heartfelt EGC moments amidst the huffing and puffing, the encouragement, and the character-building.

We left Auckland at 9am and took State Highway 2 and 25 towards the township of Thames. After some last-minute food purchases, we drove along the Kauaeranga Valley Road to the start of the tramping – tucked in a good 20 km into the heart of the Coromandel Ranges.

Tramp and trail

There are a few tracks around the Kauaeranga Valley area that can potentially take you to the summit. The most popular (and easiest) route to the Pinnacles Hut is the Webb Creek track, which takes about 3 hours. The first half hour was pretty easy going and weaved about the Kauaeranga River at a number of places (including a 30m-high swing bridge).

The track got significantly steeper about the first hour in, with the introduction of crude stone steps. These were cut way back in the 1870-1920s by kauri-felling opportunists who needed to carve a route up the Pinnacles to reach the valuable kauri trees – the entire area is now under Department of Conservation (DOC) protection.

Were they difficult? Let’s just say that I’ve seen enough stone stairs to last me a good while.

There were plenty of photo opportunities along the way as the trees would, on occasion, part to reveal stunning views of the rugged and mostly unspoiled Coromandels.

After the second hour of stair climbing, we were all elated to finally reach flatter terrain that followed the Hydro Camp checkpoint. The last part of the Webb Creek track we’d been following gradually morphed into a stony track, with vegetation that was more untamed scrub, and less lush native bush. When tramping, it’s always fascinating to observe the flora and fauna patterns change as you move up and down a mountain – the Pinnacles was no different.

From Hut to the top

The Pinnacles Hut is a most atypical DOC hut. It’s got 80 bunk beds, gas cookers, running water, chemical toilets, cold showers and even a fully-equipped BBQ. In comparison, staying in of the more remote backcountry huts will pretty much guarantee you a roof over your head, and nothing more.

We had a fantastic dinner, where everyone selflessly shared whatever food they brought with them. It’s not too often you will have cold spaghetti, cheesy sausages, spam, chicken kievs, potato soup, focaccia bread and hot pepperoni slices all in one meal. Even if you did, it probably wouldn’t be in a dining room overlooking the majestic Coromandel ranges. After dinner, some of us slept early/collapsed with exhaustion while others stayed up playing card games.

Most of us made the effort to wake up before the crack of dawn (5 am) to make a bleary-eyed attempt at the summit. There’s a strangely refreshing sense of isolation shuffling up step by step to a peak that’s shrouded in low-lying cloud. The air isn’t quite rarefied, though there’s a sharp scent of nature mixed with the moisture of the mists.

While the advertised time from the Pinnacles Hut to the Pinnacles is 50 minutes, I think that the modernisation of the track (DOC have replaced the old rope and rock systems with steel ladders, rungs and well-spaced stairs) made for a significantly easier ascent. Most of us were at the summit ledge admiring the misty views within 30 minutes of leaving the hut.

On a clear day at the summit (altitude: 759m) you can see the Pacific Ocean in the east, and the Firth of Thames to the west. Being perched on the roof of a mountain and looking out across the Ranges is quite an experience – put it on your bucket list, if you have one.

All in all, it was a pretty decent tramp. We didn’t get the best of viewing conditions due to the cloud cover, but that will only motivate each one of us to go again!

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