Walk Details
NZ Walking Routes > Waikato > Te Awamutu > Bell Track - Pirongia Forest Park
Bell Track - Pirongia Forest Park
- Location
- The Park is near Hamilton city, and has many access points. Some access ways cross private land. Keep to marked tracks and use stiles at fences. To protect the Te Awamutu water supply, access is not encouraged in the Mangawawa catchment.
- Description
Pirongia Forest Park is known for its most widely recognised landmark, Mt Pirongia (959 metres). The Park consists of four separate blocks of land, including Mt Karioi, close to Raglan.
Starting at the Kaniwhaniwha car park follow the Nikau Walk, past the Kaniwhaniwha Caves to the bridge just before the tallest recorded kahikatea tree, a mighty 66.5 metres high. From the bridge, you climb a spur to a series of clearings. The last clearing, signposted as the halfway point, has a small stream nearby and is a good campsite. The track becomes muddy at this point and continues along the ridge to the Cone (second highest point in the Park) and then to Pahautea Hut. It is another 30 minutes to Pirongia’s summit.
- Duration
- 20.0 hours
- Level
- Hard
- Amenities
-
- Birds
- Camping
- Carpark
- Fishing
- Huts
- Picnics
- Plant Life
- Toilets
- Tramping
- Source
- www.doc.govt.nz
- Discussion
- Start a discussion on this walk