Mount Egmont, or Taranaki, rises in the west of New Zealand’s North Island, a singular volcanic cone exhibiting a powerful symmetry. So symmetrical is Taranaki in fact (provided one isn’t viewing the mountain perpendicular to the parasitic cone of Fantham’s Peak), that it was used as a stand-in for Japan’s Mount Fuji in the film The Last Samurai. So, what better way to get to know Mount Egmont than to circumnavigate it, and then celebrate with an ascent?

Satellite photo of Taranaki (NASA).

The nearby town of New Plymouth (with its whimsical wind wand) has an ample selection of hotels and hostels in which to spend a night prior to entering Egmont National Park, the boundary of which is clearly delineated on the ground by old-growth forest — very obvious in the satellite photo above.

The Around the Mountain Circuit then offers 4 days of interesting trekking, which, depending on the exact route taken (there are many possibilities), passes through thick forest, marshy plateaux and bare volcanic slopes. All the time, the peak itself looms above, tempting an ascent.

Steepening slopes towards the top of Mount Egmont/Taranaki.

Though probably reachable from most points around the mountain’s circumference, the voie normale on Taranaki starts from the north, heading up past a ski-club lodge, and tackling the ever steepening volcanic screes that eventually lead to a small col between the Shark’s Tooth, and the summit proper.

Shark's Tooth, Mount Egmont, New Zealand.

Given clear weather, the central volcanic region (Tongariro, Nguarahoe and Ruapehu) is easily made out, eighty miles to the east. It’s also worth bearing in mind that the upper reaches of the mountain may well be iced up even in the summer, so an ice axe and crampons could well be required to negotiate the route to the summit in safety.

Tongariro and Ruapehu, from Mount Egmont/Taranaki.