Pouakai Hut via Mangorei Track is a 8.6 mile out and back trail located near New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand that features beautiful wild flowers and is rated as moderate. The trail is primarily used for hiking, walking, camping, and backpacking.
Easy trail with steps the whole way. Goes through the forest for 90% of the way so no mountain views until the end. However, the view at the end is amazing, especially if you go a little past the hut to the tarns. https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/taranaki/places/egmont-national-park/things-to-do/tracks/pouakai-range-tramping-tracks/
A great way to spend a day. We know we worked hard! Don’t bother using walking sticks, they get stuck in the boardwalk.
Impressive wooden boardwalk/steps pretty much the whole way to the hut. Beautiful prehistoric jungle fauna but pretty enclosed most of the way. Hut was a great place to warm up and have a small snack before heading on to the tarn. Too cloudy to see anything but still probably worth it. Weather changes fast. 10 and 7 year old crushed the hike in but were pretty grumpy around mile 7 heading out.
Trail is covered 90% of the way which is quite boring.. but great maintainable of track with boardwalk all the way. it’s great when it opens out. I have below/ average fitness took 1h50m up and 1h45m down. Went on a fine day but even so the mountain was slightly covered. Spare some time to hang about for it to clear if you can. Take your lunch up! Trip from hut to tarns is about 10mins. We got lucky with the reflection at the tarn.
The trail itself is nothing spectacular, wooden steps all the way up, moderate fitness required Couple of vistas on the way The rewards are phenominal on a clear day Seeing Taranaki is VERY weather dependent, catching at sunrise/sunset spectacular but clouds create a real issue for those seeking the elusive mountain views often Check weather reports and enjoy Hut is a great overnight stay
1h50 de monté seul 2h05 avec ma copine Nous avons 24/22 ans, en bonne condition physique sans être des athlètes de haut niveau 90% de la rando se fait sous les arbres On aperçoit le Mt Taranaki que sur le dernier 1/4 d'heure et la légère descente vers le Tarn. Plutôt physique avec les escaliers mais rien d'insurmontable, surtout au vu de la récompense ! la vue est magique, il s'agit même de la couverture de guide de Lonely Planet ! Incroyable, prenez le temps pour prendre vos photos, d'autres touristes seront présents et il faut attendre quelques minutes avant d'avoir son tour ! Immanquable en Nouvelle Zélande
Awesome Hike easy track and wicked views, even on a cloudy day it was well worth the effort
fab hike! good choice if you want to see the mountain but don't want to wall 8 hours. It was an amazing view! little bit of water on the steps but not too much !
Randonnée faite en 4h, magnifique vue malgré un "lac" très peu fournie.
Superbe balade, dommage nous n’avons rien vu à part des nuages
Full write-up here https://paulcpeh.wixsite.com/mysite/post/mangorei-track-to-pouakai-tarn-new-plymouth-nz Took us slightly over 4.5 hrs ( half hour of stop at tarn) round trip for this hike all the way to the tarn, passing the hut, and back to parking lot.
The mountain suddenly made an appearance through the fog, lasted maybe 10 minutes, then gone again, but it was a spectacular sight!
Went to the reflection pool, but the view was cloudy. Try again tomorrow!