There are a couple of routes to the top of Mount Taranaki on the North Island of New Zealand… and neither one is easy! Viewed as we approach from the south-east, the volcanic peak – New Zealand’s most perfectly formed volcano – looks a little intimidating. Originally called Taranaki Mounga (Mount Taranaki), the mountain was re-named Mount Egmont (after the first Lord of the Admiralty) on 10 January 1770 by Captain James Cook. In 1986 the New Zealand Geographic Board approved a dual name for the mountain; in January 2020 the name Mount Egmont was removed leaving the only the Māori name Taranaki Maunga.
As well as having it’s Māori name reinstated, Taranaki has also been granted the same legal rights as a person, making it the third geographic feature in the country to be granted a “legal personality” – the other two at the time being a river (Te Awa Tupua or Whanganui River) and a forest (Te Urewera). This means that if someone abuses or harms the mountain, it is the same legally as harming the tribe. I’m not sure if it works both ways: if the slippery scree slope causes me to fall and injury myself, can I sue the mountain?
Dawson Falls to Syme Hut (Fanthams Peak Track) – 6.3km
As we’re staying in the town of Kaponga (which means “tree ferns used for palisades”) to the south-east, the approach we’re taking up Mount Taranaki is from Dawson Falls, up to Syme Hut… and hopefully the summit. Despite a forecast of drizzle and fog, the Taranaki summit and the smaller Fanthams Peak on the left are completely free of cloud as we arrive at the Dawson Falls carpark.
The signposted Fanthams Peak Track ascends fairly gently but constantly through the dense kāmahi forest that surrounds the base of Mount Taranaki: “Part of the forest on the eastern slopes of Taranaki Maunga is known as goblin forest. Trailing ferns and moss hang from gnarled kāmahi tree trunks, creating a mystical, slightly eerie atmosphere. Kāmahi became the dominant species in the area after volcanic eruptions destroyed rimu forest about 400 years ago.” (Te Ara). This forest forms a belt up to 4km wide which encircles most of the lower slopes.
After 0.5km the trail reaches a junction with the Lake Dive Lower Track – we’ll come back this way (but we don’t know this yet!). The tall forest gradually transitions to leatherwood scrub and shrubland, allowing views of Mount Taranaki in front of us.
Next to the trail is a plaque commemorating the May 1953 Everest expedition of New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Nepali Tenzing Norgay. Sir Edmund Hillary learned mountaineering on a number of NZ peaks, including Mt Taranaki, which he first climbed aged 24 while doing military training in Taranaki – and then went on to climb it more than 100 times.
From the very basic Hooker Shelter, we can see the trail making its way up the steep scree slope to the saddle below Mount Taranaki.
As we pass the junction with the track to the private Kapuni Lodge – a private (locked) hut built and owned by the Mt Egmont Alpine Club – there’s a view over Hasties Hill below.
We’re soon above the scrub and entering the alpine zone, which consists of red tussock grasslands and herbfields. A long series of timber steps and ladders continues above the grassland. We’re now at 1,400m elevation, having ascended 500m from Dawson Falls.
The weather is starting to close in as we step off the timber walkway, and onto the start of the scree slope that forms the uppermost section of the volcano.
This is the hardest section of the tramp up to Syme Hut. The route is marked by a series of poles, and the challenge is to find a path that avoids the deepest sections of scree, where two steps forward means at least one step back…
The mountain is now shrouded in cloud, with glimpses of the valley below and of the alpine herbfields which grow above the red tussock grass, between about 1600m and 1675m elevation.
It’s a relief to reach top of the steep scree slope, with the final ascent to the saddle being quite a gentle slope.
In the middle of the saddle is Syme Hut: “arguably Egmont National Park’s best overnight spots”. The second highest hut in the North Island, it was named after mountaineer, tramper and skier Rod Syme, who climbed Aoraki/Mt Cook and Mt Tasman in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Syme Hut was built in 1930 by the Mt Egmont Alpine Club, requiring all of the building materials to be carried up the steep scree slope by volunteers. It was rebuilt at a slightly higher elevation in 1988.
Just above Syme Hut and the saddle is Fanthams Peak or Panitahi (1966m), named after “plucky nineteen year old Fanny Fantham who became the first [European] woman to reach it in 1887.”
Despite lingering half an hour at Syme Hut there’s no signs of the clouds lifting, so we decide to abandon our plan of continuing to the Mount Taranaki summit, and retreat back down the mountain. It’s a little easier going down, taking the opposite approach to the ascent by picking the deepest sections of scree that allow us to slide somewhat ungracefully down the steep slope.
The clouds lift a little, providing a view over the green valley and farmland below.
A NASA photo from the Landsat 8 satellite captures the almost perfectly symmetrical circle of vegetation around Taranaki, which is formed by industrial-scale clearing of the natural forests meeting the boundary of the national park. Egmont National Park – New Zealand’s second national park – is defined by a 6-mile (9.6-kilometre) radius around the cone of Mount Taranaki (an area to the north-west was added later).
It’s only 11:30am as we reach the bottom of the timber stairs, so with half a day left I suggest to Andy it would make sense to do a little detour back to Dawson Falls via Lake Dive.
