On Sunday 19th June, 15 trampers headed out in vans to Rotorua. The weather provided the occasional drizzle and a very cold wind coming off Blue Lake, but thankfully no heavy rain.
We had morning tea, with a small briefing about where we were going and what to take etc. Then we headed off (with Pam as our leader) past the top 10 camp, into Okareka road, where there is a track in the bush made by locals to get from Blue Lake to Lake Tikitapu scenic reserve, avoiding a very busy road with hardly any shoulder. We had a nice wander through bush, and met a few locals along the way.
The vans collected us and took all back to the Blue Lake for the next walk, led by Dianne. We tramped along part of the Whakarewarewa forest loop track which is also shared by cyclists. With Dianne’s whistle and others watching out we managed to stay safe from being tangled up with cyclists! Some interesting flora to see, plus at one stage we were on the old coach road - the cobble stones clearly visible.
Lunch was had at Te Pūtake o tawa car park, with coffee and hot chips for some (from a couple of small business there). This is a busy car park, (plus toilets & showers) as it’s a starting point for many users of the tracks. It has many carved art works on display with informational plaques to read. Then we regrouped and walked back along the track to Blue Lake.
The last hike, led by Keith, was to view the Okareka mistletoe restoration project. This 20-minute walk is not far up the road, on the right, from Blue Lake. A pukatea (Laurelia novae zelandiae) tree was pointed out to us. This amazing tree had survived the 1886 Tarawera eruption, with significant damage that is visible today. The walk has many interesting plaques telling the names, origins and some other facts of the trees. We didn’t find the mistletoe which is native to New Zealand and quite rare, but it was a very interesting day out for all and I’m sure we all came away with more knowledge about the area and its flora.
Thank you to all the organisers of this trip. I have been to Blue Lake many times but didn’t know about Pam’s walk or Keith’s nature walk so now will be able to share this knowledge with others, for them to enjoy as I have.
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