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Mt Maunganui Summit Track
.jpg&width=400&height=267 "Mt Maunganui Summit Track")
| Location: Mt Maunganui, Bay Of Plenty, North Island |
| Nearest Town: Mt Maunganui |
| Nearest City: Tauranga |
| Length of tramp: 3.8ks |
| Time needed: 1 hour 20 min no stopping |
| Difficulty: Medium to hard |
| Route: Round trip |
| Elevation: Sea level to 231m |
| Wet Feet: no |
| Toilets: Yes. At the start of Pilot Bay road. At the surf club when you finish the tramp. |
| Dogs: No |
| Mobile phone coverage: Yes |
| Date this tramp was last walked: July 07 |
| Track quality: Good. There is no flat ground on the whole track. Its all up and all down. The surface is covered with fine gushed gravel. With no shortage of steeps on the downward journey. |
| Shops/restaurants: Click here to see restaurants and cafes in Mt Maunganui and Click here to see restaurants & cafes in Tauranga |
| Hazards: Very steep cliffs at the top of Mt Maunganui, there are no safety rails to hold on to. |
| Transport: Buses run out to the Mount during the week but very few on the weekends. |
| Water: Not on the walk |
| Driving Instructions: Get on to Cameron Rd drive north on to Chapel St. Chapel St drops down on to the main set of lights to make your way over the harbour bridge and Mt Maunganui. Once over the bridge, at the second set of lights, turn right into Totara St which is a free turn. Drive to the end of this Rd. (1.3ks) At Rata St turn right drive (20m) then turn hard left on to Maunganui Rd. Drive through the shopping centre and over the speed bumps to the end (1.5ks). In front of you is the Mount hot pool, turn to the left. Drive (150m) then turn to the right you are now in Pilot Bay. The inner city harbour is a very sheltered bay on a windy day and a lot safer swimming for the kids. Finding a car park is your next challenge. To find the start of the track, walk up to the mountain keeping Pilot Bay on your left shoulder, a road runs between the caravan park and the beach follow this road around to the left and out to an old wharf. The track starts at the end of the road, just follow the local walkers and runners |
| Camping on track: No |
| Track highlights: The views are awesome from the top, well worth the huff and puff, you can see the beach the inner harbour and port, Matakana Island, para ponts, ships and boats coming and going through the small harbour entrance, just fantastic. |
Map of Mt Maunganui Summit Track :
This is a dynamic map. You can zoom in and out using the "+" and "-" buttons, drag the map to see surrounding areas and click on the flags to see each position on the map
Detailed track description for
Mt Maunganui Summit Track:
Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Start
.jpg "Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Start")
.jpg "Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Start")
.jpg "Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Start")
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To find the start of the track, walk up to the mountain keeping Pilot Bay on your left shoulder, a road runs between the motorhome and caravan park and the beach. follow this road around to the left keep a look out for a track on your right, if you end up at the wharf, you have gone too far. Walk up this track for 3 min take the next gate on the right, once through the gate turn to the left. You are now on the main track to the top.
Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Point 2
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.jpg "Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Point 2")
.jpg "Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Point 2")
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From the gate to the water tank is a gentle (3 Min) uphill hike. The views over to the left and out in to the inner harbour will take your mind off the climb. Watch out for the sheep.
Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Point 3
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.jpg "Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Point 3")
.jpg "Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Point 3")
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Just past the tank, is a gate to open. Now this is where the adventure starts. Uphill all the way to the top. Half way up is a sharp right hand corner, stop for a breather and look over the bank and down to into the harbour entrance. Out in the distance (27ks) is the Kaimai Ranges. Down in front of you is Matakana Island; you might be able to see the farm land in the distance.
Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Point 4
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.jpg "Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Point 4")
.jpg "Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Point 4")
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Up around the next corner is a sign giving you two ways to the top. Follow the main track to the left; you will meet up with the other track later. (15Min) to the top is good going, make it (20 Min). The next plato you walk on to is where the brave boys fly off the cliff face hanging onto their hand gliders for dear life. The model plane clubs also use this spot to fly from, the day we were there the hand gliders and model planes were fighting for air superiority, guess who won.
Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Point 5
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.jpg "Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Point 5")
.jpg "Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Point 5")
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(50 minutes) Was it worth the climb? On a warm summer’s night, hike up there around 5 o’clock. With a back pack full of goodies to eat and something to drink. Sit on the top and look out over Tauranga and watch the sun setting. Don’t forget the torch. Equally good is getting up just before first thing in the morning and watching the sun rise – awesome!
Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Point 6
.jpg "Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Point 6")
.jpg "Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Point 6")
.jpg "Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Point 6")
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Here’s the easy part. Walk past the monument and follow the track down into the trees. From here on it is downhill all the way. There are a few steps to walk down but they are new and strong. After about (5 minutes) you will come to a T section. Turn to the left. Onto the Base track via Waikorere track. There is a large marker stone to the right of this track.
Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Point 7
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.jpg "Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Point 7")
.jpg "Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Point 7")
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The first few minutes of this walk is through light native bush. Then you walk over a bridge and around a corner to great views of the mount. Looking down to the bottom you will see the Mount thermal Hot pools. Very popular on a cold night. The steps on this side of the mountain are a little steep. So take your time on the way down.
Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Point 8
.jpg "Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Point 8")
.jpg "Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Point 8")
.jpg "Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Point 8")
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The next turn off to the right is easy, just keep walking down hill. The track to the left will take you back the road you walked up earlier. As you walk down to the right, you will see a light beacon, on your right (2 min) down the hill is another gate. This paddock usually has sheep in it so watch were you step with your clean shoes. Down this track about another (5 min) on a right hand corner you will see the old stone steps leading down a gully, take this track.
Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Point 9
.jpg "Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Point 9")
.jpg "Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Point 9")
.jpg "Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Point 9")
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From the stone steps you can look down to the beach and the board walk alone the beach. Watch out when walking on the stone steps, they can be a little slippery when wet. When you met up with the base track, turn to the right and walk 5m to the gate on the left. Once through the gate follow the board walk to the Mt cafés and restaurants.
Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Point 10
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The next building you come to after the motorhome and caravan park is the surf club. In the surf club there are public toilets, changing rooms and a tap for you to wash the sand of your feet before heading off for a coffee or ice-cream.
.jpg&width=90 "Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Point 10, New Zealand")
.jpg&width=90 "Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Point 2, New Zealand")
.jpg&width=90 "Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Point 3, New Zealand")
.jpg&width=90 "Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Point 4, New Zealand")
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.jpg&width=90 "Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Point 8, New Zealand")
.jpg&width=90 "Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Point 9, New Zealand")
.jpg&width=90 "Mt Maunganui Summit Track - Start, New Zealand")