Enchanted Track
East Egmont, Egmont National Park
Your Nature Guide
Marios Gavalas
Author And Researcher
Nau mai, haere mai
Nau mai, haere mai
I'm Marios, delivering the best of Aotearoa's nature walks to your device.
I've personally walked hundreds of New Zealand's tracks and spent months in libraries uncovering interesting information on New Zealand/Aotearoa. And you'll find a slice of that research on this page - enjoy!
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Information
Enchanted Track
1.2 km one-way | 1 hour 15 minutes one-way
The section between Mountain House and the junction with the track to Waingongoro Hut is possibly the finest example of goblin forest on the mountain. At this altitude, the abundant moisture feeds the growth of mosses, and ferns, so that all the available surfaces are cloaked in green. This is truly an enchanted forest.
Walking Track
Access
In Stratford, turn into Pembroke Road, signposted Egmont National Park The Plateau. The Department of Conservation Area Office is on the left after 8.2 km, 1.7 km before the entrance to Egmont National Park.
The Mountain House is 4.5 km inside the park boundary, 4.5 km below the Plateau Carpark at the roadend.
The track starts from the southern side of Stratford Plateau carpark (1112 metres above sea level). Follow the Around the Mountain Circuit for 5 minutes to where the start of the track is signposted on the left.
Track
The track descends through the sub-montane scrub of leatherwood and hebes, and passes the trig and radio antenna at Jacksons Lookout. Remember to look behind you for fine views of the mountain. The many steps aid the transition to montane forest, where the canopy heightens and mountain totara start to appear.
After 45 minutes, at the junction with the track to Waingongoro Hut, head left. This is the beginning of the forest character which gives the walk its name. The contorted kamahi branches are drenched in moss, the hard lines of the wood softened by the cushion of adornments.
The track undulates through tributary streams over the footbridge, passing the junction with the Patea Walk and Kamahi Walk, arriving just below Mountain House.
Details
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Organisation |
DOC TaranakiCentral government organisation |
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Location |
North Island ▷ Taranaki ▷ Mt Taranaki |
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Directions To Coordinates |
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Coordinates |
Walking
Nearby
Reviews
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5.0/5
We only walked for a short while but the forest was incredibly pretty and the views were nice, even in cloudy weather.
We heard an amazing song from a little bird in the bush that made our day.
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3.5/5
We only walked a short while on the track from the carpark but the view was great and you could see quite far even though it was a bit cloudy.
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4.0/5
Beautiful track even when the weather is not friendly - 2-3 hours - a bit difficult for the non-tramper.
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4.0/5
A nice bush/forest track.
It was a wet day and still very good to do. Plan your time and way back carefully though.
