UMC'98 - Recommended Tracks in the Urewera National Park

Lake Waikaremoana Track *****

Lake Waikaremoana is the largest lake in the Urewera National Park, a remote forest area in the eastern North Island. With its many bays and inlets, the lake offers a large variety of scenery, much of which can be seen on the round-the-lake track, which is counted among the "Great Walks" of New Zealand. The full track takes up to five days, however, it is possible to do parts of it and get the water taxi from the Waikaremoana Motel (the only place of accommodation in the park).

Unless you fancy walking large distances on narrow gravel road with quite a lot of traffic, you will need some transport from and to the ends of the track. The track itself feaures a number of campsites and huts.

For those who only want to get a glimpse of it, the southern track entrance offers a good opportunity. In about an hour, one can climb a bluff overlooking the lake.

Lake Waikareiti *****

This track is a beauty day or two-day trip. From the DOC visitor centre at Aniwaniwa, which is about 2km from the motel, the track leads in about an hour to the lake, whose outlet flows into Lake Waikaremoana via a series of rapids and waterfalls. The visitor centre hires out dinghys and oars (no worries, they're up at the lake and you don't need to carry them all the way) on a first-come-first-serve basis. These are likely to be all gone if you get up late - best is to book the day before or even earlier. They can be taken out overnight.

Lake Waikareiti is surronded by rich and dense bush on its shores. It also has several islands which can be explored from the water. One includes a lake, which is quite a popular attraction. The lake also has good trout fishing, although you'll require a permit. At the opposite end to where one first gets to the lake, a sandy beach that is not named "Sandy Bay" for nothing invites for a lunch stop. On the odd occasion, the basic DOC hut there houses a few recreational fishermen that will only be too prepared to share their catch. A hut pass is available at the visitor centre.

The hut can also be reached by land, via a three-hour walk, which is one-way unless one wants to carry on via a very wide loop which leads back to the main road that crosses the park (this is a walk that will take several days). However, there is alternative track back to the visitor centre not far from the dinghy landing site, which takes a few hours rather than the one hour on the direct route.

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