This summit has been bugging me for some time. I mean – who needs a track right? Well on Waitangi afternoon me and Myah thought we could do it. The main spur up to the 380m line was ok – but then we turned left into some major vine material and it took us 20 minutes to make 200 metres of progress. Once we got above 400m it cleared out and we headed for the summit. This one was harder than we thought.
The photos I did manage to take didnt come out so unfortunately there is just a map with a squiggly line to show for our efforts, and 11 contacts in the log including a summit to summit with Kyle ZL2KGF on ZL1/TN-006. At the top there were a lot of mossy volcanic rocks around which made a pleasant change from leaves and dirt.
The tramp down was less viney due to the alternate path we chose however it was very easy to slip of the side of the spur (as can be seen) so a few course corrections were required.
Do not attempt this summit without good navigational aids.
Details
Summit – ZL1/WK-135 Te Tapui
Height –492 m (height gain of 330 m)
Access – 969 – 1269 Piakonui Road. There is room to park near the DoC sign. Follow the orange triangles into the bush edge. From there follow the spur to the top o fthe ridge, Turn left and head up the summit. There are pink ribbons marking out a trappers track which closely follow the route to take. Stay on the south side of the saddle to avoid the vines. Note we have turned the map landscape so North in the image is to the left.
Nominal time to summit – About a 30 minute drive from Morrinsville. 1.5 hours to the summit (if you manage to miss the vines).
Mobile and internet coverage from the summit – very patchy.
Repeater coverage – 695 is S5.
Summit Marker – None – GPS essential.
Land Access Permission – DOC Land – not required. However hunting permits may be issued so take extreem care during hunting season.