It was briefly New Zealand's highest mountain - but now Mangamuka Summit has lost 4000m and turned back into a hill.
Earlier this month, the Advocate revealed that New Zealand's highest point was Mangamuka Summit, where State Highway 1 crosses the ranges south of Kaitaia, and not Aoraki Mt Cook as previously believed.
A sign at the summit parking area recorded the elevation as 4383m, significantly higher than Mt Cook's 3724m.
![The same sign photographed earlier this month.](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/C4JRAGBXCVGL2HOMHRGWXFNJGU.jpg?auth=2d5e987ac9b0866cb720459d9a9bd645cf41763110c4a81d6d5d105e9153a36c&width=16&height=12&quality=70&smart=true)
However, before hordes of mountaineers could descend on Northland to scale the country's only 4000m-plus peak, someone changed the sign by removing the "4".