Lake Waikareiti Walk
Track category
Walking track
Time:
2 hr return
Description
This well-graded track rises 300 m in altitude to the day shelter at Lake Waikareiti. The forest is predominantly red and silver beech with mighty rimu trees emerging above the canopy.
From the day shelter hire boats are available to access Rahui Island (L.Waikareiti). About a third way along the nor-western side of this Island there is a boat landing and a short walk to a small lake(Tamaiti). Boat hire must be organised through the Visitor Centre.
Beyond the day shelter a tramping track runs to Sandy Bay Hut at the northern end of the lake (a further 3 hours from the day shelter or one and a half hours by hire boat in calm conditions). The hut (bookings required) lies idyllically on the shores of a shallow bay which features brilliant white sand.
The Ruapani Circuit Track can be accessed from this track about half an hour beyond the Waikareiti day shelter.
Getting there
The Lake Waikareiti Walk begins 200 m from the Aniwaniwa Visitor Centre on the road to Rotorua.
About the area
Lake Waikareiti
Lake Waikareiti was formed by a massive landslide which took place about 18,000 years ago. A thick slab of country 10 km wide slid off high ridges in the north-west, depositing uneven debris over a wide area. Lake Waikareiti and several lakelets formed in hollows in the debris.
The lake is free of pollution and all introduced aquatic plants, and has remarkable water clarity. The islands in the lake are possum-free allowing rare red and yellow-flowered mistletoes to flourish. Rahui Island features an unusual "lake-on-an-island-in-a-lake".
You may hear two of NZ's increasingly endangered parrots: the screech of the kaka (the forest relative of the South Island alpine kea) and the chatty ki-ki-ki of the yellow-crowned parakeet (kakariki). Listen too for smaller but equally remarkable forest birds: the rifleman/titipounamu (which weighs a mere 6 grams and measures 80 mm in length), the tomtit/miromiro (which can spot an insect as far away as 12 m) and the inquisitive North Island robin/toutouwai.
Plan and prepare
- Warm clothes and food.
- Raincoat.
- Check wind conditions if hiring boat.
- Boat hire must organised through the Visitor Centre. Keys and Lifejackets will be provided from here.
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