Moanui Loop - 5 days in the Ureweras

This is a five day loop in the Ureweras, an awesome trip for the slightly more adventurous tramper. This trip features awesome little huts, untracked river bed travel, steep hills and abundant wildlife.

Refer to this route guide for a detailed description of the route. My friend Paul and I decided to do this in August 2009. As mentioned in the route guide many of the times doc has listed on the markers and in pamplets are difficult to achieve. Perhaps the tracks used to be in better condition or maybe they were just walked by fitter people. Usually Paul and I take less than the times suggested by DOC but in this area we were often well over the times, particularly when river travel was involved.

The track involves a lot of river bed travel and some steep hills. Navigation skills are also required as some of the tracks and junctions are poorly marked.

The drive into the start of track is a good one, taking Te Wera Rd off the Opotiki-Gisborne highway (SH2) before turning right onto the winding and gravelled Moanui Rd.

Day 1: Moanui Rd to Tawa Hut

3 hours 

Starting around midday after the long drive from Hamilton, we followed the Koranga downstream, the river level was quite high. This wasn't a concern for the first day as there was a swingbridge across the Koaranga. Later in the trip we would be doing a lot of travel in river beds so I hoped there wouldn't be much more rain. After crossing the swingbridge over the Koranga we began following the marked route through the farm land. This is one of the more rugged farms I've seen, they had it stocked with cows which looked suprisingly nimble on the steep slopes. Soon the track began to climb up a rather steep farm track affectionately known as "the burn". This 350m climb would be very hot on a fine summers day but fortunately for us it was winter, so no worries there.

Having reached the top of the burn we followed the track as it entered the bush. We descended gradually into the Kahuiti Valley on a good track, it was slightly overgrown in places but offered very good travel. Once in the valley floor we passed the junctions with the Kahanui and Makakoere streams as we headed downstream to Tawa hut. Arriving at Tawa hut we soon thought of getting a fire going. There was plenty of wood around but the chimney seemed to be blocked and we just couldn't get any air flow going so the fire kept going out. Paul wasn't prepared to give up without a fight though and climbed up onto the roof and after gave the chimney a good shake and scraped all the solidified ash out of the top, soon our fire came to life!

Day Two: Tawa Hut to Te Rangaakapua Hut

10 Hours

Retracing our steps from the day before we headed back up the Kahuiti for about 400m to the marked junction with the Makakoere stream. Now it was time to get cold feet, Paul always tramps in trail running shoes and I often do as well. I had thought about taking boots for this trip but the thought of going up and down the hills in heavy water laden boots encouraged me to go with the trail runners.

As expected the river was very cold. We headed upstream sticking to the banks where possible crossing the river constantly continuing on past the Makakoere Hut.

We saw several pairs of blue ducks along the Makakoere. As always I struggled to get a good photo of them. There was also a lot of deer and pig sign all the way up the valley. In the upper valley we saw a stag on a river flat and further along disturbed a pig which went crashing through the bush.

After about six hours in the stream we reached the start of the track up to Te Rangakaapua. We found the going rather difficult as we headed up the steep and overgrown track, it really is a more difficult climb than it looks on the map. The ascent is about 650m but was quite exhausting, this may also have something to do with the six hours spent walking up the stream. Eventually we arrived at the top of the range at an altitude of 1326m. The area obviously sees a lot of moisture, just look at all the moss on the trees in the photo below.

Half an hour through the goblin forest brought us to the welcome sight of the hut. Here was another fire lighting challenge, there was a bit of wood around but it was all quite damp. Fortunately its not a big hut, so our sizzling smoldering fire was able to do the job. Exploring the area around the hut we got some nice views of the surrounding area when the mist cleared briefly.

Day 3: Te Rangaakapua to Te Pua Hut 

7.5 hours

Starting out the next morning we passed through a swampy plateau up on top of the range. It was very boggy and difficult to find the track in places. Soon we entered the bush and began the long gradual descent down the ridge past the junction with the track to Mangatoatoa hut. There was quite a lot of windfall here, once again making it tricky to follow the track sometimes. After the junction the track was undulating for the next couple of kms before beginning a steeper descent to the Mangatoatoa stream at Uruwaea.

At the junction we headed up around an unstable looking slip. I'm not sure our route turned out any safer as the hill side was very steep, but we got back down to the track. The track stayed on the true right of the Mangatoatoa as we followed it down to the Tauranga river. I was pleased to see the Tauranga river wasn't too high and was easily crossable (still cold though). We found quite a lot tracks through the bush which cut out bends in the river and also offered easier and warmer travel. There were still a few river crossing along the way though. Arriving at Te Pua hut there about six small pigs in the clearing. Judging by the all the rooting in the area they had spent a lot of time there. The clearing looked like it had been dug up by a tractor.

We were very pleased to find that there were two arm chairs in the hut. The chairs proved much more comfortable than the regular bench seats in huts. We enjoyed the luxury as we lazed around in the warmth from the pot belly stove.

Day 4: Te Pua Hut to Tataweka Hut

7.5 hours 

From Te Pua we headed East straight across the Tauranga river. This was followed by a gradual of about 440m and a steep descent into the Tawawharara valley. Making our way up the Tawawhara was tricky in places. A couple of times we had to make detours up around the very steep hill sides to avoid a swim in the river, this was quite difficult and definitely not for everyones taste.

At the forks of the Tawawharara and Maniaroa you can continue up the Tawaharara to the Otane Bivouac but we headed up the Maniaroa valley on a track that stayed out of the river for a little while. After the track dropped back into the river we stopped for lunch at another set of forks before heading up the hill over to the Tataweka valley. This climb was much steeper than the previous one but still not too bad, especially compared to the climb to Te Rangaakapua. After coming down the hill we arrived in the Tataweka river bed. On the map it looked like quite an open river bed, but all the river flats were covered with Buddleia. Buddleia is a noxious weed that seems to be taking over in certain areas of the Ureweras. This made travel much more frustrating and less scenic than it otherwise would have been.

The Tataweka hut has been kept in something resembling its originally state. This is cool, but the fireplace design leaves something to be desired. Unless we had the fire going really hard the hut would just fill with smoke.

Day 5: Tataweka Hut to Moanui Rd 

6 hours 

We continued down the Tataweka through the buddlia which can be seen in the photo below. The travel down the Tataweka was easier in the lower section though with less buddlia and more open rocky river banks. 

Before reaching the Kahuiti there is a track on the true right that bypasses a tricky section of the river. Following the bypass track we soon came out at the Kahuiti stream. After crossing the stream we heading back up to Tawa hut from where we retraced our route from day one back up the Kahuiti valley and down the burn to the Koranga and the our car waiting and Moanui rd.