Pylon Peak Track – Kaimai Ridgeway – Waipapa – Wairongomai Valley Loop
Track Guide – Mid 2016
A rough time estimate for the loop is 6 hours, but dependent on the party and the weather conditions.
Summary
Waiorongomai carpark to Pylon Peak summit / Kaimai Ridgeway Junction – 2 hours
Pylon Peak to Waipapa Track Junction – 1.25 hours (a bit rough, patches of mud especially in spring)
Waipapa Junction to Waiorongomai carpark – 2 hours
ATC Trip Report (hyperlink)
Start
 Carpark at the end of Waiorongomai Valley Rd
 There is a longdrop toilet 2 minutes up the hill on the Low Level Pack Track.
 A few minutes after the toilet, there is a well worn path (not signposted yet) that takes you down to the stream to a popular swimming hole
in the summer.
 A short distance upstream is where you cross it – BEWARE – the rocks are slippery – just assume you will get wet feet
 If there has been no rain for a couple of weeks, this may be your last guaranteed water source until you are descending the
Waiorongomai valley later in the day
 Over the other side, clamber up the bank, turn left, and follow orange triangles going up the next bank that then turns right
 Continue up the hill, past an open flattish area where there used to be a large camp (building materials may still be stacked to one side)
 The track from there is relatively obvious, and most sections have orange triangles
Pylon Peak Track
 After a while you will be on the bank of an old water race – before leaving it on the sidle across the face of the hill, spot the tunnel on your
right
 After the sidle and turn to the right you come to the water race again, with the other end of the tunnel on your right
 Then just continue on up the hill – initially it is winding its way up the side of the spur, and then when you have to clamber over a large
fallen tree, you are then mostly following the top of the spur
 At that point the gradient mostly eases a bit, until you leave the new section of the track and merge into the old Pylon Track – not an
obvious intersection now (deliberate), other than the gradient steepening noticeably
 There is a larger treefall further up – the best thing is just to step over it as marked, but you can go above it too
 The track does a noticeable left turn at that point, serves as a little watercourse if it is raining, and then not long after breaks out of the tall
trees into a more open area where you start getting some great views
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The path is not marked much from this point, but should be quite obvious now that a lot of clearing has been done
On the way look out for the remains of the old power pylons – sometimes just the 4 posts a few cms above the ground, and nearer the
top old trusses to walk over or on the side of the track. This took power from a hydro dam where Lake Karapiro is now to the Victoria
Battery near Wiakino in the very early days of power transmission
The junction is a great place to stop if the weather is kind – great views to Mt Te Aroha and over the Hauraki Plains
If you need shelter from the wind, turn right for a short distance on the Old NS / Kaimai Ridgeway and you will quickly have a few options
Kaimai Ridgeway (heading NW)
 It is cleared but a bit rough, and has a few muddy sections, especially after rain (and no thanks to the pigs either)
 You must follow the orange triangles – if you are not following them, then you are not on the track, and will lose a lot of time
 If visibility is poor, make sure at all times you know which way you have come from and which way you are going – it is easy enough to
get mixed up and start going back the way you have come from !
 After 1.25 hrs you should break out onto the Waipapa Track – note the blue ribbon on a couple of trees and one indeterminate direction
orange triangle as the only evidence at present of the track – this will be remedied once the junction sign is installed.
Waipapa Track
 You are now on easy walking tracks (unless wet, in which case beware of slipping in the steeper sections)
 Turn left and head along the track towards Mt Te Aroha
 The following instructions provide the most direct route back to the carpark, but there are quite a few other options as well
 At the next track junction, take the left path and you will soon find that you are starting to descend into the Waiorongomai Valley
Waiorongomai Valley
 After the first big descent, there is a big wooden bridge, a tunnel, and a swing bridge
 Soon after, there is a junction for the High level Pack Track on the right – don’t go up there – stay on the Piako County Tramway
 That takes you down alongside / on the May Queen Incline
 Beware of standing on wooden sleepers – they can be slippery and not pleasant to fall onto
 There is a side track down a bit to the New Era branch – don’t go down there
 After a while the High Level Pack Track joins you from the right, and you reach the top of Butlers Incline
 Look at that for a bit then turn around, and take the track that goes down the hill, now on your right – this is the High Level Pack Track –
after a short descent it crosses the incline on a bridge
 Now (after around 1.5 kms) you just follow all signs to the carpark
On this map go up the red Pylon Peak Track to the top, then turn left – at this point you have done most of your climbing for the day.
The blue track is approximately the way you come down later in the day.
Note that the Kauri Grove Track has now been closed and the markers removed as a kauri dieback protection measure –it had some very steep
slippery sections, including some that clambered up and down kauri tree roots.
The Kaimai Ridgeway is coloured red, and then you join the blue Waipapa Track and turn left – continue on the blue path for the most direct
route back to the carpark.