Pouakai Circuit

Last updated 9 August 2026

Adventurers: Finn, Jen

This was our final adventure of our West Coast Winter Roadtrip in our new van. We had agonised over where to go, what to do, and if the weather would be good enough. In the end, it was great weather, if a little chilly.

D1: To Holly Hut

The track from North Egmont starts very well formed (steps and all), and honestly maintains that to go a good degree for the rest of the track. There aren’t so many steps once you pass the Veronica Loop Track turn-off, but it is still wide and sturdy. The main challenge of the day was actually the freezing cold wind. The cloud that blew through the night before had frozen on the plants, leaving them coated in ice. It looked truly magical!

When we arrived at Holly Hut after a short 2:05hrs of walking, it was already quite busy! We knew that there was only a couple of beds left when we made the booking, so we were expecting a packed night. Since we still had some daylight left, we dropped our packs and headed off to Te Rere-o-Tahurangi Falls via Bells Falls Track. This track was a little skinnier than Holly Hut Track, but still plenty good. There was a little tree-fall and we found that Stony River Track was closed. This explained why the treefall was there, since it was not a through route at the moment.

The falls were very pretty and on a nicer (less icier) day, we would have wandered up riverbed to see them closer up. Because of the time of day and not wanting to get our feet soaked, we looked at them from a distance and watched a Blue Duck hang out in the riverbed.

By the time we got back to the hut, the sun was going down and it was not long until the frost set in. It was a truly freezing night!

🍴 ??
🍫 Tea & ginger nuts, hot chocolate & chocolate

D2: Out via Pouakai Hut

In the morning we found that the pipes had frozen, and the other hut-goers had to visit a nearby creek to get water. Thankfully, I had soaked the oats overnight and filled our waterbottles, so we had plenty of water. After a quick breakfast, we were some of the first to get going. Our day had a possible 9 DOC hours of walking, and although we knew we would beat it, we didn’t want to get caught out.

We reached Pouakai Hut fairly quickly and were greeted with an absolute horde of walkers. Many more than could have stayed at the hut. It was actually bonkers. We quickly put our names in the hut book and left, heading for the Instagram-famous tarns. Those were not much better, with regard to the crowding. I managed to get a snap of Taranaki Maunga in between the queues of people doing “the walk” in front of the tarn, and then we headed off.

Once past the tarn, the crowds diminished entirely. It seemed the overnighters and day-walkers were all headed back the way they came (Mangorei and Pouakai Track, supposedly). The climb to Henry Peak is short but demanding and is followed by a remarkably long descent down many slippery steps to Kaiauai Shelter. From there, it traverses more gently through the forest, dipping in and out of small creeks, and there is an excellent view of Taranaki from the bridge at the junction with Kokowai Track. From there we took Ram Track back up to North Egmont. We found it deceptively steep, although that was most likely because our legs were a little tired.

☕️ Porridge & coffee
🥜 Nut bar x2
🌮 Hummus & cheese wrap + coffee

Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed the scenery of the area and would love to come back. It would be nice to find it a little quieter, but we suspect that is not really possible given the popularity of the region. Still, we highly recommend it!