Track Closure: As of July 2023, the Lake Waikaremoana Track remains closed until at least 30th September 2023 due to extensive flooding caused by Cyclone Gabrielle.
You can find New Zealand’s “quietest great walk”, the Lake Waikaremoana Track, nestled in Te Urewera, between the regions of the Hawke’s Bay and the Bay of Plenty.
What better way to be at one with nature than completing 3 or 4 days of hiking through the tranquil bush and camping at the waters edge along the beautiful Lake Waikaremoana Track.
Enjoy winding your way through dense, enchanting, fairy-like forest, with no phone signal, just a small numbers of hikers, and the sweet sound of native bird song.
Why hike the Lake Waikaremoana Track?
Across New Zealand there are 10 Great Walks which showcase some of the country’s best natural landscapes whist embarking on a multi-day journey, but without a doubt Lake Waikaremoana is the quietest of them all. This might leave you questioning “is it worth it?”…
- Recharge in native bush – walk through ancient native forest surrounded by the mystique of Maori legend, pitch up camp a stone’s throw from the lake shore with zero phone signal throughout; completing the Lake Waikaremoana Track provides you with an opportunity to leave the hustle of normal life behind, recharge and reconnect with nature.
- Renovated Huts – all huts along the Lake Waikaremoana Track were given a much needed revamp in late 2021, after the tracks prolonged closure during the Covid-19 pandemic across 2020-2022, meaning you’ll be treated to well serviced and maintained huts along your walk.
- A North Island Great Walk – If ticking off all of the Great Walks is on your bucket list, then Lake Waikaremoana is one of only 3 Great Walks located in New Zealand’s North Island. Rotorua is the nearest city, from there is a 2 hour 50 minutes / 162km drive to the remote Lake Waikaremoana.
- Winter Hiking – as winter comes around, many of New Zealand’s best hikes recieve a significant amount of snowfall meaning mountaineering skills and expert knowledge is required. So if you’re still looking for your winter hiking fix, Lake Waikaremoana provides a great sub-alpine option. Lake Waikaremoana is often shrowded in mist year-round anyway which adds to the spiritual connection – plus there’s always the option of cosying up next to the log-burner with a book (and maybe a glass of red wine!)
Wondering what is a Great Walk? New Zealand’s Great Walks are designed to be intermediate level, well maintained, multi-day walking tracks which showcase the best landscapes across the country. Importantly, all Great Walks have a limited numbers of spaces available to book, keeping hikers at a minimum and natural beauty to maximum. Along all the tracks, you’ll find a mix of campsites and huts which are well-serviced by camp rangers compared to that of a typical back country hut or campsite – meaning these walks are suitable for all ages and hiking experience!
Getting to Lake Waikaremoana
The largest hubs for getting to Lake Waikaremoana would be Rotorua (2 hours 50 minutes drive / 162km) coming from the north-west and Gisborne (2 hours 10 minutes drive / 154km) coming from the east. If you are visiting from the South, you could also look at staying in Napier (2 hours 20 minutes drive / 165km).
Once you leave these cities behind there is little more than a few villages, with the odd general store and petrol station dotted in between as you begin to wind through the forest. So we would highly recommend stocking up and staying in a larger city prior to embarking on the Lake Waikaremoana Track.
Whether you’re coming from the north or the south to reach Lake Waikaremoana, both directions require getting on to State Highway 38. The highway runs for around 90km and is a gravel road with a few land slides so it’s not for the faint hearted, nor those without a 4WD!
Despite the sketchy road which had us with our heart in our mouths at some points (the locals fly around the corners at top speed even if it’s a blindspot!), the view as you ascend through the hills is incredible.
Expect winding roads curving along the cliff edge, with vast forest and beautiful valleys continuing for miles and miles. As you get closer to the lake itself, the road crosses over 2 giant waterfalls (Aniwaniwa & Mōkau Falls) before opening up to reveal the turquoise blue water and the emerald green bush that surrounds it – it’s quite a spectacle.
