Making A Lake Waikaremoana Track Booking

If you’re here because you’re interested in completing the 10 Great Walks of New Zealand, you’re in the right place! I set out to do them all before my 30th birthday, and finished them all aged 25. And want to know the one that proved to be my second favourite of them all? The Lake Waikaremoana track! The beauty of it blew me away. 

Great Walks are not the easiest things to book though: there’s often a fair bit of logistics getting to and from trailheads and finish points, and there’s a fair bit of competition for your spot on the trails, these days too.

This guide has been put together for you to have the easiest experience possible planning your Lake Waikaremoana Track adventure.

What Do I Need To Know About The Lake Waikaremoana Track?

The Lake Waikaremoana Track is located in Te Urewera. This used to be Te Urewera National Park but it’s status as a National Park was removed in 2014. 

This had nothing to do with the beauty of the place. It has always been the home of the Tūhoe iwi (one of our native tribes), and they have re-claimed full stewardship of this special area, so the predominant caretaker of the track is no longer the Department of Conservation, but is solely that of the local people.

There is so much more to this – the area now has legal rights just as a legal person would – but I hope I have not done a terrible job writing this very brief passage regarding the naming of the area. 

Te Urewera sits on the boundary between the Bay of Plenty Region and the Hawkes Bay Region of the North Island of New Zealand. That might not mean much to you if you are travelling here from overseas, but you might know the city of Rotorua, in the Bay of Plenty Region, and the city of Napier, in the Hawkes Bay Region, so it’s between those.

The Lake Waikaremoana Track is walked across two nights and three days, or three nights and four days. It doesn’t circle the entire lake (just 60% of the perimeter), so it’s not a loop. A water-taxi is required to take you to each end of the track.

One of the start points is Onepoto, and the other one is Hopuruahine Landing / Whananui Hut (sometimes you’ll see it spelled as Whanganui Hut).

Whananui Hut and Hopuruahine Landing are actually a couple of kilometres apart, but because the water taxi cannot get right into Hopuruahine Landing with the shallow water, it will just take you to Whananui Hut, and unless you’re adamant you want to walk the full track, starting from the Landing, this is the unofficial start/end point.

We walked from the Hopuruahine Landing end to Onepoto in 2020 over three days and two nights.

The highpoint of the track is Panekire Bluff, which provides the most exceptional views. Other parts of the track skirt around the lake at water level, and still other parts raise you just enough above the water that you will see it glittering between the ferns on a sunny day. The rest of the elevation profile looks flat next to Panekire Bluff, but it’s not a flat track.

The track is 46 kilometres (or 28.5 miles). We were pleasantly surprised with snowfall on the drive there, and patches of snow on the track. I’ve since learned that the area is known for extreme weather changes like this, however, so who knows what you might get?

As the Lake Waikaremoana Track is one of New Zealand’s 10 Great Walks, it’s necessary to book before you go. You can walk it any time of year, and unlike some of the alpine tracks where you don’t need to book during the winter, you will need to book your spot regardless of the time of year.

Booking Your Huts or Campsites

There are five huts and four campsites to choose from for your accommodation when walking the Lake Waikaremoana Track. The campsites are not always with the huts, so there’s different distances and walk times between them all, meaning you can break up your walk so many different ways. It can be hard to weigh up all the options, but the elevation profile and track guide in the official Department of Conservation Lake Waikaremoana Great Walks brochure is so helpful for planning, and has it all laid out visually. 

The five Lake Waikaremoana Track huts are Whananui Hut (it’s closed at the time of writing, which is August 2024, but it is rarely used anyway. You’d only really use it if you missed the water taxi pickup!), so that leaves Waiharuru Hut (which is the nicest and the biggest), Marauiti Hut (which is small and by the lake, so insect repellent is a good idea), Waiopāoa Hut (which is the second nicest hut) and Panekire Hut (which is older, smaller, and not as well maintained).

The four Lake Waikaremoana Track campsites are Tapuaenui Shelter, Waiharuru Campsite, Maraunui Campsite and Korokoro Campsite.

Waiharuru is the only spot where those in huts and those in tents are in the same location for the night. I did not get the pleasure of staying here but is apparently the best, so if you can fit your walking plans around a stay here, opt for this to be one of your night’s accommodations.

