Kings Birthday 2025

In the original plan for King’s Birthday weekend, we had hoped to get two van drivers and enough people to form two groups: one starting on the eastern side and the other on the western side of southern Pureora Forest. The plan was to complete a crossing with a night each at Waihaha Hut and Hauhungaroa Hut, swapping over partway. However, we ended up with only four people going, so we decided to just head in from the eastern side and see how things went.

We left Hastings at 6 a.m. on Saturday, heading for the Waihaha track on Highway 32 via Taupō. We finally arrived around 9:30 a.m. and were greeted with cool temperatures, wind, and intermittent rain. The car park for the track is just over the bridge crossing the Waihaha River at the Great Lake Trail sign.

The track to Waihaha Hut is straightforward, initially following the river before crossing the Mangatu Stream via a swing bridge. From there, it climbs the only hill on the way to the hut before descending back down to the river. This section features a few ruts, slippery rocks, and patches of clay—nothing too challenging, and certainly not enough to deter the mountain bikers we encountered on both the way in and back out again on the Monday.

We reached Waihaha Hut at 12:30 p.m. (2 hrs 50 mins) and proceeded to settle in and claim beds for the night. There was already one person staying there from the Rotorua Tramping Club, who had arrived the previous day; the rest of their party had heading on towards Hauhungaroa Hut.

After a break for lunch, Lou, Judith, and I decided to wander along the track that leads northwards from the hut. We encountered a range of brightly coloured mushrooms—red, yellow, and blue (the same blue as the one on the $50 note). The track north was fairly easy to follow, though there weren’t many markers. We navigated past a few large, recently fallen trees and continued on for about an hour and a half, stopping before the track descended down to a stream we would have had to cross.

On the way back to the hut, the lack of track markers became more noticeable. Some sections with scrubby ferns required us to double back a few times to ensure we were still on the track. We returned to the hut to find at least five tents had suddenly sprouted in various places around it, and most of the beds inside the hut had now been claimed. The majority of the new arrivals appeared to be from Auckland – who for some reason felt the need to apologise for this.

The next day, Lou, Judith, and I headed off towards Hauhungaroa Hut, figuring we’d walk for a few hours and start part of the climb up the hill to where Hauhungaroa  hut is situated. The track south includes many small streams to cross – often just big enough to make keeping your feet dry a challenge. It passes through older parts of the forest with massive trees scattered throughout, some teeming with birdlife. One tree seemed to house a large number of kākā and tūī, judging by the volume of noise they were making.

We continued southwards for three hours and were about halfway up the initial climb towards the hut when we met the other members of the Rotorua Tramping Club heading back to Waihaha Hut. At that point, we decided to stop for lunch—which proved to be a good idea, as some curious Robins and Tomtits kept us company while we ate.

Upon returning to Waihaha Hut, most of the previous night’s tents had disappeared, with a few new ones in their place. Inside the hut, all the beds had now been claimed, leaving some of the newer arrivals to sleep on the floor – thankfully, there was plenty of floor space.

The next day, we headed back out to the road end, greeted by the best weather we’d had all weekend. We had a relaxed trip back to the van and then drove back to Hastings with plenty of time, ending a fairly relaxing weekend overall.

Party: Nic W, Judith M, Lou C and Rebecca J.