Stay updated with breaking news from Hongi bluff. Get real-time updates on events, politics, business, and more. Visit us for reliable news and exclusive interviews.
Karakia cleansing conducted at Taranaki Maunga site where tramper was killed by boulder stuff.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from stuff.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Summer is the easiest time to summit due to limited ice and snow at the peak, says former police officer and alpine rescuer George White says. In the spring the soft slushy-like snow means if climbers fall they don’t slide down the mountain. ANDY JACKSON/Stuff But in the Autumn the mountain is a death trap for inexperienced climbers, he says. “The maunga can bite, and he bites hard.” The 58-year-old New Plymouth man has been involved in countless rescues and body recoveries from the maunga in his time and knows its many moods. The first recorded fatality was in autumn 1891, when 23-year-old William Southward slipped on frozen ice and fell to his death. ....