Mount Taranaki is a 2518m high volcano that dominates the western North Island landscape. It's where we decided to see in the New Year.
We drove up the Kapiti coast, taking in a view of Kapiti Island from Paraparaumu and again further up the coast from Te Horo Beach. We stopped at Lavender Creek Farm south of Otaki to enjoy the sunlit rows of lavender and a brief introduction to the distillation process. At Foxton the beach is sign-posted as a road, but we chose to continue northbound on tarmac to arrive late afternoon at Dawson Falls, after visiting Wanganui with its ugly river mouth and attractive Victoria Avenue.
As we drove into Egmont National Park we were granted stunning views of the snow-clad cone. Dawson Falls Lodge, established 1896, is located at 902m on the lower slopes of Mount Taranaki. The Lodge is "alpine" in style, but dated to the point of being shabby, and most certainly over-priced. It seemed tacky and lacking charm as opposed to cosy, missing any attention to detail (the "Engrish" compendium being a case in point). The staff were friendly and the restaurant meals satisfactory, although the "changed daily" menu didn't change so on New Years Eve we ate the dishes we'd rejected the night before (there were only 4 mains on the menu). We couldn't help but feel disappointed and cut short our stay to two nights.
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The cone of Mt. Taranaki
On New Years Eve we decided to try for Fantham's Peak, the secondary cone, said to be a 5-hour return tramp part way up the Summit Track that didn't require any special equipment such as crampons. The well-formed path (credit to DOC) ran first through rain forest and as we ascended the slope the vegetation changed into scrub, then low bushes, before becoming grass and finally scree. At this point, beside the first snow marker, we turned around. The weather had rapidly closed in (the next snow marker was barely visible) and we felt it unwise to continue. We took the short loop walk to Dawson Falls and decided to rest and read for the remainder of the afternoon. It was nice to come off the cool and damp mountain to a warm (if low pressure) shower, so location would be the Lodge's biggest draw. The Lodge has its own hydroelectric generator.
On New Years Eve we had no view of the mountain. No cone, no moon, no stars. As we stood on the DOC lookout tower we could see probably less than 200m in any direction as the platform was immersed in low cloud/ mist. The previous evening we had been given a clear (but chilly) view out to the coast, and to the twinkling lights both far inland and in the heavens above. Simone reflected that life is like photography: you have to take advantage of opportunities in the present. That seemed a fitting New Year resolution!
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Mountain and Moon
We didn't wait up for the stroke of midnight; it was very quiet on the mountain. On New Years Day our calves felt sore and stiff, leading us to a firm conclusion:
The only kind of preparation you can do for walking up a volcano is to walk up a volcano.
The treadmill at the gym doesn't prepare you for a relentless climb; a glance at Taranaki's profile will tell you why. We thought we'd give our legs a break and drive along the coast to New Plymouth. We stopped to overlook Opunake Beach at Rahotu on the Surf Highway (SH 45), but the real discovery was made by following a sign that said merely "Surf beach 3km". It probably had a name, but it was off the beaten track and we left the car when the tarmac ran out to reach it on foot. The wide base of Taranaki was visible in the distance behind us, and the sandy track in front was dotted with flowers pink, white and yellow, with countless "bunny tails" (dune grass) and flax bushes covering the sand-hills. As we crested the dunes the waves crashed in noisily from the Tasman Sea and the wind brought the beach to life as sand was whipped off one ridge and scuttled across the beach to find another.
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Wild Taranaki beach
Next came Oakura Beach where a beach carnival was being held, and we ate lunch from a stall while the Miss Taranaki contestants were entertaining the small crowd. New Plymouth, despite its 45m high Wind Wand, failed to significantly interest us. Mount Taranaki had still not emerged from under its blanket of cloud, and we decided to return via the inland route to Wellington.
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