How to get to the start of the track

Parking for Lake Rotopounamu is on Te Pononga Saddle Road (SH 47), about a 10 minute drive from Tūrangi. Look for the DoC sign across the road.

The car park for the Waihāhā Hut Track is on SH 32 between Waihāhā and Tihoi on the western side of Lake Taupō - just look out for the signs to the Great Lakes Trail car park. The start of the track is marked by a DoC sign which is past the bridge as you head north on SH 32 towards Tihoi.

The first time I heard about Lake Rotopounamu was before my workmate went on maternity leave (she just came back to work a few months ago after a year off). I’ve driven past it a couple of times on my way to hikes in the Tongariro National Park, and I’m stoked that I tagged it onto my hike to Waihāhā Hut in the Pureora Forest.

Lake Rotopounamu is said to be the heart centre of New Zealand, and I get it, listening to the abundant birdsong and walking amongst giants, time slows down. I’ve felt that in forests before, then again I love forests for that reason. What got me were the moments when the lake suddenly came into view. It takes you a few seconds to realise that the world isn’t upside down, but that the skies are so beautifully reflected on the water. 

The track is family-friendly - the loop is well marked and steady underfoot. It’s approx. 5km according to my watch. The track goes uphill in the beginning, but evens out after about 15 minutes. Most of the track is under a canopy, with plenty of lake access along the way. A section of the track is lakeside which was a nice break to walk in the sunshine before heading back into the forest. The loop took me around 1.5 hours, with plenty of time to enjoy the birdsong and take lots of photos.

“Roto” means lake in Māori, and “pounamu” talks about the beautiful green colour of the water, much like the green of a pounamu (greenstone) or jade found in the South Island.

It was already after midday when I finally got back on the road to Waihāhā Hut. From Whakatāne, the most direct route would be via Taupō, then Kinloch, Tihoi and back onto SH 32. The track is part of the Great Lake Trail (great trails are for both cyclists and hikers). There are big signs from either direction to point you toward the car park. These are gravel car parks and I learned later that there are two car parks (I parked in the one closest to the highway). Is it safe to park your car there? Well, I came back to my car, unbroken windows, all four tyres and my petrol wasn’t syphoned. That’s safe enough for me.

The start of the Waihāhā Hut Track is about 30m heading north towards Tihoi, not far from the bridge. It’s on the left-hand side of the road. The track follows the river for about an hour, then becomes undulating for a few kilometres. It was a typical shared-use track: Steady underfoot, great views and well marked. Being late autumn and heading into winter, I had less daylight to play with, and I did end up hiking the last hour in the dark. My favourite viewpoint is maybe an hour or two from the start of the track - on the way to the hut it’s on the right of a long bend that goes uphill, you can’t miss it. The views are incredible and a great spot for some cheese and crackers.

The forest got dark way before sunset and it wasn’t long before everything beyond the reach of my head torch became silhouettes. It did slow me down a bit, but it was a well-marked track and each time I checked my GPS, it showed my inching closer to the hut so I didn’t mind. I arrived at a packed hut, and had contemplated pitching my tent until I saw the frost on the lawn. The fire was roaring inside, so I grabbed a spot on the floor instead. It took me 4.5 hours to cover 9.4km in the dark.

It’s a 10-bunk non-bookable hut, and three of us ended up on the floor. Being a standard hut, I was surprised at how much firewood was in the woodshed, although a few of the hikers did say a lot of it was damp. The hut is quite damp and apparently it was warmer outside before they got the fire going. We passed the time with your typical hut banter, playing Bananagrams and playing Kings and Scums. Teaching a ten year old Kings and Scums strategies turned out to be more fun than I thought.

I was actually the last to leave the hut. It was another lovely sunny day, with plenty of ice crystals on the upper half of the track. I have seen solid ice and snow before, but nothing like those ice crystals. At first glance, I thought they were broken glass! I stopped at my favourite spot to polish off the last of my cheese and crackers before making my way back to the car park. I met a group of three with their dog on the way up to the hut - three generations in fact. Apart from them, I had the track to myself and didn’t see any cyclists on the track at all. I could see this being a lot busier in the summer months for sure.

Ronna Grace Funtelar is a 40-something desk-fit creative, weekend explorer and cheese enthusiast in Whakatāne, New Zealand. She has a big butt, chunky thighs and shakin’ more jelly than Destiny’s Child. Her creaky knees discovered an appreciation for Type 2 adventures in the bush and mountains in her thirties, and she’s been hiking ever since.

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