East Cape to Cape Egmont Traverse

The East Cape to Cape Egmont Traverse is a pilgrimage in New Zealand that holds historical and cultural significance. Two authors have documented their experiences in books: Raymond Salisbury's "Cape to Cape - 80 Day Traverse of the North Island^[1]" and A.H. Reed's "From East Cape to Cape Egmont On Foot at Eighty-six" (1st Edition 1962).

The traverse involves a pilgrimage through the landscapes where early pioneers once tread. A.H. Reed, at the age of 86, undertook the traverse, opting for a route along the east coast beaches before heading west inland, avoiding the challenging Raukumara Range Forest Park route.

Proposed Cape Egmont to East Cape walkway

In the late 1970s, the know disestablished Department of Survey and Land Information commenced a project to link Cape Egmont to East Cape by a walkway.

Oone section of the ‘Cape Egmont to East Cape’ walkway was completed and still remains in use:

• Matemateāonga Range Track – a traditional Māori trail, then a dray track in the early 20th century.^[2][3]

Cycle tour

In the February of 2020, the North Island traverse was completed as the "Kopiko Aotearoa" cycle tour:^[4][5]

West – east route:

Cape Egmont – Te Rewa Rewa Bridge – Hobbit Hole – Mangamataha Bridge – Centre of the North Island – Waiotapu – Ruatāhuna – Lake Waikaremoana – Rere rock-slide – Motu Road – Bay of Plenty – East Cape Lighthouse

East — West route:

East Cape Lighthouse – Bay of Plenty – Motu Road – Rere rock-slide – Lake Waikaremoana – Ruatāhuna – Waiotapu – Centre of the North Island – Mangamataha Bridge – Hobbit Hole – Te Rewa Rewa Bridge – Cape Egmont

References

1. Salisbury, Raymond (1 April 1997) [1995]. . Cape to Cape – 80 Day Traverse of the North Island. Word for Word Publishing. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 February 2005. Retrieved 1 March 2007. A red station-wagon full of elderly folk pulled up alongside me. Seeing I was obviously going tramping, a lady asked me 'Where was I going?' I replied 'for a walk down the road,'...
2. Barnett, Shaun (17 May 2015). "Wild Range: Matemateaonga Range". Wilderness Magazine. Pakuranga, Auckland: Lifestyle Publishing Ltd. Retrieved 23 February 2020. No wonder Maori had a route along it and Europeans planned to build a road over the crest, too. Some work on the road was completed in the early part of the 20th century but, happily for trampers, it never became much more than a dray road.
3. "Matemateāonga Track". www.doc.govt.nz. Department of Conservation (New Zealand) (DOC) (Māori: Te Papa Atawhai). 23 February 2020. Retrieved 23 February 2020. Penetrate deep into the wilderness of the Whanganui National Park on old Maori trail and settlers' dray road.
4. "Cape to Cape: friends cycle from Cape Egmont to East Cape". Gisborne Herald. 12 April 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
5. Hope, Sharnae (9 February 2020). "Waikato man's pedal power to give back to NZ's mental health crisis". Stuff (website). Retrieved 24 September 2020.

External links

• Biography Alfred Hamish Reed MBE