Upon receiving notification of my posting to New Plymouth, I googled and Wikipedia-ed my future place of abode to have an understanding of what to do in the region.
The most prominent landmark, without a doubt, would be Mount Taranaki, a 2,518m high volcano towering over the entire region, and in my mind, I was sure I would conquer this mountain, regardless of difficulty.
I'd done quite a bit of hiking in Norway back around 200-2009, and in Asia, I climbed Mount Ophir and Kota Kinabalu in 2012. Mentally, I knew that I would be able to do it in my current state of fitness, but the actual effort exerted was beyond my imagination.
The Puffer
The trek started with a loose concrete path known as the Puffer, which took about an hour to complete. This brought us to the only public toilet before the remainder of the treacherous journey. Close by the toilet was an antenna station as well as a lodge for hikers. Apparently its called the Puffer due to the way you end up puffing for breath after the route's completion.
The Lizard
After the Puffer, the route appeared more straightforward as the Mountain was clearly in sight (though quite a distance away). It was still around 0700hrs in the morning and the sun was just rising above the horizon. As we moved to the next section, known as the Lizard, mist and cloud started to form around the mountain. Looking downwards the ground was beginning to be shrouded in mist, but the peak ahead remained a clear objective to be conquered.
The terrain was difficult to manage. It consisted of rocks of varying sizes, often giving way under my weight. I had to use my hands for support for a large part of this section, as each step upwards resulted in a half step slide downwards. I tried to step on larger rocks for support, only for them to sink inwards, disrupting my balance. I was struggling, and decided to fall behind the pack, retracing the steps taken by my hiking mates, knowing that these footprints would have borne the weight of others before me and hence, more stable to support my weight.
I also learnt that an old sports injury would finally affect my hiking performance. My right ankle felt weak, and incapable of adapting to the sinking rocks with each climbing step. This slowed my progress considerably, as every step upwards with my right leg would be about half the height achieved with my left.
Reaching the Peak
Closer to the peak, the loose rocks became more firm, and I was using quite a bit of upper body strength to pull myself upwards on the large steps, almost like rock climbing, without a harness.
The crater was filled with snow and ice, where every step taken would require a hand for support to prevent slipping on the ice. This descending down the crater and climbing to the peak took about forty minutes.
I was exhausted when I reached the top. I was the last in the group to arrive, probably a good 20 minutes after the first in our party. I was in survival mode. I was more concerned about hydrating, consuming some food, and keeping warm. It was probably a good 15 minutes when I popped out my camera to take pictures and a video of the surroundings. After which I fished out a bottle of Asahi to reward myself for the effort.
Descending
Going down the mountain took around 3.5hrs, which I felt was a lot less stressful than going up, contrary to what many other climbers experience on this hike. There was lots of stress on the knees and quadriceps, and thankfully, I was better able to cope with that stress than to rest my weight on my right ankle during the ascent. At times going down the loose rocks reminded me of skiing, and I knew that I would be able to skip and slide down the slopes if I'd a stronger right ankle.
Back at the carpark, we stripped down to dry clothing, and had another beer to celebrate a hike well done.
Many thanks to Marco (Italy), Tugdual (France), Nataliya (Ecuador), Kewen (Singapore Kiwi), Arnold (Dutch), and Arnan (India?) for organizing, motivating and making this a fun and memorable journey.
Lessons learnt
- Slow and steady gets you there. It's not a race
- It's not important if you take the left or right route, as long as you are heading up
- Plan better - at the end of my hike, I still had 4 apples, a box full of chocolate peanut energy bars, and 2 litres of isotonic drink. That amounted to around 3.5kg of extra weight carried for 7.5hrs
- Pack ALL equipment the night before. I was sure I did that, but somehow left my jacket hanging by the door on the way out. Thankfully it turned out a blessing in disguise - my fleece and raincoat were adequate
- Another successful trek with SAF boots
 |
| Mount Taranaki, from a distance |
I'd done quite a bit of hiking in Norway back around 200-2009, and in Asia, I climbed Mount Ophir and Kota Kinabalu in 2012. Mentally, I knew that I would be able to do it in my current state of fitness, but the actual effort exerted was beyond my imagination.
The Puffer
The trek started with a loose concrete path known as the Puffer, which took about an hour to complete. This brought us to the only public toilet before the remainder of the treacherous journey. Close by the toilet was an antenna station as well as a lodge for hikers. Apparently its called the Puffer due to the way you end up puffing for breath after the route's completion.
The Lizard
After the Puffer, the route appeared more straightforward as the Mountain was clearly in sight (though quite a distance away). It was still around 0700hrs in the morning and the sun was just rising above the horizon. As we moved to the next section, known as the Lizard, mist and cloud started to form around the mountain. Looking downwards the ground was beginning to be shrouded in mist, but the peak ahead remained a clear objective to be conquered.
 |
| The challenging terrain of loose rocks throughout The Lizard |
I also learnt that an old sports injury would finally affect my hiking performance. My right ankle felt weak, and incapable of adapting to the sinking rocks with each climbing step. This slowed my progress considerably, as every step upwards with my right leg would be about half the height achieved with my left.
Reaching the Peak
Closer to the peak, the loose rocks became more firm, and I was using quite a bit of upper body strength to pull myself upwards on the large steps, almost like rock climbing, without a harness.
The crater was filled with snow and ice, where every step taken would require a hand for support to prevent slipping on the ice. This descending down the crater and climbing to the peak took about forty minutes.
 |
| Looking down the crater |
I was exhausted when I reached the top. I was the last in the group to arrive, probably a good 20 minutes after the first in our party. I was in survival mode. I was more concerned about hydrating, consuming some food, and keeping warm. It was probably a good 15 minutes when I popped out my camera to take pictures and a video of the surroundings. After which I fished out a bottle of Asahi to reward myself for the effort.
 |
| Standing on the peak - frowned upon by the Maori |
Descending
Going down the mountain took around 3.5hrs, which I felt was a lot less stressful than going up, contrary to what many other climbers experience on this hike. There was lots of stress on the knees and quadriceps, and thankfully, I was better able to cope with that stress than to rest my weight on my right ankle during the ascent. At times going down the loose rocks reminded me of skiing, and I knew that I would be able to skip and slide down the slopes if I'd a stronger right ankle.
 |
| Lush valleys at the base of the mountain |
Back at the carpark, we stripped down to dry clothing, and had another beer to celebrate a hike well done.
Many thanks to Marco (Italy), Tugdual (France), Nataliya (Ecuador), Kewen (Singapore Kiwi), Arnold (Dutch), and Arnan (India?) for organizing, motivating and making this a fun and memorable journey.
Lessons learnt
- Slow and steady gets you there. It's not a race
- It's not important if you take the left or right route, as long as you are heading up
- Plan better - at the end of my hike, I still had 4 apples, a box full of chocolate peanut energy bars, and 2 litres of isotonic drink. That amounted to around 3.5kg of extra weight carried for 7.5hrs
- Pack ALL equipment the night before. I was sure I did that, but somehow left my jacket hanging by the door on the way out. Thankfully it turned out a blessing in disguise - my fleece and raincoat were adequate
- Another successful trek with SAF boots
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be nice!