Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ROW YOUR BOAT ASHORE
The tramp to Lake Waikareiti offers the opportunity to embark on one of NZ's classic
'multisport' adventures, combining a traditional bush tramp with a spot of leisurely
boating.
In the boatshed alongside the Lake Waikareiti day shelter, DOC has dinghies avail-
able for hire (four hours $20). Pay for and pick up a boatshed key at the DOC visitor
centre. The boats hold three people with packs, or four without.
A popular outing is to
Rahui Island
, situated in the middle of the lake, where there's
a boat landing and a short walk to another lake - that's a lake on an island in a lake.
You may also see rare mistletoes blooming with red and orange flowers, which flourish
on the islands in Lake Waikareiti due to an absence of pesky possums.
Many people take the dinghies out for a few hours, but overnight hire is also permit-
ted, allowing you to row across the lake to Sandy Bay Hut and stay overnight. Located
at the northern end of the lake, it's a 1½-hour row in calm conditions.
Day 2: Sandy Bay Hut to Aniwaniwa
4-5 HOURS, 14KM
From Sandy Bay Hut, return along the same track you previously came up. At the junction
beyond Tawari Bay, take the right fork and follow the Ruapani Circuit Track back out to the
road - a distance of 10km taking around 3½ hours.
The track passes through a forest dominated by red and silver beech with the occasional
mighty rimu emerging above the canopy. It also passes by several wetlands and little lakes,
including Lake Ruapani, the track's namesake. On the descent from this lake, the final body
of water en route, there is an enticing glimpse of Lake Waikaremoana, Panekiri Bluff and
Hawke's Bay in the distance.
WHIRINAKI TE PUA A TANE CONSERVATION PARK
Forming a boundary between the commercial pine plantations of the Kaingaroa plains and
the vast forests of Te Urewera National Park, the 549-sq-km Whirinaki Te Pua a Tane Con-
servation Park is an internationally recognised enclave of native forest. Lauded for its biod-
iversity and ecological values, it is a dense and magisterial landscape similar to the forests
that blanketed Gondwana in the Jurassic period, more than 150 million years ago. For this
reason Whirinaki is often referred to as the 'dinosaur forest'.
