Discover Our Local: Matatā Scenic Reserve - Part 1

I couldn’t find a lot of information about the Matata Scenic Reserve online, so I decided to check it out for myself. Matatā is only 20 minutes drive from Whakatāne, it’s been awhile since I’ve been on a solo hike and I was excited to check out a new track close to home.

Matatā is on SH 2, about a 20 minute drive from Whakatāne and less than an hour from Tauranga or Rotorua. The trailhead is at Mair Street - it’s the first left turn if you’re coming from Whakatāne. Keep driving until you get to the end which is like a cul-de-sac. Please be respectful and make sure you don’t block access for the residents. The scenic reserve sign is across from the train tracks, and you’ll see the patch of grass that’s been mowed which leads you down to the tracks. Also, listen and watch out for trains! At the tracks go right, then look for a bit of gravel on the grass on the left bank - that’s the start of the track (less than two minutes walk).

Te Waihou walkway and Blue Springs in Putaruru

Te Waihou Walkway and Blue Springs is located in South Waikato near Putaruru. It’s almost two hours drive from Whakatāne, so we decided to stay the night in Putaruru as I thought it would be too long for Mum and Dad as a day trip. You know, I don’t even remember having ever passed through Putaruru, but I did discover that they had a cheese factory called Over The Moon Dairy & Cafe. Cheese and hikes...man life’s good!

East Coast road trip and climbing Mt. Hikurangi

Mt. Hikurangi stands at 1,752m.a.s.l. (5,748 ft) and is the first place to greet the sun in mainland Aotearoa / New Zealand. The trail starts at Pakihiroa Station in Ruatoria, 80 km north of Gisborne or 50km southwest of Te Araroa. The track to the summit wasn’t always as accessible as it is today, having listened to stories of bush bashing and backcountry orienteering. Nowadays the track is well marked until the final boulder/scree uphill to the summit, where a fair bit of scrambling is needed. We booked a night at the hut (1,250m.a.s.l.), then planned to summit and walk out the next day. My body was definitely not mountain-fit enough for the hike we had planned (we ended up walking for about 11 hours on the Sunday), and my legs especially found the steep downhill exhausting.

The North Island's Highest Waterfall - Wairere Falls

The best views always come from some gut-busting hikes and Wairere Falls didn’t disappoint. It’s the highest waterfall (153m) in the North Island after all. Even though it was less than two hours to the top of the falls, the 400m elevation made the last 30 minutes (from the lower lookout) a challenging hike in the 30C heat.

Some parts of the track are only wide enough for one person, and add to that it was Waitangi weekend, there was a lot of giving way. The steepest section comes after the lower lookout and I didn’t have to use my poles until then. I saw plenty of families with younger children at the top, so I guess with a bit of time it’s still fairly accessible as a family track. I even saw some people walking in jandals, though I wouldn’t recommend it.

New Zealand Great Walk - Lake Waikaremoana

It was a drizzly Sunday when I drove along the gravel road towards Lake Waikaremoana. There were a few days left of 2020 and this was my last adventure to see in the new year. I had never driven past Ruatāhuna before that and was told to expect a windy gravel road...a lot of narrow corners and dust.

Lake Waikaremoana is in the Hawke’s Bay region, about an hour from Wairoa. I think it took me about four hours from Whakatāne (SH 38), and that’s with a few photo stops. It was slightly faster on the way home, or at least it felt like it. Ngai Tūhoe (the iwi/tribe of Te Urewera) call themselves the children of the mist. The mist certainly followed me all the way up the Panekire Ranges towards the hut.

The colourful Crater Lake and the Maunga Kakaramea (Rainbow Mountain) summit tracks

I watched the raindrops bounce off the windscreen as I drove towards Waiotapu on SH5 for a spontaneous Saturday hike. Maunga Kakaramea, or more commonly known as Rainbow Mountain, is famous for the vibrant ochre in the soil and surrounding cliffs. It may not be as colourful as the other more famous ‘rainbow mountain’ namesake, Vinicunca in Peru, but it’s definitely a must-do walk when you’re in Rotorua.

The rain only made the steam on the mountain rise higher - there was no mistaking that Rotorua is very much an active geothermal zone. A wet hike was clearly no deterrent, because although the car park wasn’t quite full when I arrived, it was close to it when I came down.

Putting on my boots in the front passenger seat felt clumsy and cramped, and took long enough that the windows were fogged up by the time I left.