It all started with a mountain high trek along the St. James Walkway. We then headed for a little sand and surf on the Abel Tasman, added a volcanic blast up Tongariro way and cooled off lakeside at Waikaremoana. Tramping in New Zealand offers more choices and varied topography than the average visitor will have time to enjoy – we had over two months – so I’ll just pick one at random to get you in the spirit!

With the seasons being opposite those of North America, Christmas is prime time for hiking with the kiwis. North Island’s Lake Waikaremoana hike, one of New Zealand’s Great Walks, is a relatively easy start. Situated in Te Urewera National Parks, the three to four day tramp (just over 45 kilometres) along the shores and overlooking this massive lake is well worth the initial climb up the Panekiri Bluffs.

We started from the Onepoto end of the track, climbing up, up, up to Panekiri Hut (8.8 km) in a stiff three hours (book says to plan for a five hour slog – I think that’s when the weather’s good and the views make stopping a joy!). Normally we prefer our own tent to huts (cleaner and quieter), but we were grateful for having booked huts for this hike – rain beat on the roof all night while lightening lit up the night sky for show.

It was a pleasant, but steep downhill stretch to Waipoa Hut (7.6 km) and even though we had only been hiking for two hours, we’d arranged to spend the night anyway, before attacking the longer stretch onto Marauiti Hut (12.2 km, our longest day) – where we enjoyed the company of two families. The little kids with daypacks had me quaking in my boots – if they beat me on the next leg, I’d never live it down!

Took an easy 6.2 km hike to Waiharuru Hut, where we spent the night with no company – a rare occurrence on this popular trail. Up early the final day, we headed out to the road (10.5 km), crossed the suspension bridge near trail’s end and caught a bus that would take up back to Wairoa with warm memories of a scenic lake hike etched in our minds (and trip journal – because my memory is good, just short!).

If you go:
There are five huts along the Lake Waikaremoana Track which must be booked in advance. Booking details, maps and trail directions can be found online from the New Zealand Department of Conservation Parks & Recreation.