Lake Waikaremona Track Day 3

Forgot to mention on Day 2, that the Tuhoe hut warden at Waiopaoa Hut was superb. She told us some of the history of the area, the legends about Lake Waikaremona, and also opened it up to general questions. An hour later she finally finished and commented she had never had so many. One of the questions was on pest control, and she explained that Tuhoe are trying to train up Tuhoe members in traditional trapping methods and that while there are fewer traps around the area, they are committed to protecting the birdlife etc.

The warden also allowed us to change our hut bookings for the next night. Really great to have such flexibility.

Today was going to be a long 18 to 20 km day so we set off around 7 am.

Many views of the lake as we walked alongside it.

Day 3 is euphemistically described as mainly flat. In reality is is quite undulating and you still do a fair bit of up and down. But nothing like Day 1.

This is a private hut between Korokoro and Maraunui campsites. It has potable water from a spring and trampers are welcome to fill up their bottles there, which is great of them. Even more important as Maraunui Hut had no working water supply from the hut, so anyone staying there has to fill up from the lake.

This large field is where Maraunui Hut is.

I had a very nice lunch at Maraunui Hut, and was soon joined by around a dozen King’s College students during their Duke of Edinburgh Award. It is an old and small hut and I strongly recommend to anyone doing the track to bypass this hut. even though it is in a convenient location.

The track was generally in good condition. It was muddy in places, but nothing out of the ordinary. In a couple of places some boardwalks would be nice, but far from essential.

During the final stage it started to rain, and then to my surprise it turned into hail. Can’t recall the last time I’d tramped in hail. Didn’t last too long, but my sunhat proved useful in protecting my head!

Finally got to Waiharuru Hut around 3.30 pm. Pretty tired after 20 kms but very glad we changed our plans and carried on. There are actually two huge huts here. The left hand one is sleeping quarters for 40 people – all with individual bunk beds. The right hand one is the communal dining and socialising hall.

This hut also had a Tuhoe warden, and again he was great. After dinner he introduced himself and his background and then asked each table to do the same. Was really nice to hear everyone talk about their groups. The Scottish trampers even sang Scotland the Brave. The warden touched on some of the issues between them and DOC (they were not happy a hut was put on Mt Panekire without consulting them as they regard it as sacred, but they said now it is there they will support it). We actually saw this warden on day 1 also when he was fixing parts of the track up there. He often walks much of the track most days, while the other warden comes in by boat.

I’ve stayed in dozens of other DOC huts with many friendly wardens. But there was something special about having the Tuhoe wardens share the history of the area and make you feel so welcome in what is effectively their home.

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