A rainy day hike on the Tarawera Trail
A view of The Landing boat ramp from the Tarawera Trail.
Know before you go
The Tarawera Trail is a there-and-back track, about 15km one way, starting at Te Wairoa carpark or at Hot Water Beach. If you’re walking it as a day hike and don’t want the time pressure of catching the taxi, then I recommend starting at Hot Water Beach. There’s also the option of staying overnight at the Hot Water Beach campground (bookings necessary), and walking out the next day or catching the water back to The Landing. Make sure to make all bookings before you get to the carpark as there's very limited mobile reception in the area. Book your water taxi with Totally Tarawera.
“Being just five feet fall, we had a good laugh as I bush bashed my way through, and the tall fella cruised through it. Is it even hiking in the backcountry without a bit of bush bashing? ”
Grey skies greeted us at Te Wairoa carpark. I knew we were in for a wet afternoon, but I was hopeful we would be closer to Hot Water Beach by then, and even planned a quick soak before catching the water taxi at 3pm. I’ve walked the Tarawera Trail twice before (from both directions) and was pretty confident with my five hour walking estimate. Unfortunately, there have been a couple of major storms since I last hiked the Tarawera Trail, and the large windfalls and overgrown sections did slow us down. I was still pretty close - it took us 5.5 hours and made it to Hot Water Beach with just three minutes to spare!
Can you spot the shorty?
Even though it’s called the ‘Tarawera Trail’, I reckon it’s still a well marked track and beginners shouldn’t have too much trouble. When you leave the carpark, the trail will begin to narrow as it climbs up towards Te Wairoa viewpoint. There was a lot of grass and ferns growing over the track, which slowed me down a lot. Being just five feet fall, we had a good laugh as I bush bashed my way through, and the tall fella cruised through it. Is it even hiking in the backcountry without a bit of bush bashing?
The tall fella at Hawaiki Bay.
If you have a 40-year-old bladder like me and like to plan your hiking around toilet stops, there are usually two long-drop toilets along the trail. Unfortunately, the one at Hawaiki Bay (first one) was damaged, so there’s only one at Wairua Stream (three hours from the carpark). Don’t worry, there’s plenty of bush out there. Just don’t be “that hiker”, make sure you do your business away from water sources. Hawaiki Bay is a great place to stop for a snack - there are a couple of tables and a lovely view of the lake.
Some sections were either closed, rerouted and had stairs installed to prevent further erosion.
We came across several large windfalls along the trail - even though they had been cleared, some sections were so damaged from erosion (and debris) they had stairs installed to prevent further damage. A lot of the stairs we came across looked freshly installed.
A quick ham and cheese sandwich at the Rotomahana Lookout before boosting it to Hot Water Beach.
It was pouring with rain well before we got to the Oneroa Lookout. This was supposed to be our late lunch stop, but I made the call to push on because of the rain. Looking back, we probably should have had the ham and cheese sandwiches here instead of the Rotomahana Lookout. We pushed on, and the tall fella made sure to top me up with our mixed nuts and raspberry licorice to keep me putting on foot in front of the other up the hill. He too had been suffering from knee pain, which he kept to himself until we stopped at the lookout. The sandwiches did perk me up a lot so I led us down towards Hot Water Beach.
I kept a keen eye on the time as we boosted it down the narrow, eroded and sandy trail. There wasn’t much we could do about our throbbing knees, but I sure as heck wasn’t going to miss that water taxi. It was the last one for the day and I didn’t have it in me to walk back the way we came! We popped out of the bush and got to the lake with fifteen minutes left. Last time I was there, I walked along the ‘beach’ to the campground, but with the high lake levels, that wasn’t an option this time. Don’t worry, theres an alternative track that runs parallel to the lake for this reason. I can’t tell you how relieved I was to see the water taxi still there, and I’m sure the tall fella was too. After we got back on land, we boosted it to the hot pools for that well-earned soak.
Check out my other blogs on the tarawera trail
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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