Chasing waterfalls: Kaiate (Te Rerekawau) Falls and Ōmanawa Falls

Before 2023, the track down to Ōmanawa Falls had been closed to the public for many years. If you Googled ‘Ōmanawa Falls’, you would have found countless articles of people using sketchy trails, ropes and historic ladders just to get down to the waterfall. Millions of dollars have been spent on abandoned plans trying to make the old track safer and reopened. The new walking track officially reopened to the public in December 2023, with three viewing platforms and a gazillion stairs (just kidding, it’s only around 1,400 return). There’s no public access to the bottom of the waterfall and swimming isn’t allowed - it’s considered tapu/sacred by mana whenua, Ngāti Hangarau.

The walking track is 2km return, and 1.5 hours gave us plenty of time to enjoy the views and take photos. From the main car park, we walked along a gravel road to the Titoki Junction where we decided to head up the stairs instead of going to the first lookout (Te Tae Ōmanawa). We saved that one for last.

A stroll along the Lake Ōkāreka Walkway

Our walk started from the boat ramp carpark because it has flushing toilets - there are no toilets at the reserve carpark. From the toilets, we walked roadside for 15 mins until we reached the lakeside reserve. The track is wheelchair accessible until Silver Beach, as beyond here the track goes up stairs and along a short bush track to the outlet, where the track ends.

About five minutes from the carpark, the track opens up to the lakeside wetlands. There’s a purpose-built boardwalk so you can do enjoy the birdlife without damaging the wetland and plant life. We checked out the bird hide on the way back, but with the birds being so chilled anyway, it was easier to do our bird watching (and photography) from the boardwalk instead. We spot some small fish swimming in the wetland streams, but being so dry, the streams were mostly a trickle.

Day tramp from Ōtanewainuku to Otawa Trig Track

You know, some day missions don’t always go as planned. Mayer turned up with a slight hangover from his work party the night before and I totally missed the car park on Quarry Road in Te Puke, making us start much later than planned. There were already a few missed calls on my phone before I could do a u-turn along the narrow gravel road and make my way back to the Otawa Scenic Reserve.

It was around midday by the time we pulled up to the carpark at Ōtanewainuku in Ōropi - a place I didn’t even know existed until a year ago. Thank you Tinder haha. My legs were full of energy as we powered through to Whataroa Falls (it was the easiest hour of the tramp) - the track is well maintained and easy to follow. I also recommend checking out the 400-year-old Rimu along the short Rimu Track loop.

Bay of Plenty: Aongatete Long Loop Track

Aongatete has been popping up on my social media for awhile now, and I didn’t realise how often I had driven past on my way to do other tracks in the Kaimai-Mamaku forest. It’s a small, rural community between Omokoroa and Katikati, just an hour and a half from Whakatāne. There are three track options: The short or long loop, as well as a short 15-minute nature trail (this links up to the short loop). There’s even a swimming hole half an hour from the car park, but I ran out of time to check it out.

The car park was close to full by the time I arrived mid-morning, though there was plenty of room to park along the side of the road too so I didn’t mind. I saw a couple of small groups already heading up the track as I stopped to use the toilet - I ended up passing a couple with three young children not far into the track. One of the boys, who looked about six years old, started walking behind me as he got ahead of his family. After about ten minutes I could hear his dad calling out to him, so I made sure he turned around before I passed the track junction.

Discover Our Local: Hiking the Mt. Tawhiuau track

I met a trail runner at the trig - thank goodness he came after I had had time to catch my breath, because I was a damn mess! Like, how the f@#* do people run up tracks like Mt. Tawhiuau and not die? Are you even human? My quads took two days just to be able to sit on the toilet again without feeling like I’d just finished a killer squat session. It was my first hike after almost a month in lockdown, so it wasn’t surprising that my fitness levels were pretty low.

Hiking up Mt. Tawhiuau the weekend after coming out of lockdown was probably quite ambitious on my part, but hey, I survived. The track to the trig is approx. 9km with an elevation gain of over 700m, so I knew it would be hard yakka anyway. I was very happy with my decision to bring my hiking poles, especially on the way down.

Kaimai Mamaku Forest: Henderson Tramline Loop

We were greeted by a sun shower as we pulled into the car park to the Henderson Tramline Loop. There was only one car before us, and I caught a glimpse of the trampers as they disappeared around the corner along Old Kaimai Road. In hindsight, it made sense to walk the road section first - it was the most exposed part and rain was expected later in the afternoon. The track is fairly boggy and crosses a couple of large tributaries of the Rataroa Stream (there are no bridges), so bring your gaiters and prepare to get wet feet.

The track starts at the western branch of the Henderson Tramline, with the first section linking up to the North-South Track. I had seen a great photo of another tramper sitting on some boulders in a stream the night before, and I must admit that I got a bit obsessed looking for the spot. I did find it in the end, but I was too wobbly (think a newborn lamb) during the stream crossings so I didn’t get that photo after all. As the weather wasn’t looking too good for later that afternoon, we decided to bypass the waterfall and swimming hole about 15 minutes from the car park. I will save that for the warmer months.

© 2015 Five Foot Ronna

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