Hello, I’m sorry it’s been a while since my last blog post but I’m still here, and still adventuring!

During the winter my family & I visited some friends who live in Ohakune, at the southern edge of the Tongariro National Park. We had intended to try skiing with the kids for the first time but the snow was pretty rubbish so they just played around in it instead, throwing snow balls, sliding down the hill and having a great old time! While we were there my mate and I snuck in this walk one morning while the rest of the family went biking. The Old Coach Road used to be just that, with horse drawn coaches travelling along it and sections of old railway line, it is now a multi use track so you can walk or mountain bike it.

We walked it starting from the Marshalls Road car park (near Ohakune town) to the Hapuawhenua Viaduct. There are many options here for longer walks, which I will have to come back and try another day! The walk to the viaduct was a really fun scenic walk which I highly recommend trying!

Times: It took us 45 minutes to reach the viaduct, walking at a brisk pace, but included a detour into the Hapuawhenua tunnel and photo stops. The Department of Conservation time is: ~ 1 hour 5 minutes and the track is an “Easy” grade.

The whole trip took us 2 hours return.

There are plenty of informative sign boards to read along the way about the history of the area. I liked the story about how the local tangata whenua (Maori) used to bathe the mother’s who were in post-natal recovery in the stream below, and the name Hapu= pregnant and whenua= placenta. Literally translated into the river where woman bathe after giving birth! Apparently pools were created to give relaxing respite. I think they may have been onto Wim Hof method of recovery waay before it became a thing!😊

For the Department of Conservation Information click👉 https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/central-north-island/places/tongariro-national-park/things-to-do/tracks/ohakune-old-coach-road/

For more information about the region: https://www.visitohakune.co.nz/

Happy exploring!

Nga mihi

Tammy