Hiking The Lake Tarawera Trail

Yippee, Hamilton finally in level two.  Cannot wait to get outdoors and explore our wilderness and at the same time do a ‘shake down’ of our gear in preparation for our “long walk” planned to start 4th January, 2022.

Some weeks earlier Yvonne (my tramping buddy) suggested we hike The Tarawera Trail to Hot Water Beach which is on the shores of Lake Tarawera.  Stay the night in the DOC campground and return the next day.

Some years ago in the middle of winter, with low cloud, and intermittent cold rain a few of my friends and I had hiked this trail with high anticipation of having a hot water soak in the lake at the end.  That adventure is another story, enough to say we didn’t get our hot water soak instead we ended up with the soles or our feet scorched and chilled to the bone.

What I’ve come to realise over the years is what makes a trip, experience or adventure memorable.  It is when things don’t go as planned or you experience some difficulty or inconvenience – those are the times you remember.  What are your most memorable experiences or adventures where things didn’t go as planned?

Lake Tarawera Trail map

This shakedown hike was about us testing our newly acquired tents, pack arrangement, sleeping system and cooking setup.  Along with accessing our level of fitness, and enabling us the space and time together to chat about a variety of topics before our long walk.

Starting at Te Wairoa

The day dawned with a clear blue sky, little wind and two days of predicted fine weather.  John (Yvonne’s husband) dropped us off at the Te Wairoa carpark, the start of the trail. That was after we had had a coffee at one of the local mountain bike parks where Yvonne informed me she trains. All I could see were hills and more hills, my heart sank as my training ground is mostly flat!

The carpark was full of activity with a large group of older people from the Shoe String Tramping Group, Tauranga.  They were busy tying up boot laces, loading on their day packs and making last minute toilet stops before heading off along the trail to the hot water pool (12 kms away).  After a soak, they were then catching the Water Taxi back to The Landing, Lake Tarawera.   This taxi service is also available to and from Hot Water Beach campground, but not one Yvonne and I would be using on this occasion.

The Trail

We hauled on our Aarn packs, had our photo taken and said goodbye to John.   We both were keen to get moving.

The first part of the track was in the open and then gradually you enter the mainly manuka and kanuka bush, which was welcome as the day was hot with a clear blue sky.  The track is well defined and easy to follow, initially quite overgrown.   It follows the contour of the lake, with plenty of ups and downs.  You are often rewarded with glimpses of the clear blue lake below through the bush.

Our first stop was at Hawaiki Bay which has a toilet, picnic table and an opportunity to swim if you wish.  We enjoyed a short rest, and ate some trail mix.  We did stop here on our return journey for lunch and a swim to cool off.  It was my first sighting of Mt Tarawera in the distance.

Our next destination was at the 12 km mark, taking a left turn down a side track to the hot pool.  We soon had our packs and boots off, and were tentatively stepping into the hot water.  To sit down and let the body relax was very soothing.  The thought did cross my mind that if the weather was much colder this experience would be even better.  We enjoyed the company and conversation of fellow pool sitters all of whom had come in by boat and then walked the short distance to this hot pool.  This is an option if you don’t want to walk the 12 kms.

Feeling refreshed we headed off – only another 4 kms to the camping ground. Before we started the last climb, we were confronted with this sign, which seemed quite extreme!  Not near as bad as you may have expected – from my perspective!

Te Rātā Bay – Hot Water Beach Camp Ground

It is always rewarding to get to your destination. It was hot and the first thing we did was off-load our packs, remove our boots, and walk straight into the clear water to cool off – instantly the sweat and dust were washed away and I felt invigorated.  The water was warm on top and cool underneath but very refreshing.

We didn’t swim where the steam rises from the lake as the ground can be very very hot!

It wasn’t long before we had boiled our billy for that welcome cup-of-tea and enjoyed some squashed fruit cake which I’d carried in –  delicious.   While we sat on the wooden park bench enjoying our cuppa and admiring the views, we got chatting to a couple who had kayaked in and were spending a few days kayaking around the lake.  They had an amazing setup, gear everywhere – mind you they didn’t have to carry their gear.

You have to book a campsite at the DOC campground.  It has approximately 30 campsites, 4 long-drop toilets and a shelter where you can cook and eat your food. No running water as there is an unlimited supply a few meters away.

We soon had our tents erected, gear sorted and started to enjoy a variety of conversations with other campers.  Shame we didn’t have a bottle of wine to savour and share, but that didn’t stop us from enjoying the moments.

Joys of camping

One of the many experiences I love about hiking and staying in a tent is you always go to bed early.  My excuse is ‘resting’ enables the body to recover from the day’s physical activity.   I had a good book I wanted to finish reading.  So, crawled into my tent, zipped down the tent opening, wriggled into my sleeping bag, turned on my head torch and read until I finished the book.

The campground was relatively quiet even though there were many families with young children also enjoying the natural surroundings.

The return journey

Thankfully Yvonne and I are similar in that we both like early morning starts.  We had enjoyed two hot drinks, eaten our muesli and packed our packs by 7.30 am when we headed back the way we had hiked the previous day.  It always amazes me how different the trail appears on a return trip.   You get such a different perspective of your surrounds – it’s a bit like walking a new trail.

After removing our packs and boots, we enjoyed another swim at Hawaiki Bay.  Then enjoyed our lunch and had a short power nap.  While resting I pondered the idea of whether this may be our routine on our long walk?

While eating our lunch Yvonne texted her husband to meet us around 2pm but it never displayed the fact that the text had actually been sent.  So, we were mentally preparing for a road walk until John received her message.  Fortunately for us, who should we see standing on a bridge observing the stream below, but John.  He was a welcome sight.  He’d also had a busy weekend playing tennis.

A great weekend was had by all.  Thank you Yvonne for your thoughts, conversations, company, and energy.

Reflections

• Meet lots of interesting people
• Most enjoyable adventure
• Fabulous weather
• Gear worked as expected
• Good level of fitness
• Feet and body good
• Excellent company
• Successful 2 days
• Do it again?  Yes definitely and would highly recommend it, even if you get a water taxi one way or both ways.

Lake Tarawera Trail Scenes

What is next?

Yvonne and I start our long walk (Te Araroa Trail, South Island) on afternoon of 4 January, 2022 when we will be dropped off by water taxi at Ship Cove, start of Queen Charlotte Track.  Hopefully, I will post updates when I have the energy and if and when cell phone coverage is available.

That is it until sometime in January, 2022.  Have a great Christmas and New Year!  Take care out there – Goldcard Gal 🙂