TARAWERA TRAIL

Duration: 4 hours

Difficulty: Moderate

Distance: 15km

Terrain: Undulating lakeside path with one sustained climb near the end

Start/end: Tarawera Rd/hot Water Beach

Few walks in the world end with such reward as the Tarawera Trail. After following Lake Tarawera’s southern shores, this fine walk finishes on Hot Water Beach, where you can soak away the effort of the past few hours in geothermally heated waters. Not all the trail’s delights are reserved for the end, however, with the walk passing cold springs and lake swimming opportunities, with views of one of New Zealand’s most storied volcanoes. Hot Water Beach is simply the pièce de résistance.

GETTING THERE

The trailhead is on Tarawera Rd, 15km from Rotorua and 2.5km before Lake Tarawera. Totally Tarawera (totallytarawera.com) runs a water taxi to and from Hot Water Beach; pickup includes a return shuttle to the car park. Bookings required.

STARTING POINT

The trail’s large car park has toilets and a rainwater tank beside a Māori pou (ancestral carving). 01 The trail to Lake Tarawera sets out through the Te Wairoa valley. To your left as you cross the bridge over the gin-clear Te Wairoa Stream is the former village

of Te Wairoa, buried beneath ash in Mt Tarawera’s 1886 eruption. From the stream, the trail ascends gently to the Te Wairoa Valley Lookout, which offers a peep down into the valley and the buried village.

02 As you descend from the ridge, you’ll be accompanied by the sound of unseen

Wairere Falls, before the trail follows the valley to the shores of Lake Tarawera.

03 Soon the trail rounds Karikaria Point and ambles along Kōtukutuku Bay. The first time you come to the water’s edge is at Hawaiki Bay, where there are picnic tables, a sandy beach and good views of the hulking figure of Mt Tarawera.

04 From here, the trail rises back above the shore and into cool, fern-dominated forest. The trail descends back to the lake on a set of wooden steps and soon crosses the Twin Streams Cold Springs, where four cold springs rush out of the earth.

05 The trail runs set back from the shore for about 20 minutes, before starting its ascent over the long finger of Mourā Point, rising to Oneroa Lookout and a keyhole view across the lake.

06 From the lookout, the trail cuts across the point before descending to Wairua Stream, which has picnic tables and a toilet. The stream marks the start of the trail’s most significant climb, cutting at first beneath crumbly rock walls and then rising to the overgrown

Rotomahana Lookout, which peers across to adjoining Lake Rotomahana.

07 The trail continues on the narrow ridge before slowly lowering to Lake Tarawera’s edge. At the shore, the trail doubles back on itself, finishing along the water’s edge to Hot Water Beach – head for the steam at the far end. Sites at the beach’s campsite must be pre-booked.

TAKE A BREAK

Grab a deck table and ponder the power of Mt Tarawera from across the water at the Landing Cafe (07-362 8502); The Landing, Tarawera Rd; mains $15-36; 9am-8pm, closed for dinner Mon-wed in winter), a cafe-cum-bar-cum-bistro on the shores of Lake Tarawera.

The shore of Lake Tarawera