Post Bangkok to Lake Waikaremoana

After a nice, though sweltering, 12 days looking after my granddaughters in Bangkok I returned safely to Whakatane and Len who had kept himself busy by playing golf and fishing. It was a treat to have a lovely smoked kahawai pie on my two first nights back - a successful catch in my absence!

Life in the fast lane!

After 3 days of recovering at Bill & Annette's POP which included a night out watching the excellent local production of Mama Mia we set off for Lake Waikaremoana which we had been meaning to visit for a number of years, but had never quite made it. The Great Walk around part of the lake was once on our to-do agenda but we are past the desire to carry big packs.

Lake Aniwhenua was again a good peaceful and scenic spot to stop for a coffee on the way with only one other vehicle there. After passing through Murupara it didn't seem long before we were on the windy, mainly dusty gravel road although parts of it, where the sun could never reach, were quite wet. You feel like you are in the middle of nowhere with the bush and long distances before any tiny settlements - however we now know where Ruatahuna is!

Life  in the slow lane!!

You need to watch out for horses and although there were hardly any cars any oncoming ones did seem to think they are the only ones on the road. We had a very lucky near miss from one that came straight round the corner towards us on our side of the road. It was only because we were travelling very slowly and he did a last minute swerve that we avoided an undesired head-on. A couple of other cars also had to get to their side of the road quickly to avoid us so Len was constantly on alert. We probably had a couple of hours on the gravel, much of it "corrugated" but never saw any other vehicles travelling in the same direction as us.

Unspoiled at its best!

We stayed at the picturesque Lake Waikaremoana Motor Camp as we needed power to plug our heater in seeing the night temperatures were down to 3-4°. Being the end of autumn the camp was pretty quiet but we arrived on a Friday night and there were some boaties going out fishing over the weekend. We enjoyed 2 nights there and the days were glorious with plenty of warmth if you were in the sun. 

On Saturday we did most of the shorter walks close to the camp, these including the Black Beech Track, the Hinerau Track, the Aniwaniwa Falls Track with wonderful views of the cascading water, and the longer 2 hour return track with it's steady climb of 300 metres to Lake Wakareiti and the shelter overlooking the magnificent lake, grey on this day rather than blue because of the overhead cloud.

A typical well made track leading to......

.. a beautiful waterfall!!

..and another!!

On returning to camp Len did a little spinning in the lake.

Sunday, after another fish for Len and a steep walk for me up the Hinau track which rises from the camp we set off on the road for Wairoa, stopping to do the interesting  45 minute return walk up and through rock bluffs and huge boulders in the bush to a platform giving spectacular views of Lake Waikaremoana  and Panekire Bluff.

Gorgeous unspoiled lake and bush.

The couple from New Caledonia parked next to us at the camp were on this walk as well as the one we did to Lake Wakareiti the previous day.

Next we explored the Onepoto Caves track, further down the road, theoretically 2 hours return but we were quite a bit quicker. Obviously we can't have walked far enough into the numerous caves! An interesting walk though with a range of caves from small cavities to deep recesses and tunnels as well as chunky rock overhangs.

"Quick, take the photo. I can't hold it much longer!"

There was still quite a few miles of gravel road before the tarseal finally appeared on the way to Wairoa. The bus has never been dustier!!