Northern Tararua Tracks
Tararua Forest Park
- 30 min – 8 hr loop track
- Medium
A number of little known tracks and routes exist in the northern Tararuas between Punga Hut and the South Range Road. This seems a good place to collect them ...
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Walking time
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1 day
30 min – 8 hr
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Type
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Loop track
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Grade
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Medium
A range of grades from walking tracks (Sledge Track) to bush-bashing marked routes. 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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Kahutawere Roadend or Scotts Roadend |
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Maps
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NZTopo50-BN34
NZTopo50-BM34 |
I've been nosing around this areas in an attempt to join the dots between Punga Hut and South Range Road on my 'total tararua traverse'. I've yet to find a viable (viable with a full tramping pack and skin on legs intact) route right through, but have found a good network of shorter tracks which can be combined into interesting day loops.
Most of this area is owned by Palmerston North City Council, all of who's land is open to the public except the water catchment area north-west of South Ridge Rd.
The area is covered by mostly regenerating bush, with leatherwood on the tops over 700m. As such, access onto the high summits is only possible were cut tracks exist: Sledge Track, Arawaru Track and Punga Hut Track Elsewhere, the bush is generally navigable and opportunities exist for other routes off the tracks listed here. Additionally, various bait-station lines exist in the catchment - and other tracks connecting them wait to be discovered and documented.
Sledge Track
Quartz Creek Track
Arawaru Summit Track
Ridgeline Track
Middle Hill Track
Point 600 Track
Punga Hut Track
Back Road
Zigzag Track
(details of tracks and GPS logs coming as work allows ...)