Mokaihaha Ecological Area: Mokaihaha Track
Lake Rotohokahoka is 20 minutes from the start of the track.
Weekend adventures with Senior DoC Ranger Mayer, it’s got a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? Mayer had mentioned a few weeks back that he would take me track marking if I was keen...of course I said yes straight away. Or did I? There was a fair bit of banter and negotiations that he wouldn’t use his ‘supervisor’ voice on me and whether or not morning tea was included. Happy to say that he was very patient and it was a fun day out.
Mokaihaha Track is 9.6km outside the town of Mamaku - I had never been there, so we did a couple of laps around the town before heading to the track. The town reminded me a lot of when I used to live in Te Araroa. It isn’t technically a loop track as you pop out of the bush about ten minutes down the road, but it’s easy enough to walk back to the car along the gravel road. You can walk the track in either direction - we walked it counter-clockwise.
Getting There
From the Department of Conservation (DoC) website: Mokaihaha Ecological Area is situated on the Mamaku Plateau, 9.6km south-east of Mamaku township. From Rotorua follow SH5 (the main Rotorua-Hamilton highway) for 1 km. Turn left up Dansey road to Mamaku. At the end of this road turn left by Mamaku School and follow South road for 9.6km until you reach the track sign on the right (west) side of the road. This is the start of the track, which ends at West road.
West Road is found approximately 3km further down South road. Due to its rough surface and particularly in wet weather, it is recommended only for 4 wheel-drive vehicles.
You can also use this link from Google Maps. Parking is limited (a small gravel clearing with plenty of potholes) and was a bit flooded when we were there. It can get pretty boggy so just make sure you don’t get stuck - there’s no reception there.
Lake Rotohokahoka is about 20 minutes into the forest. It's more of a lagoon than a large body of water, but it is beautiful and quite serene, definitely worth a look.
The track itself is already marked, so we were there to repair/remove damaged markers as well as add a few more. As a frequent tramper, I often rely on the orange markers to keep me on track, so it was really interesting to install them from an end-user’s perspective. Not only that, I also kept in mind what it was like for me when I first started - where can we position the markers to make it even easier to spot?
After about half an hour of walking, Mayer pulled out his bag of orange plastic markers and 75mm flat-head nails. When I told my Mum that I was going to be putting up markers she giggled and asked me if I was going to bring a ladder. Mayer laughed at that too. I’m only 5ft tall (152cm) so fair point - we came to a compromise of installing just above my forehead. We guessed this would be about the eye level of the average adult.
Senior DoC Ranger Mayer installing an orange marker nearby.
It was slow going as we were installing markers for both directions, plus I was a bit rusty with my hammering skills. I managed to hit a couple of markers and cracked them, but happy to say that I managed to keep my fingers from getting whacked. We also cleared some minor windfalls along the way, nothing major, just enough to keep the track clear and easy to follow.
I learned that the orange markers shouldn’t be nailed flush to the tree - not only is it much harder to remove if they’re damaged, vines and moss are more likely to grow over them over time and make it hard to see them. If possible, markers should be nailed to a living tree and installed at regular distances with each marker within sight of the next. There will be times when you can’t do this, so it always goes back to how it would serve the end user.
We came across this carved sign for the lake.
We finished up marking when we reached the junction of the track that can either take you to West or South Road. Access to the Mokaihaha Track from West Road is a 4WD track. When we walked there, the dirt road looked pretty carved up and filled with water - I didn’t really feel like going for a swim so we walked back the same way. From the junction we just followed the track back towards South Road.
The track itself is relatively flat and steady underfoot (you should be able to walk it in comfortable walking shoes), and would take around 2 hours if we weren’t track marking. As with most tracks in the Kaimai Mamaku Forest, it can get muddy (especially in winter), so you may want to bring your gaiters (if you have some) if there’s been rain recently. It’s family-friendly and you’ll be walking under the podocarp canopy throughout.
Another one to add to my collection of gravel road adventures, plus it was pretty rad to do some track marking too. Mayer said that you can volunteer to do track marking for DoC, something I’m keen to do more of in the future for sure.
fivefootronna is Ronna Grace Funtelar - a thirtyish adventurer, graphic designer and writer. A woman with a curious mind who lives for hiking mountains, outdoor adventures and eating pizza. She has a unique brand of optimism that is a combination of her great enthusiasm for life and cups of coffee during the day.