A Journey to Mount Taranaki

Mount Taranaki, reminiscent of Japan’s Mount Fuji, sits in the Taranaki region that barely juts out into the sea on the southwest side of the North Island. Mt. Taranaki, also known as Mt. Egmont, is a graceful-looking conical volcano that rises 2500 metres to its peak from the subtropical coast. The volcano last erupted in the mid-18th century. Cloud often obscures the mountain so I feel blessed that we had spectacular views just before sunset. Taranaki means “peak clear of vegetation” and rightly so, as the top half of the mountain is clear of vegetation and, in fact, is snow-capped much of the year. The mountain (volcano) just doesn’t look that big when you are close to it, but with no other mountains around it, you can see it looming off in the distance as you visit the surrounding areas.

Driving the Forgotten World Highway from Taumarunui to Stratford on the way to Taranaki was quite the adventure. It took twice as long as we thought it would but we saw what desolate, rugged New Zealand felt like. At 150km of paved and gravel road we drove through a one-way tunnel called Hobbit’s Hole, got stuck behind an enormous herd of sheep and saw some stunning scenery along the way.

Our lodging, the Dawson Falls Mountain Lodge, was an excellent choice on the side of Mt. Taranaki. Built in 1896 and refurnished in 1982, the building retains its character as a snugly warm mountain lodge, rustic yet comfortable. Our only regret was only staying one night.

Quick Tips:

Fill up with gas/petrol when you can as stations are few and far between. Should you take the Forgotten World Highway here is nowhere to stop along the 150km route. You may want to pick up some snacks and drinks before you set off as there isn’t much along the way for, well, anything or anyone.

If you are traveling to see Taranaki/Egmont and don’t get a chance to see the mountain all day, try just before sunset or just after sunrise. There tends to be less cloud during this time affording you better opportunities to see the peak.

Best Way To Get Around:

Just like everywhere in New Zealand outside of a city, a car is the best way to get around. I cannot fathom trying to see the area without a car. We picked up our rental in Auckland when we flew in and it really was quite reasonably priced.

The Egmont National Park offers a plethora of walking trails for all levels. In order to get on the mountainside you must approach it from the east as all three of the paved roads leading to the mountainside are here. Guided walks are available, try Top Guides (www.topguides.co.nz) or Mt Taranaki Guided Tours (alpineguidesmac@xtra.co.nz).

"The Lodge with Altitude"

The Dawson Falls Mountain Lodge was built in 1896 and restored in 1982. It is at 902 metres above sea level and offers a quiet, relaxing, stress-free stay. It is situated near Dawson Falls and a Department of Conservation Visitor Centre. It is perfectly located for walks on Mt. Taranaki.

The King bed honeymoon suite is situated at the back of the lodge overlooking the mountainside and all points east. A door led out to a small shared deck area that was perfect for gazing at the stars of the southern hemisphere. My eyes had never seen the Southern Cross before this night! The entire room was done Swiss-style with wonderful carvings and hand-painted wood.

The lovely old-style freestanding bathtub didn’t live up to expectations. The "rain shower" showerhead should have been enjoyable, but it was set too low and Tom couldn’t stand underneath it. A bright pink shower curtain, going ¾ of the way around, topped off the entire showering experience. Tom came out shaking his head. "What is wrong", I said. "Have a go, you will see". By the time I was done I understood.

Much of the lodge’s heating and lighting comes from a unique hydro DC generator installed in 1934 which gains its power from the Kapuni River. There are plugs in the room on a/c power to charge batteries/computer and run a hairdryer. Because of the DC power, you can flip a switch above the bed and it warms the bed for you. I don’t know exactly how this works, but it certainly works.

The common area contained a library of information about New Zealand. The hotel itself has more history than I can condense here. Book after book lined shelves around the room and comfy furniture in cozy corners allowed you to relax and read to your heart’s content.

The hotel boasts of a sauna, plunge pool and gymnasium. We didn’t have time to partake the one night we stayed, but we went to take a look in the morning anyway. All I can say is that you shouldn’t choose this hotel because of these wonderful, modern facilities. An ancient plunge pool and sauna are located under/behind the house. We had a look just before we left (I wish I would have taken photos). Scary! And the "gym"—with ancient equipment—Ugh. It reminded me of a stationary bicycle had back in the late 70s with some free weights that have seen better days.

Overall, this is a very peaceful, quiet place to stay. The exquisite scenery can’t be beat anywhere in the area. Although there are a few downsides to the place, the ambience and character of the lodge outweigh this by far.

