Scenic Highlights

Top Taranaki scenic highlights

The Taranaki region has three distinct landscapes - the mountain and its associated forest, the surf-fringed coast and the tranquil rural pastureland in between.

Selected highlights at a glance

The singular beauty of Egmont National Park

In a country where mountains generally hang together in groups, Mount Taranaki stands alone. It looks like someone has pinched the fertile plains between thumb and forefinger to create a near-perfect 2518 metre cone. For local Maori, who arrived about 120 thousand years after the mountain's eruptive birth, it remains sacred.

Visitors to Taranaki's biggest playground need to remember that, despite its tranquil appearance, the mountain is a wild place. Don't be tempted to wander off on a hot summer day in just a pair of shorts and tee shirt, because this national park can get dangerously cold, very quickly.

From Dawson Falls (850 metres above sea level), there's a maze of walks on offer. Perhaps the most popular is to Wilkies Pools, a series of eroded rock pools connected with gentle waterfalls. East Egmont offers the Manganui ski field as well as the short Kamahi walk through the Goblin Forest, with branches bearded in grey-green moss. Lucy's Gully is a fabulous picnic area surrounded by gigantic redwoods.

To throw in another challenge, walking from Taranaki's coast to the mountain's summit is, botanically speaking, the equivalent of hiking from the Kermadec Islands (1000 kilometres northeast of Auckland) to Scott Base in Antarctica.

The summit of Mount Taranaki is climbed dozens of times every year, and a local mountaineering club holds an annual summit climb.

The alternative heritage trail

The Forgotten World Highway (otherwise known as State Highway 43) is one of the most remote and exhilarating road expeditions in New Zealand. Fill up the gas tank before you leave, as there's no fuel over its 150 kilometre length.

When this area was settled in the late 19th century, horses were the only mode of transport capable of crossing the steep and muddy terrain.

As you drive over the rugged hills, you'll begin to understand why it took a packhorse four days to reach Whangamomona, the midway point. First settled in 1895, Whangamomona is a surviving rural community where you can still have a true country experience at the local pub. The one-way, 180 metre Moki Tunnel at the western end of the Tangarakau Gorge is a highlight of the journey.

The Forgotten World Highway is an interesting alternate route if you are driving south from Auckland or north from Wellington. It's also a great day trip from Stratford.

Catch a wave on the Surf Highway

Taranaki's spherical coast collects 180 degrees of all possible swells, so it offers New Zealand's most consistent surf. For this reason, the 105 kilometre State Highway 45 that hugs this coast is also known as the Surf Highway. But the Surf Highway isn't just surf. At Lucy's Gully, near Oakura, the Egmont National Park is right next to the main road providing access to the park's 300 kilometre track network.

At Oaonui you can find out about Taranaki's $2 billion energy industry at the Maui Production Station Visitor Centre. In the evening, a glimmer of flame out at sea indicates the position of the Maui rig. Just up the road is the Egmont Lighthouse (turn off at Cape Road), which has been protecting ships since 1881. It's often photographed with Mount Taranaki in the background.

When history becomes scenery

Historic sites related to early Maori settlement and the Taranaki Land Wars, fought between 1859 and 1881, are scattered throughout the region.
In the town of Manaia, a walkway takes you through the golf course and past the historic redoubt, which features blockhouses built in 1880 by the Armed Constabulary.

At Manukorihi Pa in Waitara stands a memorial to Sir Maui Pomare (1876 - 1930), a Maori leader who did much to restore the fortunes of his people after the land wars. Pomare is likened to the legendary Maui, because he 'fished' compensation for the land from a sea of sorrow.

The small settlement of Parihaka, nestled quietly in the rural countryside, is a site of immense historical and cultural importance. In the 1870s it was the largest Maori village in the region - the home to Te Whiti and Tohu, who actively encouraged Maori to passively protest the confiscation of their land and resist colonisation. In 1881, Parihaka the scene of one of the most lamentable infringements of civil rights ever witnessed in New Zealand. Te Whiti and Tohu were arrested and Parihaka was sacked by government troops. The people of Parihaka were the first in the world to practice passive resistance.

Pukearuhu, 7 kilometres north of Urenui, is one of the great pa of Ngati Tama. Dramatically located above the coastal cliffs, the pa site is under the care of the Department of Conservation.

Koru pa, near Oakura, is memorable for its stone works, clear terracing, ancient paths and deep ditches. The pa was the centre of power for the Nga Mahanga a Tairi hapu of the Taranaki tribe.

6 kilometres north of Tongaporutu on State Highway 3, it's possible to see the remains of the most spectacular of all Taranaki pa - Te Kawau. This stronghold occupied the flat top of an islet, and was accessible only at low tide. These days the site is a burial ground - visitors shouldn't attempt to access the pa.