Usually, I like to go somewhere remote on long weekends, you know, to get away from the crowds. This time I decided to stay closer to home and walk the Tarawera Trail instead, adding a night’s camping at Te Rata Bay (Hot Water Beach). I had walked the trail before, the first time back in 2020. It was a humid and scorcher of a day - much like this one. 

A couple of days before, I made a last minute decision to join the Pinoy Adventurers NZ group on the trail. The last tramp I did with them was the Tongariro Alpine Crossing last winter. Unfortunately, 6:30am meeting time at Te Wairoa car park was too early for me (as I was driving from Whakatāne that morning), so I let them know I would be starting later and hoped to catch up with them along the track. That was a good decision in the end since I was the only one walking with a pack. It took me 5.5 hours to walk the 13.5km trail, and they got there an hour before me.

Back in 2019, I caught the water taxi with Totally Tarawera and started my walk from Hot Water Beach. The mid-morning start meant I hit the more exposed sections (the second half) early afternoon and that was hot, hot, hot! That also meant I missed out on a soak at Hot Water Beach. I definitely enjoyed walking the trail from Te Wairoa car park to Te Rata Bay (Hot Water Beach) much more this time around. There’s a courtesy drop-off back to Te Wairoa car park if you catch the water taxi back. The campsite is only accessible via the trail or by boat.

One of my favourite sections is when the trail opens up and The Landing comes into view - this is the drop-off point for the water-taxi. There’s also a decent sized car park there, but it was pretty chocka with boat trailers, so I recommend parking at Te Wairoa if you’re tramping.

The track is very steady underfoot and I came across a lot of trail runners that day - a few even doing a return run in the hot sun. There are a couple of lung-busters, the section that takes you to the Oneroa Lookout, with a slightly longer uphill leading up to the Lake Rotomahana Lookout. Once you get to the last lookout, you have pretty much done the hard work and it’s time to enjoy the downhill walk to Hot Water Beach. I slipped a couple of times on the dry, pumice track, so watch out for that.

By the way, did you know that there’s also a hot water pool near the Te Wairua amenity area? This is about an hour’s walk from Hot Walk Beach itself and popular with the locals. After you cross the wooden bridge, look to the left for some branches on the ground. You should be able to make out a track - the hot pool is less than 30 mins from the bridge.

I popped out of the bush and came out to a beach teeming with boats, tents and happy campers (see cheesy, I know). It was only early afternoon and a lot of people were still setting up their sites - at the time I booked my site, it was the last one left so I knew it was going to be pretty crowded. I was zig-zagging my way through the people scattered along the beach when a man standing in the water stopped me to ask about my walk and how long it took me. A woman in their group almost choked on her cold bevvy when I told her the trail was 13.5km. Her friends were still chuckling as I made my way to the campground to find the PANZ group.

After the last of the PANZ group left to catch the water taxi, I set up my tent so I could have a siesta. It was a glorious nap until the sun moved and I was tanning more than napping. So I decided to go for a soak in the hot water before I cooked dinner. This hot water beach doesn’t require any digging like the one in the Coromandel, but do keep an eye out from the extremely hot vents on the beach. It takes a little while to find that perfect mix of hot and cold water, but when you do, it’s bliss!

Overnighters mean I can eat fresh food for dinner - and the pot of rice and Paksiw na Pata after a tramp was just the soul food I was craving. Thanks mum!

I wish I could tell you that I had a great night’s sleep - I probably would have if the rabbits snacking at midnight weren’t so close to my bivvy shelter. Coupled with the fact that I’m blind without my contact lenses, my imagination may have been a bit paranoid that a possum had come down from the bush to see if I had any leftovers. When I eventually put on my contacts, the dark night had given way to the stars and the full moon, just waiting for me to wake up.

The Tarawera Trail is a stunning walking track - taking you mostly lakeside, then high up on the ridge before winding its way down to Te Rata Bay. It’s a great half-day walk, with plenty of spots to stop for a break and enjoy the views. Finish off your day with a relaxing soak at Hot Water Beach before catching the water taxi back, or even better, make a weekend of it and book a night at the campground.

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.