The Other Mt Hikurangi

Once you have found your way to the farm and parked, head on up the driveway that heads around the left-hand side of the house. Then as the drive swings left to head up to the other house, look to your right for a gate. Head through the gate and immediately look to the fenceline to your left... and follow it.

This fenceline will take you nearly all the way to the top. Watch out you don't lean on it down the bottom though... it is electric and will be live! So slog your way up, there are gates and a couple of stiles and you can go either side of the fence. It gets tough at times but slog it out and if you need a break, then stop and take in the views! As you get towards the top, look up and try to spot the post with an electric cable. Once you have located it, head towards that. Once you reach the post you are just about to head into the bush for the final push to the top.

In the bush you are looking for the blue paint on the tree trunks, follow this route up through the bush to the trig and enjoy the views... 521m vertical in 2.9km... you have earned it! On a clear day you can see forever, including Ruapehu and Ngaruahoe. Drink it all in and then head back down. At first the blue marks are still there and reasonably evident, but they start to thin out and then disappear... so be careful, the downward trail drifts to the right and so I picked my way down and it popped out in the right spot... then it was just a case of re-tracing my way down the fenceline!