Monika Coles
The Easter trip didn’t start well for me. I had to stay behind at work on Thursday and didn’t have as much time to pack as I would have liked. I raced to Takapuna as quickly as I could … yes! They had waited for me.
Then I realised I’d forgotten to pack my toothbrush. Bugger! Four days without a toothbrush. That was going to add to the outdoor experience. On the trip down, Karen and Bernard swapped the driving every two hours so there were plenty of toilet stops, but no shops to buy a toothbrush.
We arrived at Mt Egmont National Park at two am. The first thing I discovered in the early hours of Friday morning was that the NP had flushing toilets! OMG, yes! I could not believe my eyes; it was so nice.
We woke to Ralph’s alarm at seven am and drove to the Mt Egmont Information Centre. When I asked at the office shop if they had a toothbrush I could buy they told me I was the first person who had ever asked for one there.
After breakfast we got into groups depending on what we wanted to do. I chose the group that was going up Mt Taranaki. I didn’t know if I could make it all the way up, but I wanted the chance to try.
The weather was great. A friend had tried to go up three times but couldn’t because of the weather, so I wasn’t going to miss this chance for anything.
I’d had a photo of the mountain and the Pouakai Ranges above my desk at work for weeks, so I was ready. I’d even signed up to a gym prior to the trip to help me with my fitness. In the photo at work the mountain had looked huge, but when I looked at it from the carpark it looked smaller.
I was in. I was ready.
We left at nine am. The brochure said that the first two hours were going to be gentle. Well, I need to find out who wrote that brochure and which way they went because no way was it gentle. It was a full-on climb pretty much from the start.
I walked up the whole way between two groups, Pat and Viv were in front of me, and Bernard and Karen were behind. I was comfortable at that speed, taking quick convenient breaks for photos.
We had cloud on one side and blue skies on the other. It was amazing, and I felt like I was realising a long-time dream. I couldn’t believe how lucky we were, having the good weather on our first day! It was perfect.
The mountain still didn’t look that high. I thought it looked very manageable.
After a quick stop at Tahurangi Lodge off we went, climbing up the stairs. Again, I had expected lots more stairs, but before I knew it the stairs had finished, and that’s where things started to get interesting. The mountain got steeper, and harder to climb. There were a lot of people and we were all making slow progress, just managing to keep going up. There was always a point where I could look up and say, okay, once I make it there I’ll stop for a breather.
Now, I’m not very good with heights. When we stopped for lunch, about halfway up the mountain, I got myself comfortable, took out my lunch and then looked at the view. My stomach turned and I nearly lost my lunch. OMG, it was high. And so steep!
I managed to eat my food and carried on up the mountain, making sure I didn’t look behind me very often. There was a lot to keep me busy, like dodging rocks that people in front of me dislodged, working out where to put my foot next, and how to keep going up without slipping and tumbling down to the bottom of the mountain.
It was okay when I could still see Viv and Pat in front—they were my inspiration, my point of focus—but when it got really steep there was a point where I couldn’t see them anymore, or anybody else, and I thought I might be the last one going up.
The part of the rock face I was on at that time was really tricky, and so steep that I felt scared and especially worried how the hell I was going to go down the mountain. All I knew was that I didn’t want to go down alone. I knew I could make it up, but I wouldn’t make it down if I was on my own. That would be too scary!
At that point I was almost at the top, but I really didn’t want to be the last one off the mountain. In my panic I found a big rock about the size of me, and I hugged it tight, like a starfish. I yelled out, “Oh, fuck!” I felt much better after that and carried on.
I met Viv just under the crater, and she agreed to turn around and go back to the crater with me, which was about five minutes away around a few of the top rocks. I was so happy that she was there with me that I gave her a big hug. So happy to have another human being there with me so high up, and have someone to go down the mountain with.
We got back to the bus just before dark. As I was telling my story and showing off my scratches from my falls coming down the mountain, someone pointed out that my calves were sunburnt.
Later on they proved so burnt that I couldn’t sleep, but I must have had my angel looking over me because Karen rescued me at two am with sachets of cooling gel to ease the sunburn. I was grateful beyond belief.
The next day I was ready to go again. Me, Joy, Lyndle and Bernard set off to Pouakai Hut. This was a two-day trip that we needed to make in one day to be back at the carpark by Sunday night. The plan was to get to Holly Hut for lunch and Pouakai Hut for dinner.
On paper it looked good: North Egmont to Holly Hut, 3–4 hours (7.5 km), Holly Hut to Pouakai Hut 2–3 hours (4.5 km).
