Pinnacles Hut

The track from Sharplin Falls car park to Pinnacles Hut is considerably more challenging than most other tramping tracks in the Te Kiekie/Mount Somers area. Take care and allow extra time. The track from Woolshed Creek car park to Woolshed Creek Hut is an easier alternative. Streams in the area, particularly Pony Stream on the way to Pinnacles Hut, can rise quickly after heavy rainfall and become dangerous and impassable.

Walking options

There are rough and rugged sections of track. View larger image (JPG, 263K) . Image: New Zealand Mountain Safety Council Mount Somers Track runs from the Sharplin Falls car park to the Woolshed Creek car park along the northern side of Mount Somers. There are two huts on the track – Woolshed Creek and Pinnacles. The track is a two-day tramp suitable for families. You can also do an overnight return tramp on the track, either from Woolshed Creek car park to Woolshed Creek Hut (an easier option) or from Sharplin Falls car park to Pinnacles Hut (a much more challenging option). You can combine Mount Somers Track with the Bus Stop Track and South Face Track to make a circuit. This circuit starts and ends at Sharplin Falls car park. This is more challenging than the main Mount Somers Track. See further information further down this page. This area gets very cold in winter and early spring. There can be snow and ice. It is best suited to experienced and well-equipped trampers at these times. Trampers with less experience are advised to choose the return overnight trip to Woolshed Creek Hut in winter, rather than the full track.

Sharplin Falls car park to Pinnacles Hut

Time: 3.5 hr

5.8 km The track climbs steeply through mountain beech forest/tawhairauriki to Dukes Knob before following Bowyers Stream to Pinnacles Hut. Allow more time if your group is not used to tramping. There are steep and rough sections of the track, including places where you will need to scramble over tree roots and places with steep drops beside the track. Supervise children through tricky or technical sections. Heavy rain can flood the streams on this track and make them impassable, particularly Pony Stream. Assess them carefully before crossing. If heavy rain is forecast, consider changing your plans. The hut is named after the rock formations on the northern face of Mount Somers, formed by the cooling of very hot sticky lava flows some 90 million years ago.

Pinnacles Hut to Woolshed Creek Hut

Time: 3 hr

6.2 km From the hut, follow markers through tussock and subalpine scrub up to the Mount Somers saddle (1170 m). It's a steady climb to the saddle where views of the Mount Somers Range and Old Man ranges dominate the scenery. On the descent towards Morgan Stream, a sign indicates a short side-trip to view some interesting boulder features referred to as ‘caves’. Follow the markers across Morgan Stream and Woolshed Creek to Woolshed Creek Hut. There are no bridges, so assess these streams carefully before crossing – they may not be safely crossable.

Walk to Pinnacles Hut and summit as a day or overnight walk. Follow an historic packhorse route used by kauri bushmen in 1920s. There are spectacular views of the Coromandel Peninsula from the Pinnacles lookout (759 m).

Kauaeranga Road end – Hydro Camp via Webb Creek Track – Pinnacles Hut

Time: 2 hr 30 min – 3 hr one way

km From the road end car park, walk to the swing bridge to cross the Kauaeranga River. Take the first track on your right which leads you for 5 minutes to Billygoat Landing. Here you see good views of the Billygoat Falls (180 m high). Second on your right you keep follow the Webb Creek Track to Hydro Camp (1 hr 30 min – 2 hr). You'll climb steps that were cut into rock to make the journey easier for the packhorses during the kauri logging era. Care is required in places as the rocks can be slippery. At the top of the climb to the Hydro Camp clearing, the remains of a skidded road are visible beside the track. Skidded roads were made from small logs laid lengthwise with cross pieces forming the ‘skids’. Logs were pulled along the skids by teams of bullocks or steam haulers. From Hydro Camp junction, take the Pinnacles Track which climbs and sidles around a hill before following a more open ridge. Enjoy impressive views down a branch of the Tairua River and the rugged volcanic landforms of Tauranikau and the Pinnacles. Pinnacles Hut and Dancing Camp Campsite are a short walk down signposted side tracks. At the Dancing Camp Campsite, look for the remains of the Dancing Camp Dam, built in 1921. This stringer flume dam was the second largest dam in the valley, and was partly restored in 1994. Return the same way, or return to the Hydro Camp and take the Billygoat Track back to the road end.

Side trip: Pinnacles Hut – Pinnacles

Time: 40 min one way

km The track up to the Pinnacles is more difficult and exposed than the track to the hut. It is better not to attempt the track in high wind or rain. Assess the weather before deciding whether to continue up to the Pinnacles. A steady climb, steep in places, follows a well constructed stepped track. The final stage of the ascent includes climbing ladders and there are steep drops beside the track. At the Pinnacles summit (759 m) there are spectacular views of the bush, mountains and coastline of the eastern Coromandel. Stay within the fenced summit platform (the rock is fractured and very unstable, and there are steep drops). Be careful when descending back from the lookout to the hut – this is when most injuries on the track occur.