WHIRINAKI TRACK - Taupo Tramping Club

Taupo Tramping Club – Tramping Notes by Austin Hutcheon Version: 27 July 2006
MOUNT TIHIA
Map: Tongariro, 1:50,000 T19, refer Figures 1, 3 and 4
GPS: Geodetic Datum 1949 – refer Figures 5a (Geographic) and 5b (NZ Grid)
How to get to START:
Figure 1
Access to the Start of the Walk and Map Sheets
• Exit Taupo down the lake on SH1 to
Turangi
• Turn right off SH1 onto SH41
towards Tokaanu
• Turn left off SH41 onto SH47 as if
going to Whakapapa – set your trip
meter
• Look for small car park on RHS of
road at 4.5km from Junction (WP2)
• There is space for about 3 cars here
so park in tidy manner as far off
asphalt as possible
Rough description: An easy to moderate walk through very thick bush in parts and with somewhat of a steep start
from a car park at the side of SH47 only a few kilometres out of Turangi. The lower part is a bit steep as noted and is
through thick broadleaf forest with very active birdlife – including Tui. Further up one crosses the line of the Tokaanu
Tunnel then emerges from forest into rather high bush – which is a struggle for the vertically challenged. To the point
reached and the walk aborted due to weather conditions the overall altitude gain was a bit over 500 metres. In mid July
2005 the walk had to be abandoned after 90 minutes due to low cloud and high winds.
Detail: Drive out of Turangi on the
Tokaanu Road (SH41) then turn off left
onto the road for Whakapapa (SH47) and
continue up SH47 for 4.5km when you
should see a small car parking area on
the right hand side of the road as you go
up. Park here, but well off the road.
Figure 2 View from WP8 North over Lake Taupo on Cloudy Day
Buried in the trees on the edge of this car
park you will find a small footpath leaving
the road at right angles and heading off
uphill into the forest – this is your route.
There is a bit of a brutal start to this walk
as you head off up quite a steep slope
without any warm-up wander along a level
path. There are also some quite large
step-ups for the short-legged Hobbit
tramper.
After 20 minutes of steep uphill you cross
(WP4) a level, over-grown, obviously
man-cleared area which follows the
contour along or round the hill – this is
assumed to be the line of the Tokaanu
Tunnel feeding the power station in
Tokaanu. After this the slope eases a bit
but there are a few wind-fall trees which
are slightly awkward to get over then the
slope gets steeper again after about 40
minutes.
After 1 hour walking you start on an undulating section (WP6) or ridge still in
the forest then the path is quite deeply incised and runs with water on really
wet days, so watch you footing as it can be slippery. In 1:05 minutes you
emerge from the forest (WP7) to an area of tall bush where the path is still
incised.
You get into lower bush on a minor crest (WP8) after 1:15 minutes walking and from here there are good views of the
mountains (on a good day) and of Turangi plus Lake Taupo. The picture used in Figure 2 is taken from this spot. From
here the struggle continues upwards on quite a gentle slope but the going is not too easy due to the density and height
of the bush – make sure you follow the path.
Mount Tihia Page 1 of 2

Taupo Tramping Club – Tramping Notes by Austin Hutcheon Version: 27 July 2006
Figure 3 Extract of Map with GPS Track
Figure 4 Extract of Map with Critical Waypoints
The track followed shown as a green line in Figure 3
All the waypoints taken are shown in Figure 5 and a selection of
these are shown above in Figure 4 – they are seen as numbered
rectangles on the map.
Figure 5a GPS Waypoint Data – Geographic format On the day this walk was done
the weather proved the winner
and express train speed winds,
low cloud and rain necessitated
aborting and retreating back
down the path used on the way
up.
On the way down a Tui,
seemingly feeding on red
berries form a Miro serenaded
the walkers all the way.
Figure 5b GPS Waypoint Data – NZ Grid format It is possible to do a circular
walk and return to SH47 further
along the highway towards
Whakapapa – this section of
the walk will be added in due
course when records are
collected, that is when the
weather is kinder to trampers
and the wind does not blow us
off the hill.
Notes:
Garmin Summit GPS on Geodetic datum 1949 with suspect signal in places due to forest cover
WP = Waypoint as taken by GPS unit
masl = metres above sea level (as recorded by GPS unit and may not agree exactly with map spot heights)
Mount Tihia Page 2 of 2