Doable, right?
The morning was okay and the track was nice, quite misty so we didn’t have any views, but we could see a few metres ahead to where the track was going. There were a lot of slips on the way that we had to climb over, and that was very surprising for me, even making me think, is this safe? But of course it must be safe, otherwise the track would be closed, right?
I’d noticed that I was starting to be quite slow. My calves were hurting every time I had to bend my legs ninety degrees or more, which was quite often going over the rocks and it was slowing me down.
We started to run out of time so we skipped the Holly Hut as it was off the track a bit and had lunch just before the turn-off to Pouakai Hut.
Once we got to the wetlands it was beautiful. The sun was shining, the track ahead was nice and flat, and the view was just stunning. Then we learned that the hut was on the other side of the mountains we were looking at, meaning there was a lot of uphill climbing to do. Oh, boy. Okay.
So off we went. Once through the wetlands, the steep stairs started and after a while the rain started, too. After what felt like hours going up the stairs in the heavy rain, the climb took its toll on me and I started to struggle.
I felt bad. I was slow, and I was holding everyone up. The stairs were never-ending and it was getting late. I had no tent and knew that we were going to be the last at the hut.
My plan was to find a place on the floor in the hut for the night, but it was a very busy weekend and the huts were full so I was praying while I slowly kept putting one foot in front of the other: Please, please, let there be room on the floor for me.
The hut was busy when we got there and a few people were already waiting to sleep on the floor. The fire was on so we started to sort ourselves out for dinner. We had a lovely time chatting at the table until about eight pm, when one guy took the initiative and asked everyone to help set up for the people who were sleeping on the floor. I was very happy about that. There were two big tables and long seats with not much floor space, but they managed to make plenty room on the floor for everyone.
When I thanked the guy he said that he and had been in the same situation last night at the Holly Hut. There were seventy people in a 32-bunk hut.
I had a place on the floor by the fire. Oh my gosh, I was so happy.
Bernard had told me that there was a short, two-hour downhill the next day, and I spent all night thinking about it.
In the morning talked to a couple who had done Pouakai Hut to North Egmont Visitor Centre (5–7 hours, 13 km), but in the other direction. They said it was a killer, with all the stairs, but going the way we were going wouldn’t be so bad.
When Bernard came in for breakfast I kind of mentioned the possibility of me taking the short way out. He didn’t answer for a bit, and then he said it was only for emergency. And he was right. It wasn’t an emergency. He actually made me feel better because I could see that he believed in me and that I could make it. Thanks, Bernard. I was again ready to go again.
The track was amazing! The first stop just past the hut was at the tarns. The photo Bernard took is OMG beautiful ! The mountain looked enormous to me again, and I had a hard time believing that I had been to the top.
The rest of the track was one beautiful surprise after another. There were ladders build into the steep mountains to make it easier to climb them. I was looking forward to crossing rivers as I love them. To my surprise there were bridges over the rivers, and not just any old bridges.
My stomach was once again making somersaults and all I could think about was the swingbridge that collapsed last year at Lake Waikaremoana.
I was glad to make it over the one-person-at-a-time bridge, and I’m pleased I had the guts to look down while I was on the bridge because the view of the river was stunning.
The rest of the way was a pleasant, although long and tiring, walk through the forest. We took the option of the shorter route up the road to the Information Centre, saving us about an hour’s walking.
Back at the bus, we had dinner and a catch-up with the other parties. And guess what? Jan and Rod had a present for me—a new toothbrush! Thank you, guys.
The next day one group went to the edge of the park, but I opted with a few others to stay on the bus and drive into New Plymouth. I was excited because I’d never been there before, and while others went off for breakfast I went exploring.
I like art and was very happy to see that this town has art rich places to see. The Puke Ariki Museum and Information Centre is beautifully done, and the park and Richmond Cottage are well maintained. Mark told me about a nice coastal walkway and Viv pointed out the new Len Lye Centre. So much to see in so little time.
I did so many things on this trip that I had never done before. I lost track of the number of times I said, “I’ve never done anything like this before.”
I faced climbing and descending a volcanic mountain with terrain and height that I couldn’t have imagined. I climbed over slips with nothing to stop me falling down the steep slope if I took a wrong step and slipped. I pushed my physical and mental limits beyond what I thought I was capable of and I made it.
I’m not proud of myself yet as it all needs to sink in a bit,and my legs need to heal, but I’m so thrilled that I made it to the top and through the whole weekend. And that’s only because of all you wonderful people in the club.
Well done, you all, and thank you.