Hiking the Lake Waikaremoana track
Waikaremoana Holiday Park, Lake Road, Kokako, Tuai, Wairoa District, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
Control Gate, Onepoto Road, Onepoto, Wairoa District, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
Waiopaoa Hut, Lake Waikaremoana Great Walk, Onepoto, Wairoa District, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
Waiharuru Hut, Lake Waikaremoana Great Walk, Wairoa District, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
Whanganui Hut, Lake Waikaremoana Great Walk, Wairoa District, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
The Lake Waikaremoana track is 46km in length one way, and can be walked in either direction.
In our opinion the track is mostly easy walking with the exception of the ascent up to Panekire Bluff, sitting 1180m above sea level. As you approach the top, a rocky outcrop emerges – known as Bald Knob. The views here are incredible, providing panaromic views and makes the climb well worth the effort. This is by far the best spot to see the lake in all it’s glory.
However, when we were there the wind was howling which made for a very nervy picture at the viewpoint and we didn’t hang around for long before taking shelter! Stay safe!
Lake Waikaremoana Track elevation profile:
How long is it really?
Usually we find that when we complete hikes or Great Walks across New Zealand, we finish the trek quicker than the suggested time on the noticeboards. For Lake Waikaremoana, although we found time wise we were similar to what they had suggested, 4 of us with different GPS watches found that the km’s stated were incorrect to those advertised by DOC.
Our recordings showed that it was significantly longer than 9km to reach Panekire Hut, and actually varied between 12-15km. This wasn’t a huge problem, but meant that we couldn’t have our lunch stop as planned. It wasn’t quite as enjoyable eating our lunch on tree stumps on the path as it would have been at the stunning viewpoint in front of Panekire Hut.
Apart the steep climb on our first day, we found the rest of the walk to be relatively easy as you traverse along the lake. This is why we recommend that you can do the walk in 3 days rather than the 4 days outlined in the Great Walk brochure.
Our walking itinerary
If you’re of moderate fitness, this is what we’d recommend. Here’s how we broke down our days walking.
- Day 1: Onepoto – Waiopaoa, 19km, 7 hours 50 minutes
- Day 2: Waiopaoa – Waiharuru, 7.5km, 3 hours 20 minutes
- Day 3: Waiharuru – Whanganui Hut, 6.5km, 2 hours
- FINISH: Whanganui Hut – watertaxi pick up.
Note – when we hiked the track in April 2022 there was flooding on a small section of the track. This meant unfortunately we had to skip Korokoro falls and the campsite there, and instead hopped in a watertaxi some of the way. This cut out around 5km walking and our statistics of course reflect this.
Huts vs Camping
On the track there are 4 huts and 5 campsites to accomodate hikers. Deciding on where to stay will dictate how long you walk for each day meaning there is some flexibility around your route.
Huts at Lake Waikaremoana cost $32 per person per night, whereas campsites cost $16 per person per night – either option can be booked here!
All the huts and campsites are a short distance from the water, making it easy to cool off and take a dip in the crystal clear lake at the end of a long day of walking.
During the summer we would highly recommend camping instead of staying in the huts. The campsites are located right on the lakes edge, meaning you have a great view out over the lake for your morning coffee, and at night, you have an uninterrupted view of the starry night sky – all from the cosiness of your sleeping bag!
Although this means you have more to carry in your packs, the walking is easy going so we think this is a good trade-off for this Great Walk!
With this being said, the DOC huts have recently been renovated in 2022 and are in great condition. The Waiharuru Hut in particular is a lovely space to relax in after a long day of walking. As with all Great Walk huts, the huts are kitted out with gas cookers, running water, a log burner and bunk beds to cater for many more people.
TOP TIP – there’s a woodshed and axe at most campsites so we highly recommend chopping your own wood and building a camp fire at your campsite. This created a great atmosphere with everyone sharing their stories from the day – we even made a great friend chatting at the campfire in Lake Waikaremoana who we now meet up with regularly in Auckland!
