Mt Pirongia is the sore thumb of the Waikato. Its crooked spine can be seen standing stark against the horizon for much of the drive from the Bombay Hills to Hamilton, and it is equally prominent on the map, BE33, a green island in a flat sea of civilised countryside. For Te Araroa walkers, it’s a welcome respite from Waikato River walking, and Pāhautea Hut, near the maunga’s summit, is the trail’s first DOC hut for those heading southbound. On a clear day, Taranaki Maunga and Mt Ruapehu are visible from its summit, though its geographical prominence means clear summit days are hard to come by. The mountain is a clag-magnet, and in te ao Māori it is home to the watchful patupaiarehe, fairy-like people of the mists. 

The best overnight option for hikers is a loop to 20-bunk Pāhautea Hut via Ruapane, Tirohanga and Mahaukura tracks. I walked the loop with friends over a muggy November weekend, weighed down by an extravagant meal of smoked mussel fritters, blue cheese ravioli and mulled wine. Memories remain of mud, root ladders, and getting my butt kicked on the descent of the slippery Mahaukura Track. I’ve never fallen over as much on a day’s tramping. The southern slope’s Hihikiwi Track, on which Te Araroa walkers descend, is reportedly worse – a masochistic mud fest. 

Highlights of the circuit include climbing Mahaukura Track’s chained sections, staying a night in Waikato’s highest hut, and extensive views over the region from The Cone (953m) and Ruapane (723m) summits. From the hut, we were blessed with a brilliant sunrise that cast a red net over a blanket of low cloud stretching to the peaks of Tongariro National Park. 

Thanks to the hard work of local conservationists (including more than 450 volunteers), the haunting call of the kōkako has returned to the forest park. The bird disappeared from the mountain in the 1990s, but has been successfully re-established. Mt Pirongia may be a tramper’s best chance of seeing it in the wild. Just don’t mind the mud.