Walking through old forests in Whirinaki
On Day 1 we walked on a well maintained track, through tawa, punga and podocarps into the rainfed Arohaki Lagoon. Native clematis was blooming along the track, and the vegetation was clearly reflected in the lagoon. It’s a really good place for ‘echoes’. With a platform, seating, and total tranquility it was a perfect picnic spot.
Next we drove to River Road carpark and went into Waiatiu Falls. The bench track was supported with timbers and lovely and dry and springy to walk on. A viewing platform, and in places, little wooden steps, were built to make it a very accessible waterfall.
On a large rock beside the falls, a woman’s face was peering behind the spray.
Our 3rd walk was to the H tree, where a large rimu had grown into an interesting shape. We heard tuis and bellbirds, and saw wood pigeons and robins. The kaka here were really noisy, and we saw lots flitting from branch to branch, giving quite a display.
Our last walk was the one hour Sanctuary Track, off Sanctuary Road. It was just stunning. The podocarps were so tall and so straight. But we did find one enormous tree that took 12 people to measure its girth.
Again we heard tuis, wood pigeons and kakas, and saw little robins on the track. – a lovely end to our first day.
On Day 2 a longer tramp was planned. We started from River Road again, this time walking 10 minutes to Te Waiti Nui o toi Canyon – a narrowing of the Whirinaki River and quite noisy.
We continued on the Whirinaki Falls Track, an undulating trail beside the river. It was incredibly beautiful.
At times we were high above the river looking down on punga tops; at others we were beside the crystal clear water, with good sightings of whio – apparently this shows that the
river is very healthy because these ducks prefer clean water. The tracks were well formed and maintained, streams were bridged and track entrances and junctions were clearly sign-posted.
We wandered on up the Whirinaki Track, stopping to check out Verns Shelter, then returned via the waterfall loop. That was such a pretty track with several other
On day 3, a group walked up to Moerangi Hut, and others peeled off on the way. This is a shared tramping