"Great walk, this is a loop track that is 9.7km long and including a lot of stops to play, it took me and my 4 and 6 year old about 5 hours (recomended 3-4 hours) but could be completed easily in 3-4 hours. There is a lot to admire about the bush with large established native trees and vines which my kids spent time playing on as we went. The track is just a well worn path through the bush and there are a lot of tree roots to climb over which was a challenge for the 4 year old. A great walk or run which was what most of the other groups we saw on the track were doing, not an overly busy track though being out of town on a gravel road." — loganscott • Nov 9, 2019

"I set aside two days for Mt Taranaki as I've been told the weather is quite unstable in that region. On our first day it rained all day and the peak was constantly enveloped in a giant moving cloud. On our second day we had a sunny forecast with high winds. It had to do. Due to stomach issues I was having, we got a late start from the Egmont visitor center (NE approach) at 7:15am. We hiked through the rain all the way until Tahurangi Lodge, which took us 1.5 hours. After warming up inside, I went to take a pee and noticed that the weather had completely burned off. It was now sunny, but still windy. The summit was visible. There was snow from the lodge, so we strapped into our crampons from the very beginning and followed a gully up along the standard route, which was now covered in snow. The occasional orange pole sticking out through the snow indicated that we were on track. As we climbed large gusts of winds continuously struck us with hail sized shards of ice. The wind made it difficult for Asaka to even stand, and I recognized the conditions were too dangerous. We were not far off from the hut when I decided to send Asaka back and continue on by myself. Normally I wou..." — seancasserly • Oct 17, 2019

"We had October 13th and 14th to climb Mt Taylor during our honeymoon. Unfortunately, the weather forecast predicted high chances of precipitation for both days, mostly during the afternoon. Since we came all the way across the Pacific Ocean, we decided to give it a shot anyway. We started around 9AM on Sunday morning to get a head start on the weather. The trail markers say 6 miles (10km) to Double Hut, however my GPS said 5.5 miles. What ensued was a very chilly & overcast, yet enjoyable & gradual hike. There were waterfowl and rabbits about. We had a river crossing which made us take off our boots. Water levels were above my knees so Asaka crossed higher upstream. We reached camp before noon. Double Hut is a very nice hut with a fire pit, several mattresses, food hangs, a water source and a nice toilet. Asaka wasn't feeling good; a combination of jet lag and other things, so she slept almost the entire day. I spent time scouting out the following day's route, attempting a fire and organizing our packs. It rained ever so slightly in the afternoon, but nothing serious. Due to wedding distractions, I forgot to bring headlamps, rain pants, gaiters, a stove and a water filter, alth..." — seancasserly • Oct 14, 2019

"Was meant to go to the other Maungakawa mountain, obviously didn't do much homework on this one. Great little loop track 1.2km long through some beautiful native bush with plenty of Tui's. Not a mountain walk as you drive to the top of the mountain and then walk down, around and back up." — loganscott • Oct 13, 2019

"Was hard to find trail but the track was in good condition, we (my 5 year old and me) walked to the top in about 20mins and it easy going. At the top there is a nice lookout and a small loop track to the top of the hill. Nice walk good views of lake Taupo" — loganscott • Oct 5, 2019