Day tramp from Ōtanewainuku to Otawa Trig Track
How to get to the Otawa scenic Reserve car park
The small carpark is about 2km along Quarry Road in Te Puke, across from Reid Road South. Keep an eye for the small DoC sign at the entrance because it’s easy to miss. You can also access the track from Demeter Road and Manoeka Road.
You know, some day missions don’t always go as planned. Mayer turned up with a slight hangover from his work party the night before and I totally missed the car park on Quarry Road in Te Puke, making us start much later than planned. There were already a few missed calls on my phone before I could do a u-turn along the narrow gravel road and make my way back to the Otawa Scenic Reserve.
It was around midday by the time we pulled up to the carpark at Ōtanewainuku in Ōropi - a place I didn’t even know existed until a year ago. Thank you Tinder haha. My legs were full of energy as we powered through to Whataroa Falls (it was the easiest hour of the tramp) - the track is well maintained and easy to follow. I also recommend checking out the 400-year-old Rimu along the short Rimu Track loop.
Track info sign at Whataroa Falls in Ōtanewainuku.
As you get deeper into the forest, the track starts to narrow and you’ll come across windfalls quite often. Nowhere near like the Urutawa, but enough to slow down my short legs. No bush bashing either, except for the few times I accidently strayed from the track and had to call out to Mayer so I could find my bearings.
About 30 minutes from the falls, we found ourselves walking through lush farmland. The sign at Whataroa said that the track ‘goes through private farmland’, so it wasn’t until the paddocks started turning into electric fences that we realised that we must strayed off the track. Luckily the farm owner was driving past and pointed us in the direction of the track access at the edge of the farm. Not going to lie, the sunshine and breeze was so good before we headed back into the bush.
A DoC track info panel in the older perspex style.
Being a graphic designer, I’m always interested in the signage along tracks. It was interesting to see the old Perspex panels being replaced by ACM and how DoC (Department of Conservation) have evolved their branding. Interesting how there were also a few different spellings of Demeter Road in Te Puke.
He wasn’t saying much, but I knew Mayer was still feeling a bit seedy when we stopped for lunch. I had stopped at Volk and Co (my local hangout) for a coffee before driving over, so I grabbed us a beef sandwich and almond brownie to share for lunch too. I swear if I left Mayer in charge of our snacks for our tramps, he and I would have stopped tramping together a long time ago. He did feed me some delicious venison for dinner which made up for eating most of my sandwich.
Up until this point, the track had been relatively flat and I was feeling good. Mayer snuck in a quick nap while I walked around to take photos. It was already mid-afternoon and there were still a few hours of tramping ahead of us. Fortunately for us it was already daylight-savings and we managed to squeeze in extra daylight hours (we tramped in the dark for a bit, but I was prepared for that).
Quite the treat - a delicious almond brownie I bought from Volk and Co in Whakatāne.
As much as I enjoy the challenge of climbing mountains, I still find them so hard. “Uphill really is your nemesis, isn’t it?” Mayer called out as my pace seemed to have slowed down to a snail’s pace as I followed him up the ridge. I was grateful that even though it was steep, I didn’t have to fight my way through giant ferns either. It was a frustrating couple of hours trying to keep mentally focused as the ridge continued to deplete my energy levels.
I stopped taking photos at this point.
It gets dark much quicker in the forest and there were times it felt like it was already twilight even though it wasn’t even sunset. We reached the old Otawa Trig around 6.30pm (we still had another couple of hours to go), so I finished the last of the brownie to give me a boost of energy for the last push to the carpark.
Into the wild…not really, but the track became less maintained as you get deeper into the forest.
There was a light drizzle as we walked down the farm track in the dark. We could see the lights from Te Puke so we knew we must have been getting close to the carpark. I didn’t even realise we had reached the end until I heard Mayer close a car door. After a quick stop at the supermarket to pick up some dinner supplies, we drove back to get my car. It was nice to see Betty (my trusty adventure Rav) waiting for me at the Ōtanewainuku carpark.
About 20km in eight hours, what a long day, but so worth it I reckon. Definitely needs at least a medium-level of fitness and experienced trampers. Sections of the track aren’t as well marked so make sure to bring a topo map or GPS too.
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.