The Egmont or Mount Taranaki National Park is situated south of New Plymouth near the western coast of the New Zealand’s North Island. Established in 1900, this was the second national park to be opened in the country and is dominated by the dormant volcano of Mount Taranaki/Egmont, which this park is named after. Mount Taranaki is the Maori name for the volcano, while the name Egmont was given by Captain James Cook after Lord John Perceval, the Second Earl of Egmont, and the First Lord of the Admiralty who sponsored Cook’s first voyage. This park sits a short distance away from the Tongariro National Park.

The most climbed mountain in New Zealand, Mt Egmont stands 2515 meters tall and is one of the most easily accessible mountains in the country. There are three sealed roads that lead up to here including Egmont Road which takes tourists to the North Egmont visitor centre, where you can find plenty of backpacker accommodation and several bushwalks. Manaia Road goes to Dawson Falls on the mountains southern slopes, where you can find another visitor centre and two lodges. Pembroke Road leads to the Stratford Plateau and the Manganui ski field areas.

Made famous when the movie The Last Samurai, starring Tom Cruise was shot here, the tramping on Mt Egmont is superb with over 300 km trails on hand out here. The main tramping route to the top begins from North Egmont and takes around 8 hours to go up and come back down. There is also a round the mountain track, which is some 55 km long and takes some 4 to 5 days to complete. Another trail takes trampers to the eroded volcanoes of Kaitake and Pouakai, which one stood higher than Taranaki.

A great place for the entire family to enjoy, Egmont National Park also offers a number of family walks, which are a unique attraction of this park. These walks take you to some beautiful but unusual forests, which look like an enchanted forest scene out of a children’s fairytale, with moss covered trees, dramatic waterfalls and intriguing rock formations.

This national park also offers some good skiing opportunities especially in the winter months.