Pouakai Tarns Hiking and Camping
After seeing so many pictures of Mt. Taranaki, we decided to hike up ourselves in January 2023. Here is all the information we think you should know before you make your way up to these views!
Pouakai Tarns Hike
The Pouakai Tarns is located in Egmont National Park and gives an insane view over Mt. Taranaki. The reflection of the mountain in the tarn is what brings so many people to this location. There are multiple routes up to the Pouakai Tarns but the route we decieded to take is the Pouakai Tarns via Mangorei Track and Pouakai Hut, which can be found on the All Trails application. It is an out and back trail of just over 12km (6km each way) and does take you all the way to the tarn. The total hike can take approximately 4-6 hours, but due to the elevation (approximately 780m) the way up will take longer than the way down.
The hike starts from the parking lot which can be found on Mangorei Road. We easily found a parking spot for overnight parking, which could accomodate our SUV and rooftop tent (and has spaces for campervans too). At the beginning of the trailhead there are some trash disposals and toilets. The hike consists of a boardwalk almost the entire way to the tarns (with many stairs) and is very well maintained. The majority of the hike is in the forest (lots of cover from the sun on those hot days!), and once you get closer to the finish line you start to see some views of the town below, the ocean, and ofcourse Mt. Taranaki.
As we were staying overnight, we left late afternoon for the hike, so we didnt run in to too many people, but it wasnt an empty trail either. Just over 5kms into the hike, you will reach the Pouakai Hut and then the Pouakai Tarns will be about 1km further.
Staying At The Tarns
There are a few options of where to stay overnight near the tarns.
(1) The Pouakai Hut: you can reserve the hut which is approximately 1km (with some stairs involved!) away from the tarn. It is a great location for the looking to stay until sunset / get up early for sunrise whilst protecting themselves from the weather overnight! Although you are close to the tarn, you will not have a view of the tarn or the Mt. Taranaki from the hut itself, but the views over the forest are still amazing. If you want to book the hut, I would recommend booking WELL in advance, we looked into booking the hut two months in advance for January timeframe and it was already booked up. There is a toilet facility (outhouse style) right beside the hut for use.
(2) Camping: the ‘campsite’ is not necessarily a campsite but a clearing in the area between the Pouakai Hut and the Pouakai Tarn, and you are not allowed to camp in any other area than this clearing. The rules / indicated zones for camping are a bit unclear, but we did call DOC in advance (as we had booked a different hut in the vicinity but wanted to camp instead), and they indicated we could exchange our hut places to camp at the tarns. The clearing is very obvious as you continue from the hut onwards to the tarn, and it will tell you that camping any further than from the clearing itself is not permitted. There is no method to ‘reserve’ a campsite here online (that we are aware of), so I would give the DOC (see link below for contact information) a call to confirm that it is still allowed to camp here, if reservations are available, and the costs.
The downsides to camping here are that there is really no protection from any weather, and you will have to walk down to the hut to use their washroom facilities. The obvious upside is that you can fall asleep and wake up to these views of Mt. Taranaki.
Our Experience
This was probably our favourite hike during our time in New Zealand as we do not get these views often. The weather when we were on the North Island of New Zealand was SO hit and miss for us, but we got lucky(ish) with this hike. The cloud cover for almost the entirety of our hike covered the entire sky, but for about two hours in the evening the clouds cleared up to give us the insane views you see above of. Mt. Taranaki – a view that shouldnt be missed! However, camping in the cleared area left us exposed to the weather and the extreme wind kept us up the majority of the night. I would recommend checking the weather conditions before doing this hike as you really want to hike on a day with no cloud cover, and if you are camping you are going to want to be prepared for the conditions!
If you are not able to get a reservation in the hut or are not able to camp, you could do this hike easily as a day hike and to make the views even more spectacular, as a sunset or sunrise hike. The hike is very well marked, and if you also use an application like All Trails to guide your hike, you will easily be able to find your way in the dark (just make sure you have the proper equipment!).
Links To More Information
EGMONT NATIONAL PARK // POUAKAI HUT // DOC WEBSITE – a link to the DOC website which lists the Pouakai Hut and even lists the weather and the trail heads you can take to access the hut. The also have the contact information for the Egmont National Park Visitor Centre (including the phone number).
