Kakepuku Mountain, Te Awamutu

22 Sept

Kakepuku Mountain (Kakepuku-te-rerenga-o-Kahurere, 449m) is a short hike about 12 minutes southwest of Te Awamutu in the Waipa District of Waikato, North Island. It is about 40 minutes south of Hamilton (Kirikiriroa).

Kakepuku is part of the Alexandra group of extinct volcanoes, along with Mt Pirongia and Te Kawa (both visible in photos below). Mt Karioi, not pictured, is the westernmost one.

Time

DOC estimates that the round-trip takes 2-3 hours, with 1 hour 45 minutes to the summit alone. AllTrails users report an average round-trip of 2 hours 54 minutes.

It took me around 1 hour 30 minutes to reach the summit, and around 1 hour to descend. Those times include breaks along the way, but not my break at the summit.

Screenshots of the NZ topographic map are licensed as CC BY 4.0 by Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand (LINZ).
I don’t know of any public access to Te Kawa. I’ve just included it at right in this screenshot because it’s interesting.

Route

AllTrails reports 477 metres of elevation gain over 7.1 kilometers, out and back.

From the parking lot, the walk is straightforward along a 4WD track. The track was occasionally grass, sometimes dirt, and in 5-10 short stretches quite muddy. I was glad of my hiking boots, but I noticed locals in sneakers.

There were kererū pigeons in the forest canopy, both near the trailhead and on the slopes.

Dogs on leashes are allowed on most of the track, but not all the way to the summit. Most of the track is Waipa District land, while the track near the summit is DOC land, and DOC has different rules. Also, Ngāti Maniapoto (the local Māori tribe) have declared the summit tapu (sacred).

Approaching the summit, there are steps built into moderately steep sections. Closer to the summit - in the no-dog zone - a boardwalk begins. The boardwalk is too narrow for passing, so hikers should follow the boardwalk left (clockwise) at the fork.

A wooden platform rises above the tree canopy directly over the summit. It is accessible by a stairs. In addition to offering views, this platform ensures that hikers don’t stand directly on the tapu summit. Like a tabernacle, except that you climb it.

There are benches on the platform, and a pyramidal wooden structure over them offers limited shade. No vacation of mine is complete until I knock my noggin on something. This structure was that something!

If 1 is an easy track, and 4 is using hands and feet on exposed rocks, I give this track a 1 except for mud.

From east or northeast.

From south or southwest.

Kererū - the New Zealand pigeon.

Kererū in flight.

Te Kawa, also part of this volcanic group.

Most of the foliage is less picturesque than this.

Northeast. Maungatautari in distance at right.

East toward Te Kawa.

More vivid than in reality, thanks to 0.5x zoom.

Northwest toward Mt Pirongia.

Like Shintō torii in Japan.

Too narrow for passing.

Basically the view all-around, save for Mt Pirongia at right.

See Martin Sanders’s photo blog for a clearer picture of a kererū pigeon in flight.

History

In 1914, land around the summit was protected from development. By this point, most of the mountain was paddock. Over time, more land was protected. The forest through which we ascend is thus mostly new growth, not old growth. Not that I can recognize the difference.

Message from Ngāti Maniapoto ‘To those who visit our sacred mountain’

May peace be widespread,
may the sea glisten like greenstone,
and may the shimmer of light ever dance across your pathway

Other pages about this hike

Pages about nearby hikes

Mark Eaglesfield