Middle Crossing of the Tararua's
- 3 – 5 days one way
- Medium
Climbing through beach Forest, Open tops, steep Descents followed by steep climbs, river valleys, great huts. An alpine experience with all the thrills good and bad weather can provide.
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Walking time
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3 – 5 days
22 hr – 25 hr
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Distance
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50.0km |
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Type
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One way
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Grade
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Medium
Allow an extra day in your planning once on the Tararua main range the weather can play a delaying factor Grades explained
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Bookings
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No bookings — open access
No — open access
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Starts
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Mount Holdsworth Road |
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Ends
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Otaki Forks |
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Maps
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NZTopo50-BP33
NZTopo50-BP34 |
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Altitude
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300m
–
1,470m
Altitude change 1,170m
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Mount Holdsworth Rd carpark via Gentle Annie to Powell Hut 4 hrs and about 1000 mtr climb.
Powell Hut to Mid Waiohine hut via Mount Holdsworth and Isabelle 4 hrs and a knee jarring 1 in 2 1000mtr descent.
Mid Waiohine hut to Aokaparangi 3 to 4 hrs and another 1000mtr ascent.
Aokaparangi to Anderson Memorial Hut depending on weather between 2 and 4 hours.
Anderson Memorial to Waitewaewae hut Via junction knob 3 to 4 hours.
Waitewaewae Hut to Otaki Forks (Parawai lodge) 5 to 6 hours
This walk can be done in a Long weekend by the very fit I wondered over it in Five days in a mixture good and very bad weather.
All bush tracks are well marked. Open tops travel requires navigational skills especially in bad weather. The tararua main range can be narrow and steep complicated by high winds and driving rain in zero visibility its not for the faint hearted but if you allow an extra day or so in your thinking there are some nice huts to while away the waiting time for the worst of the weather to pass. Once committed to the main range there are few escape routes