A lodge on the side of a mountain is a bit remote. It doesn’t leave many options when you want dinner. When reserving a room at the Dawson Falls Mountain Lodge I included dinner as part of the rate. The meal turned out to be better than I expected even though I wasn’t feeling great that evening. My body still wasn’t adjusting to the jetlag and I just didn’t feel hungry in the evenings.

Just off of the lodge’s common area is a small dining room with a variety of larger and smaller tables to accommodate groups of many sizes. Another couple had already been seated when we arrived for dinner. We chose our dinner from the table d’hôte three-course set menu. The menu was limited, but this is understandable being a small lodge and not having a full house every night.

We started off with a bottle of Saint’s Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough region of the South Island. Tom and I both ordered the same meals: mushroom vol-au-vent followed by crumbed chicken with vegetables and an ice cream sundae for dessert. The starter was especially remarkable. The flaky pastry and creamy mushrooms were out of this world. I managed to eat the entire starter but only a few bites of the rest. Tom finished all of his and loved it all.

The entire operation seemed to be managed by only two people—one in the kitchen and one out in the dining area. The setting was intimate enough that I felt like I was comfortably seated in some one's home rather than in a restaurant. The woman serving us wasn’t overly friendly or talkative, but not unpleasant either. The dining area was quiet and dimly lit with a candle burning on the table. The other couple sat quietly across the room and finished rather quickly before retiring back to their room.

The restaurant had the same ambient feeling as the rest of the lodge. I imagined hiking around the park on a cold, snowy July, returning to the lodge with a roaring fire and relaxing until it was time for dinner in the restaurant. A hearty meal finishes off your day and you return to your room for the night…

Meal options

Starters:
Curried Kumara Soup
Farmhouse Vegetable Soup
Mushroom Vol au Vent

Freshly Baked Tomato Pesto Bread

Mains:
Blue Cod with Citrus Sauce
Crumbed Chicken Breast with Spicy Apricot Sauce (our choice)
Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding (isn’t it ironic that we live in Yorkshire and traveled to NZ to have this on the menu?)

All Mains served with Roast Potato, Roast Pumpkin and Seasonal Vegetables

Desserts:
Ice Cream Sundae
Apple and Prune Shortcake
Rhubarb Tart
Sticky Date Pudding

Desserts served with (Whipped) Cream and Ice Cream

Overall, our dinner was excellent. I highly recommend you take dinner with your bed and breakfast should you book yourself into the Dawson Falls Mountain Lodge.

Located just on the edge of the village of Taumarunui, The Flax Restaurant was the perfect start to our journey to Taranaki. Our day would be spent driving the remote Forgotten World Highway that begins at Taumarunui. It was a crisp autumn day and our spirits were high.

The Flax sits on a corner, set back from the main road, although you can’t miss it. It is a black, wooden building with windows and a canopy across the front with a large terrace for eating outdoors. We sat outside on the terrace in the brilliant sunny weather. Since we had an early breakfast and wouldn’t have dinner until late we decided to have a big lunch. It turned out to be a much bigger lunch than anticipated.

The diverse menu made it hard to choose anything. They offered a variety of soups, salads and sandwiches. They change their menu every 6 to 8 weeks and you can check their website for a current menu. Vegetarians may have a hard time eating here as nearly everything offered was meat –based. That said, at least one item from each area of the menu was meat-free. All meals were reasonably-priced and of a good proportion (although we didn’t realize how much a shared bowl of hearty soup would fill us).

Tom and I ordered a few items to share:
Homemade kumara and pumpkin soup with crusty bread, smoked chicken and mango salad and an open-faced pan fried steak and onion sandwich. Chocolate malts topped off this scrumptious meal.

Kumara is found all over New Zealand, especially this time of year. Ever heard of kumara? I hadn’t, but quickly realized that it is a sweet potato or yam. Kumara just happens to be the Māori word for it.

The entire meal presentation exuded class. Dishes were colourful and fresh and in the right proportion—not too big and not too small. The service was spot-on—friendly, prompt, quick—no complaints whatsoever. I would definitely go back to eat here.

Hours:
Wednesday to Sunday 9am-9pm-ish
Tuesday 9am-3pm
Closed Mondays

The Forgotten World Highway, or Highway 43, winds its way along a 150km stretch of road not for the faint-hearted. It is only partially paved as it was built on a colonial bridle path formed in the late 19th century. The road runs between Taumarunui and Stratford with nothing but remote New Zealand in between. It is a bit mysterious, a bit rugged, even a bit lonely, but it offers some interesting and strange surprises along the way.

