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!
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?
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