Since coming to New Zealand I have really only completed one hike: The Tongariro Crossing in Tongariro National Park. I’ve been walking around Wellington, Snowboarding, Surfing, Paddle Boarding, Skydiving, Mountain Biking and Roller Skating, but not really completed any real hiking. I thought that this needed to be changed, so when James and his housemate wanted to go hiking over the Queen’s Birthday weekend, I wanted to go too.
First plans were scrapped when we decided that it would cost too much to go over to the South Island for a hike; you have to add in the costs of the ferry over to the south island as well as getting back, the water taxi to get us to the starting point and accommodation…it all adds up.
Next we though Rivendell might be nice, but that’s not long enough; it’s a detour from a larger hike.
Finally we decided upon Mt. Holdsworth; not too far away, long enough to do over a few days, probably not that hard as I know a lot of people from work that have done it recently.
So we were decided: Mt. Holdsworth it was!
James’s housemate bought along two friends, so we were very multicultural: One Brit, and Irishman, a Chilean, an Argentinian and a Pole…sounds like the start of a joke.
We decided to go Sunday through to Monday; beginning on Sunday at the Holdsworth Lodge and walking first to Powell Hut then up to Jumbo Hut. Then, on Monday, getting up and walking from Jumbo Hut, past Atiwhakatu Hut and back down to the Holdsworth Lodge.
Starting from the Holdsworth Lodge at 10.30am on Sunday, we set off along the gravel track and over the Atiwhakatu Stream towards the Gentle Annie track. The first part of the hike, along the Gentle Annie track and up to the Mountain House Shelter, was fairly pleasant; it’s well maintained and climbs gently and offers a few really great lookout spots for photos and stopping. Once we’d passed the Mountain House Shelter, however, the track began to climb steeply through dense bush and there were a LOT of steps! I wasn’t really struggling, but I was getting tired pretty quickly. James and I were on a par with each other and I think we were both glad that we were at a similar hiking level as the others were generally faster with bigger strides!
We eventually got to Powell Hut ready for lunch. It was a simple hut with a lot of space for sleeping and a really great view. There were benches for eating at and cookers for the meals. It sleeps probably 26 people down one end of the hut and had a little balcony area for chilling out on. We didn’t stop long, as we did have to get to Jumbo Hut for sleeping, but it was nice to stop and eat!
From Powell Hut the hike was fairly easy and flat to start with; it runs all along a ridge and up towards the top of Mt. Holdsworth. From the top we then followed an exposed ridge and descended back into the bush to get to Jumbo Hut. Parts of the hike were a little hair raising, especially the parts where you are clambering hand over foot – more rock climbing than hiking – but it was very good fun.
As the sun started to go down and the mist rolled in we were heading down towards Jumbo Hut; we could see it in the distance but it was still quite far away as we began to slide all over the place on the icy pathway.
Eventually though we got to the Hut and warmed ourselves up with an epic Spaghetti Bolognese (that we’d made earlier in the week) and tea. It was actually a really easy cook. I had thought that it was going to be crazy trying to cook dinner in a hut on camping stoves, but they were really good.
The hut itself sleeps about 20 people and has a little area for cooking and a wood burning heater for warmth. It was full of people and had a lively buzz and was lovely and warm!
In the morning, once we’d cleared up and readied ourselves for the day, we began the slow descent to the Holdsworth Lodge. I think all of us thought that it would be an easy day, however, that was far from the truth! The track starts fairly flat and then moves into a really steep sort of ‘Goblin Forest’, it’s seriously like something from Lord of the Rings. There were trees and roots and it looked so green.
It took AGES to get down through the Lord of the Rings set, but when we finally did, we reached the river and turned right, onto a reasonably flat track…or so we thought! The track was really well maintained, but had a lot of steep sections and downhills again.
After a few hours we finally (FINALLY) reached the Atiwhakatu Hut, it looked a lot more modern than the other huts. I think (from reading about it after the hike) that it has just been done up recently; it certainly looked posh compared to the other huts, no random remnants left over from hikers! The hut itself has no cooking facilities, just stainless steel benches to use your own cooking equipment and a wood burning heater. There is a communal area (with the benches and heater) and then three small bunk rooms of about 10 each. I thought it looked perfect for a possible GirlGuide hike…
After stopping for a short while to eat and rest for a few minutes, we set off again for the last leg of our hike. It was hard, I felt like the hike needed to end! I was tired and really hungry for something other than crisps or kitkat!
Eventually we did get to the end of the hike, choosing to sit and chill for a few mintues before heading to a cafe for some real food.
Just incase you want to do the hike yourself, here is the Elevation Profile, taken from the Department of Conservation site for the Jumbo Circuit, and the Jumbo Circuit Brochure.
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