10th-12th July 2026
It was a cool, overcast Saturday morning as 6 of us set off from Pukahu for Pureora forest park for the Matariki weekend tramp. As we crossed the ranges we encountered rain and low cloud and we were hoping that the forecast for Pureora would be as stated , a clear sunny day. We stopped just outside of Taupo for a break then carried on, arriving at the Pureora Doc site where our cabins were at around 10am. After checking in and unloading our gear, keeping only what we needed for the rest of the day, we set off again in the van to do a few of the nearby trails.
The first of the walks took us along to machinery used in the tree felling many years ago before it was thankfully halted. Next, we set off to see the Treetop tower. The Treetop tower is a 4 story, 12metre high wooden tower reaching up into the forest canopy, where we were treated to a wonderful bird’s eye view of the forest. Following all that excitement we were off to do the Waipapa loop track, around 2.5kms. This was a lovely piece of bush again with a few of the old machines used in felling trees.
The next stop was a short drive away and alongside the SH30 to see ‘Pouakani’ the country’s largest and oldest known Totara tree. Estimated at around 1800 yrs old, height of 43m and girth of 12m (as measured within the last 10yrs), it really was a magnificent tree. There were quite a few of these large Totara that we saw whilst visiting this reserve and it was quite a popular attraction as we met other people on our way along the track.
As we departed, Selina proceeded to drive us back to the cabins but we didn’t get out of the carpark. We were confronted by a very large puddle, I said to Selina that she should just drive through it, we got to the middle then came to a halt, we were stuck, surrounded by water. I got out and the water was around ankle high, deeper in other parts, the van sounded more like a boat with the exhaust pipe at just the height of the water. We all got out and tried pushing but to no avail. Then we went off in search of help, we managed to get the young people we’d seen in the reserve and got them to help, they even tried pulling us out with one of their vehicles, but again no luck. Christine L. then got on the phone trying to get the AA to come out, but no they couldn’t. Just at that time and our hopes of a rescue subsiding, a Ute coming past us braked heavily and before we knew it came into the carpark from the other entrance and around to where we were. A very nice chap got out and offered to help and he too tried pulling us out with our towing strop but again no luck. It was then on to plan B, he got out his own rope a Kinetic energy version able to absorb the shock and hopefully success. Well, after attaching this ‘rope’ I got into the van and he into his ute and I signaled that I was ready he pulled the van out to safety at the first attempt. What a relief and just as the sun was approaching the horizon.
Saturday morning was pretty cold, a heavy frost overnight, everything was white outside, we set off just before 8am for Mt. Pureora, no van needed today. It wasn’t far to the start of the track which for much of it was along the renowned ‘Timber Trail’. Not far into the forest we took a small side track to view more old forestry machinery, Caterpillar 2 ton crawler tractor. After around an hour we emerged from the bush to the sight of Mt. Pureora still some way off. But it wasn’t long before we were back into the bush, still on the Timber Trail. At about 11am we came across a sign indicating our route to the summit of Pureora, less than 2kms, 40 minutes, here Susan and Christine decided not to go any further. The rest all managed to get to the top, stopping for lunch in the shelter of the scrub in the sun before making the summit. Gosh, was it cold up there, the ground was frozen and puddles iced over. The views were spectacular, the visibility excellent with views over to Mt. Taranaki, the central plateau volcanoes and Lake Taupo and across to the Kaimanawas.
The climb had been quite gentle really, nothing like the usual tramps back home. Having enjoyed the sights, we made our way back down and the return trip went pretty quick, arriving back at our cabin just over 3hrs later, where we met up with Susan and Christine once more.
After waking up to another hard frost we had breakfast, packed our things, tidied the cabin and loaded the van. Then as soon as we’d de-iced the Van, we were off, this time to the geographical centre of the North Island driving along Link and Waimoana roads. Having parked the van it was a short walk to the marker stone, polished and inscribed as to how this spot became what it is. Next stop was to the Arataki track and a walk, 2hrs return, to the suspension bridge over the Mangakino stream, although not a bad walk along a decent track, it wasn’t your typical bush walk. The bridge was about 40m long and approx. 20m high and we decided to have a break at a nice spot in the sun at one end of it.
We were back at the van just after midday and proceeded to drive to the eastern side of the Pureora forest off SH32 and off towards the Rimu walk. At the start of the track was a large open grassy carpark where we had lunch. Being it was around 2pm we really didn’t have time to do any more walking as we had to meet up with John and Anne at 3pm at the end of the Waihaha track on SH32.
John and Anne had done a west to east crossing of the Waihaha track having made their own way over on the Friday. We met them, as arranged, they too had had good weather and an enjoyable crossing.
We stopped for a break at the Taupo/ Napier turn off on SH1 before heading back to Pukahu, arriving around 6pm.
Party: Steve B, Susan L, Selina C, Judith M, Jude H, Christine L., John M and Anne C.