The Provincial Government of Taranaki, about the year 1875-78, spent a considerable sum in making a bridletrack over the ranges to the swamp between the Pouakai ranges and the mountain. This track was via the Mangorei road, a clearing being made at a suitable spot, about 800 ft from the top of the ranges, for horses and a camping ground. There was also another camping-ground at Holly Flat, on the south side of the swamp, and for years this was the usual track to the mountain. The ascent was a hard one, the trip taking several days, though the scenery was magnificent.
Climbing Mt Egmont in the mid-19th Century is covered by A. B. (Brian) Scanlan’s Egmont - The Story of a Mountain (AH & AW Reed, 1961) in the chapter Over the Pouakais (pages 49-53).
In those days reaching the summit of Taranaki was a full-scale expedition involving hardship and danger over four or more days from New Plymouth.
Typical were the experiences of a group of twenty-one who left New Plymouth on 28 March 1866. They had packs weighing upwards of forty pounds, but the weather was warm and the mosquitos active. The first night was spent at Coad’s [farm] Clearing at the foot of the ranges, and at daybreak they climbed through the bush to Grayling’s Clearing before striking directly to the nearest peak of the ranges, known later as Photographer’s Peak. [It is here that the first mention of a camera on Egmont is made, “L. Hammerton took a photo of the group with his photographic apparatus.”] The party crossed the ranges and descended a gorge, tramped over the swamp between the ranges and the mountain and camped at the foot of St. Clair’s Table [the Dome]. The site was Holly Flat, where Holly Hut was built in 1900. On the 31st the party attempted the climb of the peak following the route used by Bell, Carrington and Minarapa in 1848, but were turned back by a rising wind, sleet and snow. They nearly met their end on the return trip over the ranges the following day (April 1st), when cold and wet from the previous day, seventeen of the group lost their way in cold mist and rain on top of the range. Fortunately their plaintive cries for help were answered by the other four who were on the track, else, “a great number would have perished from starvation and cold.”
With increasing traffic the route over the ranges began to develop its personalities, its guides and its stories. Aaron Coad and his son Stephen, farmers near the top of Mangorei Road, became guides, as did James Henry, Scottish nurseryman who became a devoted advocate of the Pouakai route and after whom the Henry Peak is named. He is also responsible for planting seed of brown Scottish heather on top of the ranges about 1868. One of these characters told how Grayling’s Clearing got its name. W. I. Grayling, a Taranaki Rifle Volunteer married Maria Upjohn January 1863 during a truce in the Land Wars, and they chose for their week’s honeymoon a rough hut on a small plateau 3,300 feet up the Mangorei track on the range. This became a favourite place in the 1860s and 70s for a rest and brew of tea before the steep climb up the aptly-named “Extinguisher” to Photographers Peak.
In later years Grayling's Clearing was where one would replace their horse with a fresh mount to take to Holly Flat before attempting the summit on foot. There are no horses allowed in the National Park these days, but this cache is a great spot to rest your Shank's pony. The Mangorei track no longer goes straight up "The Extinguisher" to Photographers Peak, but cuts around the peak.
An old corrugated iron rustic earth floor hut was still here a hundred years later. Its open fire and corrugated iron chimney, and two sacking bunks still offered some shelter to passing trampers and a chance for a brew-up.
This cache is at the old hut site, although the hut was removed after it was demolished after Cyclone Bola in 1982. Slowly the scrub is reclaiming the hut's small clearing, as well as the track to it from the Mangorei track and Grayling's Clearing proper.
There is a small pile of rocks, but the cache is not under it, but behind it in the scrub, under a plank.
Take Note: It is important to plan and prepare your trip and be well equipped.
Before you go, know the Outdoor Safety Code – 5 simple rules to help you stay safe:
1. Plan your trip: Take a map/track brochure and remember to buy hut tickets for overnight stays.
2. Tell someone responsible where you are going and your estimated return time.
3. Be aware of the weather: Check weather forecasts before you go.
4. Know your limits.
5. Take sufficient supplies and water.
Weather on the mountain changes rapidly. You must be well prepared with suitable clothing and equipment for all weather and conditions. Snow, high rainfall and storm damage can make tracks impassable. Check with visitor centres for up-to-date track information.
Your safety is your responsibility