Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Getting There & Away
InterCity and Naked Bus pass through Waipawa and Waipukurau on their Welling-
ton-Napier routes.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Kaweka & Ruahine Ranges
The remote Kaweka and Ruahine ranges separate Hawke's Bay from the Central Plateau.
These forested wildernesses offer some of the North Island's best tramping. See the DOC
pamphlets
Kaweka Forest Park & Puketitiri Reserves
and
Eastern Ruahine Forest Park
for details of tracks and huts (both available online at
www.doc.govt.nz
).
An ancient 136km Maori track, now know as the
Gentle Annie Road
, runs inland from
Omahu near Hastings to Taihape, via Otamauri and Kuripapango (where there's a basic
but charming DOC campsite, adult/child $6/3). This isolated route takes around three
hours (or a couple of days by bike).
Kaweka J
, the highest point of the range (1724m), can be reached by a three-to-five-hour
tramp from the end of Kaweka Rd; from Napier take Puketitiri Rd then Whittle Rd. The
drive is worthwhile in itself; it's partly unsealed and takes three hours return.
Enjoy a soak in natural hot pools before or after the three-hour walk on
Te Puia Track
,
which follows the picturesque
Mohaka River
. From Napier, take Puketitiri Rd, then Pakau-
road can be dicey - bring a 4WD if you've got one.
The Mokaha can be rafted with
Mohaka Rafting
(
06-839 1808;
www.mohakarafting.com
; from
$95)
.