Here is a great website offering points of interest along the way. It also gives information on gas stations, accommodation, places to eat, toilets and other miscellaneous information.

There are many reasons to choose this route: history, scenery, remote New Zealand. Above all else, it will be a journey to reflect on what it must have been like trying to tame this land and make a living out of the nothingness you will find. If you find yourself with some clear weather you may be able to see Mt. Taranaki or the three volcanoes of Tongariro National Park.

After our wonderfully filling lunch at The Flax Restaurant in Taumarunui we filled up the car and started our adventure on the Forgotten World Highway, also sometimes referred to as the Lost World Highway. It is estimated that it will take between 2.5 to 3.5 hours to drive the trail from beginning to end. If you plan on spending any time stopping to see sites along the way make sure to allow yourself some extra time. Along the way you will find the standard green and yellow Department of Conservation signs that point out the things to see and do.

The first sights as we head out onto Highway 43 are the green carpeted hills terraced by grazing animals. The velvety green hills look soft enough to run your hand over them. Sheep and cattle graze along the terraces. This is also where your roller-coaster ride begins. During the course of this journey you will travel over four mountain saddles which make for a hilly and curvy drive.

Our next stop was Nevin’s Lookout where you will have panoramic views of the King Country and the Central North Mountains if the weather is clear.

From here we followed the Tangarakau Gorge which appears to be mostly forests of ferns and palm trees.

The road narrows here and narrow bridges give way to 12 km of dirt tracks once you enter the Stratford District. These roads turned out to be quite the adventure. Single-track, but relatively wide, dirt track and one-lane bridges brought us through steep gorges with abundant lush and verdant vegetation. Actually, it is how I imagined the jungles of South America to look only more temperate. It is along this road that we encountered the short " Moki Tunnel", or " Hobbit’s Hole". It is a very unusual, very narrow (2.5 metres?) but very tall (4.5 metres) and has a wooden shored ceiling in truss fashion. Originally dug through in 1936, the tunnel floor was lowered in 1985 to allow for triple-decked stock vehicles to pass.

Once through the tunnel we came upon a huge herd of sheep being moved down the road. There were hundreds of sheep going every which way and we had no chance of getting around them. In no time at all we got down to the pasture they were being moved to so we were able to get on our way again. This was something we got used to seeing here in New Zealand as we traveled more and more—hundreds of sheep, a few sheep dogs and a shepherd on an ATV bringing up the rear.

It had been just over two hours since we departed Taumarunui. With quite a distance left to go, we had to forego some of the rest of the scenery along the way. We wanted to make it to Mount Taranaki in enough time to see the sunset.

The next interesting thing along the way was actually a settlement called Whangamomona, or the Republic of Whangamomona, as it is sometimes referred. This town was established in 1895 and the ‘republic’ established in 1989 when administrative lines were going to be redrawn. Town members protested and declared it a republic. In all seriousness it is more of a joke than anything, but they have a ‘Republic Day’ every year to celebrate and choose a new president. To tell you how serious they are, one year they chose a goat to be president. People arrive in droves from all over the islands to help this tiny town celebrate. The population hovers close to the 40 on the sign as you enter town. There is a café and accommodation here should you decide to stay here and enjoy the peace and quiet of nothingness.

Another 35 minutes on and through the town of Stratford we were lucky enough to find the clouds lifting from Mount Taranaki. Tom and I took the East Egmont Road to the skifield while the clouds slowly lifted away. This area is completely covered in a variegated palate of colour—trees and plants and little wrens fluttering about. We waited for the clouds to lift. Slowly you could see further and further east across the landscape. Since this road doesn’t join up with one of the other two mountain roads, Tom and I headed back down towards Stratford to find a vantage point. We were rewarded with excellent views of Mount Taranaki’s snow-capped peak and green-carpeted base. We were happy to just be able to see the peak. Twice now the Matterhorn in Switzerland has eluded us and we didn’t want it to happen here, too!

Although the Forgotten World Highway intrigued us and gave us charming and remote views of New Zealand, I don’t think I would go out of my way to do this drive again. The dirt/gravel roads, one-lane travel, hills and curves got to be a bit daunting after a couple of hours. We looked forward to a real highway the following day as we ventured down to Wellington.