New Zealand Walk: Palmers Track - Great Barrier Island
The view from Windy Canyon looking out to Whangapoua Harbour.
Ihave been hiking on Aotea for nearly ten years and more recently, I have had the pleasure of guiding others on some of my favourite trails. Palmers Track is one of my favourites and one that I highly recommend to anyone visiting the island.
The approximately two hour (one way) hike starts at Windy Canyon and leads to the summit of Hirakimatā, also known as Mount Hobson. I thoroughly enjoy the reactions and comments I get from my visitors when I am guiding on this track.
On a typical hike we would start by entering the bush-covered track at the top of Whangapoua hill on Aotea Road. A few meters into the track we come across a wash station for scrubbing and disinfecting
our footwear. This helps to protect the kauri trees from the kauri dieback disease.
From there it is only a few minutes before we reach Windy Canyon and stairs to the Windy Canyon Lookout. The wind really whistles through here on a breezy day. However, it is the dramatic rock formations that catch everyone’s attention and inspires us to pull out our cameras.
Our camera’s don’t get much of a chance to rest as we reach the Windy Canyon Lookout for the most spectacular views over the Whangapoua Harbour and the long white sand beach. This view always sets high expectations for the rest of our hike and makes a great start to the morning.
Once we are able to drag ourselves away for the Windy Canyon Lookout we make our way along the hillside before climbing up a number of stairs to our next lookout. Here we can see our destination, the summit of Hirakimatā which is the highest peak on the island at 627m.
Hirakimatā means lightning striking the cliff face, which they say was witnessed by Waipahihi, the wife of a local chief, Rehua. Reuha is the ancestor and namesake of the local iwi on Aotea, Ngāti Rehua. They say it was a sign that something was amiss, which proved to be true when Waipahihi returned home to find her husband murdered.
From this viewpoint we take our time as we make
our way down into the saddle of the ridge where we come across a wooden structure I call ‘the horse’. An information board tells us how this structure was used as part of a system to haul kauri logs out from the valley below.
We are in awe as to how this was possible as those logs were enormous. We all agree it would have been a sight to see. As we start to ascend up and out of the saddle it is not long before we come to a little scramble that has some in the group wanting to use all fours so they hand me their hiking poles. I always over exaggerate this part beforehand so that it never turns out to be as bad as anyone expects. Three points of contact at all times is key I tell them.
The last section to the summit is the most intense part of the climb because of the number of stairs. Up until this point, we have been quite exposed with little tree cover. Here we have hit the bush line and the start of the stairs.
A sign on the first step lets us know the stairs are there to protect the nesting black petrel. A
very special seabird that spends most of its time in the waters of South America but always returns to Aotea (Great Barrier Island) and Hauturu o Toi (Little Barrier Island) to nest over the warmer months. To see a black petrel or their offspring is a real treat but very rare during the daytime. They tend to come out in the late afternoon and into the evening.
The stairs seem to go on forever but we take our time, catching our breath when we need to and pausing each time we hear a bird above. Often it is kākā or kererū and if we are lucky it might be a kākāriki. These special birds all thrive out here on this near predator free island.
There are no possums, mustelids or hedgehogs so rats and wild cats are the only threat to the native species.
Just before we reach the summit we arrive at a junction and a sign that lets us know the summit is just a few minutes away. We drop our packs, grab a snack and head up to the summit for a well-deserved rest and to take in the most impressive views of the day.
From the summit on a clear day we can see all the way to the Whangarei Heads but right below us is Port Fitzroy and a number of boats scattered around the bays. In the not so far distance is Hauturu o Toi, which is a pest free island where kiwi and kōkako thrive.
Tataweka, the second highest peak on the island is visible to the north and to the north west we can see the Mokohinau Islands. The bushes behind us block the view to the east but we can see down island towards Whangaparapara. Refreshed and replenished we are ready to carry on with our hike. This would normally continue on to Mt Heale Hut for lunch and then down the Peach Tree Track to the Kaitoke Hot Springs for a welldeserved soak. But that is a story for another day.