You’ll need a water taxi!
As the Lake Waikaremoana track is an out and back, linear track, you’ll ter require a wataxi to transport you from one end to the other.
From Lake Waikaremoana Holiday Park, the start of the track is just a 10 minute drive. At the time we completed the track, there had been some cases of break-ins so make sure no valuables are left behind!
You can leave your car at one end and book a water taxi for the return trip. You will be required to leave your car at either Onepoto or at Hopuruahine Landing. If you are travelling in a larger group and have 2 cars, then you could avoid the water taxi and leave one car at either end.
Although we’d highly recommend taking the watertaxi as it’s stunning on a beautiful weather day, and eerie on a wet one.
So if you’re not travelling in a group with multiple vehicles, you need to book a water taxi to take you from Whanganui Hut (which is permanently closed for accomodation) back to Onepoto.
You could also do the track in reverse, in which case you’d book the watertaxi to take you from Onepoto back to Whanganui Hut. However we wouldn’t recommend reversing the track given the demanding climb up Panekire Bluff which would be required on the last day.
We loved getting the water taxi back on our final day as it gave us another perspective of the lake and it was impressive looking back on the track we had just walked.
The water taxi costs $80 and can be booked in advance by calling the Te Urewera Visitor Centre. You can also arrange this on arrival if you are completing the walk during the Great Walk Season, but outside of peak times I would recommend checking the watertaxi day and times.
Where to stay near Lake Waikaremoana
One of my favourite things about visiting the beautiful Lake Waikaremoana was staying at the Lake Waikaremoana Holiday Park.
With accommodation from powered & non powered campsites right on the waterfront, to cabins, chalets and bunkhouses nestled in the bush, there is something for everyone.
The accommodation is reasonably priced, and perfectly placed for an evening of relaxing next to the gentle ripple of the water before embarking on the hike itself.
The facilities were wonderful, the team were very helpful and the beds were pretty comfortable!
We would highly recommend staying here for a night before or after your time on the trail, to simply relax and admire the lake from ground level.
About Te Urewera
Remote, rugged, immense, Te Urewera is the home of the Tūhoe people and is famous for its lakes and forested beauty.
department of conservation
Te Urewera is an area of densely forested, sparsely populated rugged hill country in the North Island of New Zealand. It has great significance to the Maori people as a place of high spiritual value, with it’s own mana (supernatural force), and mauri (spirit). This makes it an incredible destination to visit and learn further about the Maori culture. As you first step foot into Te Urewera, you get an immediate sense that you are in a very special and meaningful place. This feeling will only grow as you embark on a great adventure over the next 3 days, hearing tales of Maori legends and seeing first-hand the mystic of Te Urewera.
Te Urewera is the homeland of the Tūhoe people. Groundbreakingly, it is the first natural feature to be recognised in New Zealand law (and worldwide) as a living person, meaning it owns itself and exists for its own sake, cared and spoken for by a select comittee of humans.
Tūhoe people are natural hosts and they want to welcome visitors to the lake. They’re proud of their lands and hope that you will leave with so much more than you arrived with – whether that’s a feeling of wellbeing, connectedness or appreciation for the land.
How to book your next Great Walk
Have we persuaded you to immerse yourself in nature and get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life? Good. This is how you can book it.
Unlike many of the highly popular South Island Great Walks, Lake Waikaremoana has lots of availability year round, and you simply need to book this on the DOC website as soon as you can.
Many of the Great Walks sell out as soon as the booking open which is usually at the start of May, but for this one you should be able to book your spot just a couple of months out.
We visited for Easter weekend 2022, and booked our campsites just the week before – a huge surprise for a long weekend! Of course the huts are much higher in demand for booking.
Once you’ve secured your spot, be sure to check water taxi timings, but as I mentioned above, you should be able to book this on your arrival.
Planning Another Great Walk?
Interested in trying another great walk? Read about our experiences on Tongariro Northern Circuit, Abel Tasman National Park and the Milford Track right here at cookingupanadventure!