Paritutu Rock — Attraction in North Island

It’s free but it could cost your life. My cousin almost died on this!!! This mountain is dangerous but has a great view. Once you get to the top the view is beautiful, but it is not worth the risk. My little cousin fell and luckily a person caught him.

The way you get up is by pulling on a chain, everyone holds on to this rusty chain which you pull yourself up with. You are not wearing a harness, so if you let go of the chain or slip, there is a chance you will fall off and die, or get a horrible cut, and it’s difficult to get help when an ambulance is at the bottom and you are stuck somewhere on the rock. What if your hands get sweaty and slip off the chain? What if you fall and land on other people behind you?What if some drunk person went on and hurt themself?

I think there should be laws in place to protect people from getting hurt or killed. Hopefully it doesn’t take an accident for people to...

I love these kind of adventures and the climb up this rock just had to be done. A group of us were exploring New Plymouth. Two of our group decided that while nursing injuries it probably wasn't a good idea to attempt. I was surprised at the steepness of the hill and was grateful for the chains firmly attached to the rock, which were used to haul ourselves up. I was baffled when a person struggling to come down hill had a dog on her shoulder. I offered help but it's definitely a place to not bring dogs. The view from the top was just awesome. Although a beautiful day, Mt Taranaki was proving elusive, so I concentrated my photographs on the coastline view instead. On the perfect day, I imagine you will get an amazing view of the mountain from up here. If you are bringing camera equipment up here, be prepared to need both hands free...

Challenging but achievable climb which starts on some lung busting, steep steps but transforms into an uneven rocky and even steeper pathway. Wear good footwear to ensure you maintain good grip on the way up - footholds are available and are fairly obvious but are unevenly spaced. The way down is slightly more challenging and care is needed to find the footholds. There is a chain which I used regularly to support my ascent and descent. I was glad I got to the top and back without more than a slightly grazed ankle. Great views across New Plymouth...