Taranaki Pouakai Crossing and tarns named one of best and most beautiful by Tourism New Zealand

Friday, 9 June 2017

The Pouakai Crossing in the Egmont National Park arguably competes with some of the best walks in New Zealand offering stunning views of the Pouakai Ranges and Mt Taranaki - and you can do it all in a day.

The Pouakai Crossing has been ranked amongst some of the best and most beautiful spots in New Zealand.

The 19-kilometre walk has been placed in the top six best day walks in the country by Tourism New Zealand.

The Pouakai Circuit Tarns was also named as one of the 10 most beautiful lakes 'to take a mirror-image photograph'.

The Pouakai Crossing has been named one of the six best day walks in the country by Tourism New Zealand.

'While you're in Egmont National Park, you can also make a side trip to Bells Falls and a mirror-like alpine tarn for a picture-postcard view,' Tourism NZ said.

'Towering high above, the peak of Mt Taranaki provides abundant photo opportunities.'

The Pouakai Crossing has been touted as an alternative to the Tongariro Crossing, which attracts more than 100,000 visitors a year.

The Pouakai Crossing is a 19-kilometre track on Mt Taranaki and has recently been added the country's Great Walk network.

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The Pouakai Circuit Tarns is one of the 10 best places to take a picturesque lake shot in New Zealand.

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* $3.4m Taranaki Crossing funding welcomed by outdoor groups**

The other must-do walks to land in the top-six are: Rangitoto Island off the coast of Auckland; lakeside Te Anau; Charming Creek Walkway on the West Coast; Farewell Spit in Nelson; and the Paekakariki Escarpment Track in Wellington.

And the other most picturesque spots: Lake Benmore in the South Island, Lake Dunstan by Cromwell, Lake Rotoiti in Nelson, Lake Tekapo, the Sealy Tarns in Mt Cook National Park, Mavora Lakes in the South Island, Pinders Pond in Central Otago, Lake Gunn in Fiordland National Park and Lake Hawea in Otago.

The Pouakai Circuit Tarns was the only body of water in the North Island to make the top-10.

Tourism NZ even gave a wink and a nod to the Len Lye Centre.

'For something completely different, pop into New Plymouth's Govett-Brewster Art Gallery for a truly fascinating cultural experience, and some reflections of a different kind.'

The Pouakai Crossing is fast becoming what it had been touted as - the next best thing for tourism in Taranaki.

Since its naming as one of two unmissable attractions in the region by Lonely Planet in October 2016, the track has attracted special attention from international travel writer Daniel James and has even impressed the likes of former Prime Minister Helen Clark.

The Pouakai Crossing has long been peddled as an alternative to the 19.4km Tongariro Crossing, which sees more than 100,000 trampers a year, but has also been the subject of lagging infrastructure.

A new track, a car park and toilets have all been named as a necessity to boost the attraction as a tourist-worthy destination.

New Plymouth District Council said in November it would seek funding for construction through the Government's $12m Regional Mid-sized Tourist Facilities Fund, but the track was overlooked in both rounds.

However just last month, the track was added into the country's Great Walk network and received a $3.4 million investment pledge from Government to go toward upgrades.

While the new name is testament to the value of the Crossing, it was also done in an effort to ease overpopulated natural attractions, such as the Tongariro track.