3-7 December 2022

Leader: Brandon Holman

Initially we were five but a request from a prospective new member (Desiree) to join us meant that we needed two vehicles to go up to the lake on Saturday taking approximately 7 hours.

Since there were reports of many potholes in the gravel roads around the lake, we used Mark and Wayne’s utes for transport which was good. We stayed at the Waikaremoana Holiday Park in cabins and enjoyed showers and good facilities. Sunday dawned bright and clear and we got the water taxi to Onepoto to start the walk. This was a 10 minute ride for which we paid, along with one other tramper $455, which seems excessive by any standard, at $65 per person. It was nice to be on the water however, and much nicer than going by road. The climb up to Panekiri Bluff was pleasant enough, shaded, and gradual in gradient, and the magnificent views soon materialized. As we had plenty of time we lingered at the most expansive lookout and enjoyed the primeval lake and forest panorama.

When we got to the hut we found it a little run down as we had expected, given the lack of maintenance through the Covid years and the Mexican standoff between DOC and Nga Tuhoe. The water was okay to drink, but the toilets were dirty and some seating and decking needed attention. We enjoyed a lovely summer evening with great views and good shelter from the wind, and played cards. On Monday we were on our way soon after 8 am, with the prospect of a 4 hour walk, which turned out to be only 3, probably as we were going downhill the whole time. This meant that we arrived at the next hut - Waiopaoa at 11:10 am, a new record for all of us for the earliest arrival at a hut! Luckily, this hut is right by the lake, so we enjoyed swimming in the warm weather. For those of us who are constantly busy, it was a little challenging to pass the time as there was little else to do but ‘chill out’.

At 4 pm the only other trampers to stay here arrived, a father and teenage daughter. They had done Onepoto to Waiopaoa in one walk, which we could have done, but we wanted to not rush!

We set off on Tuesday at about 8:30 am for Marauiti Hut, and after about an hour on the trail dumped our packs and headed off to the the Korokoro Falls (a 1 hour detour), which were quite stunning. I took a fall on the mossy slopes near the falls but came away with just bruises. We had very pleasant walking along the lakeshore with many good swimming places but we pressed on, getting to the hut at 2:30 pm. It seemed a bit cramped and busy there so after a bit of a rest we pushed on another 2 hours to Waiharuru Hut which was lovely and spacious. Some of us enjoyed another swim. There were worms in the hut drinking water however, so most of us elected to get our water from the fast-flowing creek nearby.

Wednesday dawned somewhat cooler and rainy, and we set off at 7:40 am for the road-end, there being no water taxi service on Wednesdays. We were all surprised to find the Whanganui Hut was no more, having been removed by burning, but as was later explained, it had become very run down, and was little used except for people walking in from the road-end for parties etc. We got to the road-end in very good time for our mini-bus rendezvous some 2 hours early, but amused ourselves by going for short walks along a flat road in the rain! There was a small shelter but it had no seating and was most inadequate. We ate our lunch on the hoof or sitting in the rain. At 2:00 pm the minibus duly turned up, less expensive than the water taxi at $40 a head for the half-hour drive back to the Holiday Park. The driver was very friendly (used to run the Paraparaumu RSA!) and took us to see the lovely Papakorito falls which were off down a side-track.

Back at base we showered and changed into ordinary clothes for our long drive home, stopping at Wairoa for fish and chips. Many folk born here have experienced the magic of Waikaremoana already, but for those of us more recently arrived, it is a place well worth visiting. To save on taxi fares, it would be possible to arrange some sort of car shuffle at each end of the track. Much of the track was overgrown with considerable windfall as well, but we were told a work party was heading that way during the Summer to improve things.

Those on the trip were:

Brandon Holman, Chantal Heller, Mark Robertson, Rob Dey, Wayne Williams, Desiree

Currently there is no photo album for this trip.