4 – 5 October 2025
We left Pukahu with 9 on board and drove through to Taradale where another 3 were waiting, plus Christine who was taking her car as there were 13 of us. The forecast was a bit suspect but I was hoping for a little drizzle on Saturday and a fine Sunday. We arrived in Taupo around 9.30 in pouring rain but as we drove along it by-pass it seemed to abate a bit so we decided to have a break at the Aratiatia Rapids. We donned our raincoats under a carpark shelter and then the rain stopped.
A ten minute walk took us to the furthest viewing point just a few minutes before the 10 AM opening of the dam gates. Few, if any of us, had viewed the opening and all felt it was worth it.
Back at the vehicles we headed to Waiotapu via Broadlands Road at times passing through heavy rain. The first stop at Waiotapu was to the Waiotapu Boardwalk mud pool on the loop road and again the rain stopped for us as we spent half an hour or so photographing. Only about half of our group had been to this free tourist spot before.
It was then time for some serious walking so we bumped our way down the road to Kerosene Creek (more potholes than road), put on our packs and started up the shared track to Rainbow Mountain summit. Initially the track runs parallel with the road through scrubby vegetation, then heads away from the road through a tree fern forest. Further up the vegetation is stunted and the rainbow rock formations are evident. After 2 hours, around 1 oclock, we got to the top and sat down for lunch.
We were back at the vehicles just after 3 pm and headed off down to Kerosene Creek where half the party had a soak in very luke-warm water. After this we went to the Waiotapu Tavern, our accomodation for the night. Unfortunately the temperature of the shower water was very similar to that in Kerosene Creek but the meals there are great and not costly.
Sunday morning we left for Ngongotaha around 8.30, having first made a second visit to the mud pool, and arrived at the bottom of the Jubilee track 40 minutes later. We proceeded up the hill via the western side of the Mt Ngongotaha Nature Loop Track. The forest here has good predator and weed control and is very lush with big podocarps, a large rata and some toropapa, a shrub we don’t see much of in Hawkes Bay.
After 2 hours we were at the summit, but the tall trees meant there were no views. We returned back to the vehicles via the second half of the loop track but then back tracked for 5 minutes to the Violet Bonnington Reserve to have lunch.
After lunch we made our way to the southern end of Blue Lake where we did an hours return walk on the western side. After a photo stop on the Green Lake viewing point it was time to return to Hawkes Bay with just a short break to the grave yards at Opepe Bush on the way.
All in all a great weekend and despite the forecast we were not rained on when out walking. Many thanks to Christine for taking her car and to our drivers, Steve and Peter.
Party: Glenda H, Peter B, Paula Kr, Anne D, Selina C, Christine L, Lou C, Steve B, Minh N, Reiny S, Jude Hay, Constanze H and Murry A