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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Today, being the lazy Sunday it was, paperclip had a fabulous time playing Texas Hold ‘em and Blackjack all afternoon and evening. It was fantastic stuff! Even Jacob who’s leaving for American Bible College had a bit of fun with cards, as well as playing a little on the PS3. In blackjack, Hsuan joined us from his break in UNSW and we had a good time catching up with him – his new career direction now includes particpating in Christian ministry, which is such a fabulous development! Will most likely see him on Friday, he’s considering hosting a do at his place.

One thing to point out regarding Blackjack was that it eventually turned to a teamwork versus the House (that was me) game – they all invested very heavily in each other, but without card-counting and serious mathematical prowess I eventually ate up all their hard-earned (not) cash.

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Oh, starting classes again on Monday. It’s the end of the road! How intriguing. Last 12 weeks of structured university study in conjunction with examinations. Bring it on!

It was so windy today that the awning area out the front of the restaurant was rattling and shuddering from gale-force winds.  Pretty grateful our power has stayed on so far.

Nathan you are pretty lucky in Samoa right now.  (He got married)  Oh, and some pics of Jared and Cheryl looking cool.  Both of them have now undergone a fantastic glasses upgrade!

Oh, Dad and Kim returned from their holiday in the summery conditions of Brisbane and the Gold Coast.  Exceedingly envious.  They got clear skies every single day.

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Last couple of days at work have also been pretty fun-filled.  On Friday I did a random chef’s shift, which gave me a good idea of how to do certain bits and pieces like our tapas menu, and a couple of entrees.  I’m very good with ovens and deep friers now, haha.

I’ve been really slacking off on the violin practice, to the point that I think my exam proficiency from practising before has gone back a whole month, it seems.  Perhaps it’s the runs and arpeggios at 11pm at night, but I should ideally be able to play at any time of day all my pieces well.  Urgh.

Anyways, stay at home if you are in Auckland.  Not worth driving in these stupid conditions.  See ya!

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I’ve just been on the phone with my dry grandma (???).  She lives in Vancouver, is effectively my dad’s dry mum, and since we were kids has always sent us birthday cards without fail.

She has a really rich, cultured Mandarin that I’ve never heard from any other Taiwanese person.  Oh and she uses lots of big Chinese words.  In any case, we had a good long chat about how to approach my dad as his child, and also as a fellow adult.  My dry grandma raised concerns about whether my dad would remarry, and I found unexpectedly that all the way in Vancouver, someone’s praying for our family.

In other news, I’m on holiday!  Well, midsemester break: which effectively means assignments to be working on, revarnishing that deck this weekend, work, and lots of other things I’d like to get done these holidays.

One thing I’ve already achieved can be seen here!  I’ve finally gotten round to making a proper mix of one of my songs.  I chose “Birthday Wish” since it’s Good Friday today, and apart from amateurish vocals I think it turned out okay!  A slice from one of my compositions last year has also been put up.

So yes, I’m hoping to build up the music section of this site.  Stay tuned!