Otaki - Sth Crossing - Tararua Peaks "Circuit"

Coming from Maungahaka Hut, would this be a climb up or down? Climb up Is the ladder firmly attached to the cliff and does it sway in the wind? Bolted to the rock face, the hardest bit is probably above the ladder, DOC may have put the wire rope that was in place best to contact them- www.doc.govt.nz How dangerous is it really? I've heard stories :-) As above but it is much safer than a couple other places where ladders or ropes where not in place! Any other hints/tips for the whole tramp and particularly the Tararua peaks section would be appreciated. If you are confident with navigation then there is nothing much in place to stop you. Make sure that you take plently of warm clothing. Most of the tops tracks are worn ruts on the top of the moutain side but make sure you don't stray off the ridge. On the Southern Crossing their is a spur called False Spur, make sure you don't go down this! Apparently Pakihore Ridge might be hard to find might be best to contact DOC on its condition as alot tracks have got snowfall damage I don't know if this is the same for the Tararuas and this track is not very much used. Safe travels!

1/ I would bypass marchant ridge quite boring and not on my list of things to do again. Head straight down to Tutuwai. then up river to cone hut. 2/ The southern crossing is easy in clear weather but as others have found out as late as this year you can perish in minutes as the weather changes. Allow for the loss of a day or two as you wait for the weather to clear. 3/ If you have trouble with hiegths there will be a couple of places to test your resolve if its blowing a gale. The top of the ladder is one. 4/ From Hector to Aston over the beehives narrows to about 2metres with sloping dropoffs on both sides. Easy to navigate on a good day but add high winds and clagg and it can test your devotion especially when the clagg clears in the middle of a 100kmph gust and the view unveils. 5/ As the most experienced will tell you the tararuas is a great place to tramp as long as you dont take anything for granted.

because you may have a transport issue i would suggest leaving your vehicle at the otaki forks car park and heading to waitewaewae hut,then up to anderson memorial,maungahuka,fields and back down to the forks. youll still have to get up the chain ladder but id be more concerned about the wx. happy trails

Catching a train and a taxi at both sides is a great option one wellingtonians have been doing for years not as expensive as you would think just means organiseing yourself a little more. Call and organise a taxi pick up from the tops before you descend into the forks though.

Hmm That is a pretty serious trip you are planning there. The Tararuas is tough terrain. As bigpaul points out, two people died on the southern crossing as recently as this year, apparently unable to find Kime Hut so in answer to one of your questions it is certainly possible to lose the track (admittedly less likely to happen when no snow around). The wind near Tararua Peaks - or anywhere on the tops in the Tararuas - can be very serious. The tops are colder than might be thought given their height - something to do with proximity to the sea I'd say. Plus walking is often very slow, compared to tracks that are smoother. Don't assume that because it's close to Wellington it's all easy going. I kind of lose count , but your proposed route involves several times going from the valley to the tops and down again. Your legs will know all about this 800m+ of height gain or loss on difficult track. If you plan on 3 such height changes (eg up - down - up) in a day be prepared for a shock. The ladder itself at Tararua Peaks is not a big deal (if you have a dog it can be awkward - some people put the dog in the pack for this bit!). More likely to scare someone is at the top where there is a cable to hold onto and a bit of exposed scrambling. Shouldn't really be an issue but if the weather is coming in might be awkward. Then, 20-30 minutes later in the direction you're going, there's an awkward downwards rock step. I've had a person (experienced tramper - eg Annapurna circuit in Nepal, Routeburn and many other walks in NZ solo, etc) freaked out by the combination of wind, rain, exposure and scrambling on rock, hyperventilating on the side of the track in the Tararua Peaks and needing to be very carefully led out of that area. It's not as bad as all that - it's a walk right, not a mountaineering trip - but the combination of things can be unnerving, particularly when the wind gets going and going and never stops... So, basically I would warn against your route for someone who has "done a couple of multiday tramps" like your daughter. She may never go outdoors again. Much better to do the southern crossing as per the text book (already a fantastic walk, challenging enough, several days shorter and hence less likely to be trapped ) and pay for the taxi. Do the longer trip when you're very confident in yourself and the team. PE

Pretty much what i was thinking when i read the request well put. Its not really an out for a jaunt type of place. Im going over part of this in january and leaving myself a couple of days extra just in case