About | Maungaraho Rock Reserve
The Maungaraho Rock as well as the Tokatoka Peak that is not far away, are both cores of volcanoes that erupted millions of years ago and is all that remains as the outer volcano has eroded away.
Upon first laying eyes on the Maungaraho Rock and especially as you drive closer, it may look pretty impossible to climb, but the track takes you around to the other side where it’ll get you up to the lowest point, where it dips down, and the track leads you up from there to the trig point.
To explore the Maungaraho Rock, there are two tracks, one that is nice and easy but the other is more difficult.
The first one goes around the base and the second one comes off the base track and to the top. The loop track around the base takes a return trip of 45 minutes and the one going to the top takes a further 30 minutes. There are chains and ladders to assist you in the more difficult parts but you’ll need a good fitness level for this one as well as being okay with heights – leave this track for the older and more kids. There are also no barriers so keep them close and walk with caution.
At the top of the Maungaraho Rock you’ll be rewarded with amazing 360 views, sit back and take it all in – you’ve deserved it!
Best done when not windy or wet.
Nearby
Riverside Gardens Dargaville
Kauri Coast Community Swimming Pool
Location
Photos
We’ve driven past the sign so many times and wondered if we should go check it out and we finally did. As we drove closer we thought that it was going to be impossible to climb. We’d read the reviews and some had said that you’d need to bring good climbing boots which we didn’t have but we thought we’d give it a go anyway.
We walked around the base for about 5-10 minutes (walk to the left, not the right if you don’t want to walk around the whole base – signage isn’t that great) and then the chains started and from there, there was a lot of climbing up.
The view though was amazing. We could see the little church we passed on the way there, the beach that we went to the day before and the hill we wanted to climb but didn’t get to. It’s a really great viewpoint!
We made it to the end!
