Lake Waikaremoana

invisible

 

 

 

Staying warm at the Waiopaoa Hut

Panekire Bluff

 

Sick but sound in the watertaxi home

Located in the southwest corner of Te Urewera National Park, the Lake Waikaremoana Great Walk is a 46km four day tramp that showcases the sandy shores of the beautiful lake, the Panekire Bluff, and the bird-rich podocarp rainforest (we heard kiwi, but no sightings).

Waikaremoana is a relatively easy walk, most of it following a well-defined track alongside the sunny beaches of the lake.  We spent our first night atop the Panekire Bluff, enjoying some fabulous views of the winding bays 700m below.  We then descended to Waiopaoa Hut, where we took a dip in the chilly water.  Better late than never, we settled on an iron law of tramping: if there is a body of water you must swim in it.  No matter how cold, it will be the most fun you'll have that day.  Unfortunately, I was fighting a cold for much of the first two days of the walk, and Christina's symptoms set in in time for the final two, meaning features like the climb up the bluff felt much more difficult than they ought have.  And due to a strange set of circumstances I packed about half the amount of food we needed.  And what we did have tasted terrible!  A revealing moment saw us licking the sugar coating of Advil for pleasure.

The real trouble, however, was Christina's foot, which nearly prevented her from trying the walk at all.  She injured it running, angrily, the day I booked the walk.  She battled through, and was rewarded with a watertaxi ride back to the lakefront general store, where we cannonballed once more off the dock before buying ice cream, chocolate, and ginger beer for the drive west.