Upper Lake Dive Track to Lake Dive – 4.2km
A “little detour” is probably, in hindsight, a little understated… while the topographic map shows what appears to be a fairly level route around the side of the volcano, in fact the track frequently dips and rises as it crosses the streams and rivers that have carved multiple gullies down the side of Taranaki.
The Upper Lake Dive Track is more of a route than a track, and a little rough in places as it traverses the side of Taranaki. I capture a rare photo of Andy still smiling, as we make our way through the grassland.
The upside of this much longer route back is that, as the clouds start to lift, there are some sweeping views out to the south-west over farmland and the ocean in the distance.
Soon Lake Dive comes into view – it’s the only lake on the slopes of Mount Taranaki. Above the lake are the Beehives (952m and 869m in height) which are cumulo domes, formed by congealed lava that welled up during past volcanic eruptions. Crushed by a large volcanic boulder is a timber bridge that once formed part of the Upper Lake Dive Track.
It’s just under two kilometres to the junction with the track that descends to Lake Dive.
The track is well defined, but has clearly seen better days, with parts of the timber steps almost completely covered by moss and vegetation.
As with our ascent to Syme Hut – but this time in reverse – the vegetation rapidly changes from low shrubs to tall kāmahi forest.
The last part of the walk down to the lake through the shaded forest is very pleasant. But Lake Dive (proposed to be renamed Mangoraukawa) is a bit anticlimactic; it’s a nice lake, but you can’t get close to the water as it’s surrounded by vegetation. Next to the lake used to be Lake Dive Hut – but it burnt down in 2020 in a suspicious fire.
Lake Dive to Dawson Falls (Lower Lake Dive Track) – 8km
From Lake Dive, the Lower Lake Dive Track heads back towards Dawson Falls, this time at an elevation of around 9000-1000m (versus the Lower Lake Dive Track which is around 1350-1400m). It undulates a lot more than the upper track, but I find it a much more pleasant walk through the “goblin forest”. As with the lower part of the Fanthams Peak Track, multiple predator traps can be seen along the track. There are over 4,800 traps within Egmont National Park, designed to eliminate stoats, ferrets and possums.
The track initially descends a little, with a series of wooden steps and ladders; a couple of vantage points offer a great view of the now cloud-free Taranaki summit.
The trail then ascends a little… or maybe it descends again… or maybe it’s both. The topo map shows a very gradual ascent, but the reality is a series of ladders, steps and constant ups and downs.
The second half of the Lower Lake Dive Track is punctuated by a series of streams; the first is an uppper tributary of Kaupokonui Stream. It’s described by the Stream Appreciation Society (I didn’t make this up!!) as a “nice-sized bouldery stream that runs through the southern part of Taranaki”. After a short but steep drop via a timber ladder, it’s an easy crossing of the shallow stream.
A second tributary of the Kaupokonui Stream, crossed by a timber bridge, has a distinctly orange colour from iron oxide, which occurs naturally on Taranaki.
A third Kaupokonui Stream tributary (they all converge much further down Mount Taranaki) has some small cascades and a slightly trickier crossing. My feet stay dry with some judicious boulder-hopping – and a bit of luck.
There are a few more ladders along the track, and a spectacular section of kāmahi forest, where thick moss hangs from the gnarled trees, their branches reaching out as if from an enchanted forest.
The last stream crossing has a small but picturesque cascade that falls into a deep, crystal-clear pool just above the track.
From here it’s less than a kilometre back to the Dawson Falls carpark, with the Lower Lake Dive Track re-joining the Fanthams Peak track about half-way.
It’s been a long (10 hour) walk, and not quite what we planned (which was an out-and-back hike to the summit). I’m keen to tackle Mount Taranaki again, starting at Syme Hut to allow an early morning ascent to the summit before the clouds start to form around the peak. Allow a solid half-day for Syme Hut, and a full day with an early start if continuing onto the summit, or if adding the Lake Dive loop. It can also be an overnight hike staying at Syme Hut (DOC) or Kapuni Lodge (private but can be booked via email for non-members).
Getting to Mount Taranaki from Dawson Falls
Mount Taranaki and Egmont National Park are on the western side of the North Island, roughly mid-way between Auckland and Wellington. Dawson Falls is about 325km (4:15min drive) from Wellington and 410km (5.5 hours) from Auckland, with the Fanthams Peak Track well signposted from the carpark.
The closest town with food and accommodation (a basic hotel) to Dawson Falls is Kaponga, which is a 20min drive. A little further away is Stratford, which has a number of restaurants and many more accommodation options.
More information
- The Guardian – New Zealand gives Mount Taranaki same legal rights as a person
- Mongabay – Is ‘legal personhood’ a tool or a distraction for Māori relationships with nature?
- Te Ara – Story: Taranaki region
- Mt Egmont Alpine Club – Kapuni Lodge
- Department of Conservation (DOC) – Syme Hut / Lake Dive tracks
- New Zealand Geographic – Syme Hut
- Earth Observatory – Mount Taranaki’s Ring of Forest
- Predator Free NZ – Towards a Predator Free Taranaki
1 Comment
Connor · February 20, 2025 at 11:30 am
Nice report and great pics as usual. In my experience, “a little detour” with Oliver is almost always understated. 🙂