The Pinnacles

Our last stop in the Coromandel was another tramping expedition recommended to us by John's cousin Alice. In comparison to our Waikaremoana experience, this tramp was much better and much more enjoyable! It was only 3 hours one way, which was within our new self-imposed limit, though we made it up in 2 hours and 45 minutes. Before we left the parking lot we ran into another American guy who was waiting at the bottom for his friend, as they had made the tramp the day before. His name was Marcus, from Ohio, and he was a really nice guy. He was a real outdoorsy, mountaineering type, and he gave us some nice suggestions for the South Island where he had spent a lot of his time. We ended up running into his friend who we was waiting for on our walk up. His friend noticed my UNC shirt and told me he used to work at Duke! Nice guy as well (and he wasn't a true Dookie so I won't hold that against him :) ) Anywho, the tramp was much easier this time around. We left at a good hour with plenty of sunlight left and the weather was sunny but cool, which was perfect. The beginning and end portions of the tramp are relatively flat with some nice forest and ridge walking. The middle part of the tramp is a long man-made rock step trail. It was a good hike up, and we went up a lot of steps, but it still wasn't too bad. The steps were carved out from rock years ago when the area was used for logging. They carved out steps so it would be easier to get packhorses up and down. Here are some pictures of the tramp up:

 John is still amazed by the 30-foot fern trees. :)

Also along the trail were several swing bridges to cross. Some were longer than others, and while they could be a bit unnerving, it was still fun!

We got to the top with plenty of sunlight to go (around 3 p.m.) and made our way to the Pinnacles Hut. I had read online that this was the "Hilton" of DOC huts, some of which are serviced (like this one) and have a few extras, while some are just a wooden shed with beds and maybe a sink. This was probably the nicest, biggest hut we will ever stay in. It was nicer than some of the hostels! It was huge, with a big deck, a small set of stairs leading to the main landing where there were two huge bunk rooms. John and I were the only people to be staying there that night--which was nice as it meant no snorers, but I was a bit nervous about being up there all alone. No worries! There is a permanent warden (well, wardens, as they rotate every week or so) who has their own hut nearby and looks after the hut year-round. The warden when we were there was Frouk, a very nice lady who showed us around the place.

 It had these overlapping panels on the front part of the landing, just before the doors to the bunk rooms to keep the wind from blowing through and making it cold, there were solar powered lights that came on at night, the toilets had toilet paper! (something you never see), there was an outdoor shower and sink area, the kitchen was nice and big, with a big island in the middle and four separate burners, cooking utensils, eating utensils, dish soap, rags, and best of all a wood burning stove! The place kept wood and coals stocked for the stove, as well as matches. Once you got the fire going you could add the coals and the place heated right up! Also, there were several sinks around the room and once the stove got nice and hot it would heat the pipes for the sinks closest to it and you would get warm water from them! Seriously, for a tramping hut, this place was AWESOME, and John and I had it all to ourselves. 

I didn't actually take this picture, as I forgot to get a picture of the hut, but I got this from online to show how big it was!

After being shown our bunk room and putting all our stuff down (and setting up our beds in which we could double up the mattresses as we were the only ones) we set off for the 40 min hike up, and I do mean UP, to the actual Pinnacles. The Pinnacles were formed from ancient volcanoes. The magma inside eventually cooled and formed a plug on the inside of the volcano. Eventually the outside parts of the volcano eroded away over millions of years and the pinnacles are what is left. 

The path to the top of the Pinnacles was a well groomed, but very steep path, with mostly stairs and ladders, with a bit of climbing. It was a long way up.

But once you reached the top the view was absolutely beautiful. You could get a 360 view of the entire peninsula. You could see all the way to the East Coast and down into the Kauaeranga Valley. 

John and I spent a fair amount of time up there, hoping to catch the sunset. After a while, though, it got too windy and cold so we made our way down and caught the sunset on the descent. 

However, before leaving, John carved our initials into a rock at the very top as a little memento (as there was a lot of rock graffiti). 

That night I took advantage of the facilities and made myself a little shower. There were some rather large pots in the kitchen so I filled one about 3/4 full and heated it up on the burners for a while. Then I took it outside to the shower area, mixed in some of the cool water from the shower, and voila! A pretty decent, warm shower. John then made us a yummy meal and we enjoyed the warmth from the stove (and the warm water so we could wash our faces). Despite the large size of the bunk rooms, we stayed pretty warm that night in our sleeping bags. At the Black Jack lodge there was a shelf of items either left by previous guests or donated, and one was a really nice sleeping bag--the kind that could be stuffed back into a small pouch--so John decided take it and it served him well!

The next morning we were early risers (6:30 a.m.) as we had to make it down and make the 4 1/2 hour drive up to the Bay of Islands for a boat cruise! However, on the advice of the warden, we took the 10 minute walk back towards the Pinnacles onto a small ridge where you got a beautiful view of the sunrise over the ocean. It was a great way to start the morning!

After that, we made the relatively easy hike down as it was mostly descent. We were told it takes about 2-2.5 hours to make it down. We made it down in 1 hour 45 minutes! Once we got back down I took another make-shift shower with the water left in my camel back (much colder this time) in the deserted parking lot and changed into clean clothes for our boat cruise in the Bay of Islands. It was a very nice end to our Coromandel experience, but we were excited to head up to Northland!