Valleys, Routes, and Crossings
Peaks in the Tararua Ranges over 1,500 metres
Mitre | 1,571m | |
Girdlestone | 1,546m | |
Peggy's Peak | 1,545m | |
McGregor | 1,540m | |
Brockett | 1,538m | |
Bannister | 1,537m | (and several knobs over 1,500m) |
North King | 1,535m | |
South King | 1,531m | |
Hector | 1,529m | |
Mid King | 1,521m | |
Angle Knob | 1,510m | |
Arete | 1,505m | |
Lancaster | 1,504m | |
Dundas | 1,500m | (1,499m depending upon map edition!) |
Logan | 1,500m | |
(plus a few more without individual names.) |
Pain scale 1 - 5
- You only notice the discomfort when you look for it.
- Experience light inconvenience to usual activities. e.g. muscle strain.
- Substantial pain. Significant interference with activities. e.g. wounded muscle, sprained wrist.
- Very significant pain. Makes normal activities very difficult or impossible. e.g. sprained ankle, serious wound.
- Extreme pain - makes you unconscious. e.g.
Further reading
Trampers commonly enrich their experience of the hills with complementary pursuits. Photography is the most common. I have not sufficient experience to recommend a guide, but Rundle and MacLean below show results of the masters. The careful union of angle, composition, lighting, and exposure; with of course opportunity and experience; go to shape these masterpieces. Digital cameras now widen the scope of equipment.
Other subjects that may extend our interest, range from the technical, such as botany, geology and zoology; to the artistic endeavours, such as poetry, painting and history (and gastronomy?).
A micro selection of books follows. These will be found in good libraries.
History and general
G. L. Adkin | Horowhenua | orig. Dep. Int. Affairs 1948, now | Capper reprint. |
B. D. A. Greig | Tararua Story | silver jubilee publication of the | Tararua Tramping Club, 1946. |
Ross Kerr | A Chronology of the Tararua and Remutaka Ranges | self pub. Box 540 Levin. 2006. | |
Chris MacLean | Tararua – The Story of a Mountain Range | Whitcombe Press, 1994 (has an extensive bibliography). | |
John Rundle | The Tararua Book | Millwood Press, 1981. | |
Various | Traversing the Tararuas S - K | Wellington T & M Club, PO Box 5068 Wellington. | |
Shaun Barnett & Chris MacLean | Leading the Way | centennial jubilee publication of the | Tararua Tramping Club, 2019. |
Geology
Graeme Stevens | A Tramper’s Geology of the Tararuas | DSIR Geological Survey, 1974 (an easily read account). |
Graeme Stevens | Rugged Landscape | Reed, 1974 (covers the Wellington region in general). |
Hamish Campbell & Gerard Hutching | In Search of Ancient New Zealand | Penguin & GNS, 2007. |
Natural Science
George Gibbs | Ghosts of Gondwana. The History of Life in New Zealand | Craig Potton, 2006 |
John Salmon | Collins Guide to the Alpine Plants of New Zealand | Collins, 1985 (great photographs). |
Hugh Wilson | Stewart Island Plants | Field Guide Publications 1982 (excellent drawings and a simple great identification key). |
Route guides
J. N. Jennings | Tararua Forest Park Route Guide | Compiled for the NZ Forest Service, GPO 1963 |
Jonathan Kennett | Tararua Adventure Guide | Kennett Brothers, 2010 |
Park maps
NZMS 274 | Tararua State Forest Park Hunting and recreation guide | 1st edition 1977 | 1:100,000 |
Tararua Tramps, NewTopo Ltd | Edition 1, 2005 | 1:75,000 | |
NZMS 274/2 | Tararua State Forest Park Guide to | Edition 3, 1983 | 1:100,000 |
274-02 | Parkmap Tararua | Edition 6, 1977 | 1:100000 |
Topo maps
NZMS 1 | 1:63,360 | Topo50 |
---|---|---|
N161 Rimutaka | Edition 3, 1974 | BP33 Featherston |
N157 Ōtaki | Edition 4, 1973 | BP34 Masterton |
N158 Masterton | Edition 3, 1973 | BN33 Levin |
N152 Levin | Edition 4, 1973 | BN34 Shannon |
N153 Eketahuna | Edition 3, 1972 | BM35 Woodwille |
Department of Conservation
The Tararua Ranges are in the Wellington Hawke's Bay Conservancy. See DoC's local offices for current details.
For damage, hazards, and conservation emergencies telephone: 0800 DOCHOTline (0800 362 468)
Clubs and contacts
Several outdoors clubs use the Tararuas as a major activity area. Many of these run instruction courses and offer a safe introduction to the ranges and speedy knowledge of their complexities. Up-to-date details of local organisations, their meeting places and times, web addresses etc, can be found on the Federated Mountain Clubs website and the TTC Wellington Tramping Clubs links.
Other groups complement the outdoors landscape with companion interests, such as orienteerers, deerstalkers, kayak, Forest and Bird, mountain bikers(approve sites), cavers and caving, etc, and can be contacted through DoC, the www. web, or the Civic Centre Information Offices of your local town.
See also outdoors and environmental links.
Wellington Mountain Radio Service
See safety links.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License.