- Distance
- 38.5km
- Total Ascent
- 3355m
- Time
- Holdsworth Lodge to Jumbo Hut, 4-5hr; Jumbo Hut to Broken Axe Pinnacles, 2-3hr; Pinnacles to Tarn Ridge Hut, 4-6hr; Tarn Ridge Hut to Mitre Flats Hut, 4-5hr; Mitre Flats Hut to Atiwhakatu Hut, 4-5hr; Atiwhakatu Hut to Holdsworth Lodge, 2-3hr
- Accom.
- Atiwhakatu Hut ($5, 26 bunks), Jumbo Hut ($15, 20 bunks), Tarn Ridge Hut ($5, 16 bunks), Mitre Flats Hut ($15, 14 bunks)
- Access
- From the end of Mount Holdsworth Road
- Map
- BP34, BN34
- Notes & Map
- Broken Axe Pinnacles (pdf, 2 MB)
Of the few knife-edge ridges in Tararua Forest Park, the Broken Axe Pinnacles are the most gripping.
For a moment, I thought we’d come to the wrong forest park. The track between the Holdsworth Road end and Atiwhakatu Hut is an anomaly in the Tararuas in that it is completely dry, comfortable, safe and relatively luxurious, with a gravel-clad surface and bridges capable of suspending semi-trailers spanning the merest trickle of a stream. No bog, no tree roots, no need to scrutinise the ground for anything that may send you instantly and irredeemably onto your face. it’s not far away from being wheelchair accessible. It’s a remarkable juxtaposition to what lies just ahead, on this three night circuit around the valleys and tops of the formidable range. The beech forest receded as we climbed the steep track that leads from the Atiwhakatu Stream to Jumbo Hut, situated just above the bushline, at 1200m. After a slow slog, weighed down by heavy first-day packs, we emerged from the bush and arrived at the hut by mid-afternoon. It was good timing: a group of school students were packing up to leave. We were lured onto the tops above the hut by a breathtaking sunset, where the mist rolled off and the spines and bulges of the Tararuas were revealed, including the highest peak, Mitre (1571m), and the saw-tooth silhouette of the Broken Axe Pinnacles, our day two destiny. We woke to weather as ‘un-Tararuas’ as the track to Atiwhakatu. Still, cloudless, warm and the hills coated in a glorious, benign orange light. The kind of morning that pulls you out of bed and sends you rushing to pack, so you can tramp this great country before the inevitable mist rolls in, the wind whips up and the colour drains from the land. From Jumbo Hut, the track follows the ridgeline north, climbing up and down various peaks and saddles, typical of much of the travel in the Tararuas. During conditions of low cloud (known in the Tararuas as ‘clag’) some navigation with a map and compass is required to avoid following the wrong ridge, but on a clear day the route is well-defined. Our first major climb was Angle Knob. Views of the western ranges open up at this point, orange hills rolling on forever, and the Waiohine River cutting a narrow trail to the west as it winds through gorges rimmed by thick native bush far below. [caption id="attachment_37512" align="aligncenter" width="1280"]
