Location: Coromandel
Author: Emily Steiner
Participants: Emily Steiner, Briony Forsberg, Monisha Kannan, Derek Chai, Ella Sutton, Jessica Chun, Shaun Price
Date: 6th - 7th April 2024
On the 6th of April, a group of 7 aspiring young hikers ventured out from the cold, dreary landscape of the Clock Tower to the sunnier shores of Thames for a weekend getaway. After a coffee stop, pie stop, petrol stop, maccas stop, liquor store stop, and Pak’n’Save stop, we finally reached the start of the track: Waiotahi. Our mission was simple: hike up to Crosbies Hut and bask in the solitude and connection with nature that Pinnacles hikers miss out on.
The track starts off well-formed with a steady climb up to meet the muddier Karaka Track. Covered mostly by trees, the anticipation built for some gorgeous views of the Coromandel. However, the higher we climbed, the thicker the bush, and we soon realized why Crosbies Clearing has its own name (because it’s the only clearing for miles around). Unperturbed, we slogged on up to the hut and were finally rewarded with some views of the surrounding hills. Half of the group set up camp, while the other half got cozy setting up in the hut.
Given it had been 5 hours since our last stop at Maccas, we were all ravenous for a feast. And hot damn, was it marvellous. We munched away on noodles, cheese, salami, nachos and Go Native meals until the sun fell and the cider came out. We ended the evening with a game of Bananagrams under lamplight before hunkering down for a chilly night.
We woke the next day expecting a lovely sunrise but found the clouds had rolled in for a drizzly morning. We packed up our stuff and headed back the way we came. The rain had doubled the mud from the previous day, turning the track into a treacherous slip’ n ’slide, but we took our time (and some tumbles) and made it back safely to the cars (and eventually Maccas). All in all, the track made for a great intermediate trip and we thoroughly enjoyed it.
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