How to get to the car park

The track starts at the gates of Bushaven, about 20 minutes from Ōpōtiki. Head out of Ōpōtiki towards Gisborne, then turn left into Otara Road. This turns into Pākihi Road, which is the same road that takes you to the Pākihi Track. Instead of driving over the bridge and crossing the river, keep going straight to follow the Te Waiti Stream. There’s no car park, but we did find a turning back big enough for two cars ten minutes walk from Bushaven, which is ok for a day mission. Don’t drive past the ‘private road’ sign unless you’ve booked parking at Bushaven, there’s no space to turnaround and their gates are locked.

I have a rule when it comes to choosing my weekend adventures. For every hour that I’m in the car, I want at least a couple of hours tramping. Which usually means that day missions start early. Te Waiti Hut was just that - about 1.5 hours from Whakatāne. We stopped for takeaway coffees and something for lunch in Ōpōtiki, and being a long weekend, of course it was packed. Diesel was such a good boy, waiting patiently for us in the car.

It was around mid-morning before we finally made our way along the narrow, gravel road on our way to Bushaven. “Is your Rav a 4WD?” Katri asked as we drove across a shallow ford with a small stream running through it. I laughed. It wasn’t, but Betty (my trusty adventure Rav) and I have been on plenty of gravel roads together and survived. Te Waiti Road will definitely test your reversing skills - we count ourselves lucky because there was no one else on the road that day.

I’ve been in the Urutawa Conservation Area a few times before, most recently along Tutaetoko Stream and walking the Pākihi Track earlier in the year with Kat. This time she brought her dog, Diesel. Being a DoC (Department of Conservation) track, dogs are only allowed as long as they have a current Kiwi aversion certificate and a permit for the visit.

About ten minutes walk from Bushaven is a ‘private road’ sign, so we decided to park the car at the turning bay just off the road. There isn’t a carpark for the track, but you can pay Bushaven to leave your car on their property for a small fee (make sure to book in advance). I would recommend this if you’re planning to stay at the hut. The track starts at Bushaven’s gate.

The benched track is surprisingly quite narrow, especially since it’s also supposed to be an MTB and horse track. I was told by Jim Robinson of Motu Trails Trust that about 12 years ago, before the Pākihi track was cut, Te Waiti was the track to go to. The track itself wasn’t overgrown, however there are plenty of uncleared significant windfalls that would have made riding quite hazardous.

We had the track to ourselves, and it was great to see Diesel living his best life. Turns out it wasn’t just the humans who liked cheese. He definitely had far more energy than Katri and I.

Even though the track follows Te Waiti Stream, you’re pretty much up on the ridge until you have to cross the stream. Don’t worry, you won’t need to carry too much water with you, there are plenty of streams and waterfalls along the way. The track quite often opens up to spectacular views of the stream, so plenty of photo opportunities for sure.

I always go a bit gaga when I come across suspension bridges in the middle of the bush - more so because it took me a long time to overcome my fear of heights, but especially because it’s another perspective that I wouldn’t normally have when I’m tramping. No suspension bridges on this one, but we did have this pretty rad wooden one. Diesel seemed to love it too as he had no trouble crossing it a few times while we took photos. The water levels were pretty low, so it would have been interesting to see how I could get if I just followed the streambed. There’s so much backcountry that I want to explore, but man, I definitely need to get stronger on those uphill missions!

You can usually tell when a track up on the ridge is about to take you down to the water. It turns in a steep, ankle-twisting track with plenty of exposed roots. Which also means there’s a high chance of bum sliding for me. Diesel got to the only stream crossing of the day much faster than the humans and was very excited at the sudden change of terrain. The water was only up to my shins so he had no trouble getting to the other side.

The hut is about 15 minutes from the stream crossing, with a short uphill burst that makes your wet socks slosh around in your boots. We also came across horse poo on the track, which made sense when we saw the black mare and her foal in the clearing just above the hut. It was too groomed to be wild and they were friendly enough which made us think that they had an owner, even if they weren’t there at the time. We made our way through the blackberry gauntlet and headed down to the hut.

We had the hut to ourselves which is always a bonus, though the hut book did show someone had stayed the night before. Wahaatua Hut about three hours south-east, and there were plenty of colourful entries from hunters and trampers moving between both huts. After a good chuckle, Katri and I had lunch on the wooden benches outside. Katri even brought strawberries from a local berry farm as well as Peanut M&Ms. 

I sighed as I could see my boots and socks slowly make a puddle on the wooden floor, knowing that I would have to put them back on to head home. As I tucked into another strawberry, Diesel suddenly started whining. The mare and her foal came down to the hut to say hello, so Katri went to say hello and to see if they liked strawberries too. Hmmm, a winner with the humans, not so much with the horses. 

The clouds grew dark as we made our way back to Bushaven, so I kept my rain jacket handy. Didn’t end up using it, in fact the rain didn’t start falling until we got to Tirohanga. Diesel did let a few stinkies rip in the car on the drive home, which if you have a dog, know how sudden and ‘deadly’ they can be in enclosed spaces. Turns out Katri gave him cheese as treats. I can definitely see Diesel and Katri going on more awesome adventures in the future. He slept most of the way home while the humans yakked away up front.

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.