We spent our two nights in Marauiti Hut by the lake and Panekire Hut up on the bluff. From memory, we had a six hour day, followed by an eight hour day, followed by a six hour day, so it was quite doable to do it like that. 

Ascending the Panekire Bluff fell on our last day, but we snuck ahead at the end of our middle day, as it was only a little bit further, and we wanted to see the views while the weather was clear. We went back to the hut for the night and repeated that section in the morning.

You can walk in any direction and you can book a mixture of huts and campsites, if you like. 

Department of Conservation Huts

The Lake Waikaremoana huts accommodate between 26 and 36 trampers each. People are always friendly and often have interesting travel stories of their own, as, I’m sure, do you. It’s worth making friends, even if you are unlikely to ever see them again!

We made some friends, and they drove us to our car at the end of the tramp, which saved us our last couple of hours walking down the road in the rain. Yay for new friends!

Tell Me About The Cooking Facilities

We did our walk six years after the Tūhoe took back primary stewardship of the huts, so we found that there were a few differences between what we found, and what we were used to with Great Walk huts. This was four years ago, so I cannot speak to the current condition of the huts, but I distinctly remember the water tap not working and our hut buddy having to do a bit of sellotape DIY on it so that we could get water out to cook with.

I have learned since, however, that this hut – which was Panekire Hut – is the lesser maintained of them all, and that the middle ones are a lot better. There are no gas facilities in the huts – take your own gas cooker – and no lights, so have a torch with lots of battery, or some candles. Don’t forget a lighter or matches. Bring everything you might need (you’ll probably use it) and boil water before use. 

I have a vague memory of us melting snow in order to have a drink.

Tell Me About The Sleeping Arrangements

The Lake Waikaremoana Track offers you the option of staying in huts, or tents, or both, on different nights. The huts are bunk rooms with the standard plastic mattresses and are to be shared with others, so pack earplugs if you want an uninterrupted sleep. The largest hut is Waiharuru Hut and it has more space between you and your dorm buddies. It’ll feel luxurious compared to the others.

Tell Me About The Toilets

The Lake Waikaremoana toilets are all long drops, so if that puts you off, you might want to re-think doing this walk. Pack toilet paper so you always have some, as this will be the most back-country-like experience of all the Great Walks.

Step One: Making a Great Walks Booking Account

Before you book the Lake Waikaremoana Track, you’ll need to have a Department of Conservation Booking Service account. You can use the same account details if you have already booked a Great Walk before. Make sure you haven’t lost the password and have no trouble logging in!

Some Great Walks book out for the season in record time – minutes. Some are less popular. The Lake Waikaremoana Track is bookable year-round but you’ll find it is most popular over December and January, when people are on summer holidays.

You probably do not need to rush to book this walk the second it opens – although all ten have really increased in popularity since the lockdowns of 2020, but still make a note of the date bookings open and try to have your plans sorted in advance to avoid disappointment. 

The link to the Department of Conservation Booking Service is https://bookings.doc.govt.nz/. Sign up with your email and make a password. There is now only one booking system for Department of Conservation, so if you had a non Great Walks Booking Service account before, it’s now the same as the Great Walks Booking Service.

Step Two: Booking through your Great Walks Booking Account

After you have your Department of Conservation Booking Service account sorted out, and it has passed the date when bookings will open for the season, (which is announced in advance of the season every year in late May), you’ll be doing the actual track booking. You’ll need to:

Know Your Party

One of the most important things to know is who you’re going with. You’ll need the first names, last names and ages of those people, if one person in the group is booking for everyone. You’ll need a credit or debit card for the payment, so either have everybody transfer you the funds, or all book your places separately. 

Know Your Dates

Have your dates in front of you when you’re booking the Lake Waikaremoana Track. Know which nights are being spent where. The names of the huts and campsites can be hard to remember when te reo Māori (‘the Māori language’) is not your first language, so don’t rely on your memory, or you might get it wrong!

You’ll need to have sorted out if you are going to walk over three days or over four days, and make sure that you can tackle the projected walking times and distances for those intervals, if you’re skipping a campsite or a hut.

Leave time for the side trip to Korokoro Falls, so don’t make that day too long. It’s so worth going out there.

Run Your Search

Once bookings are open for the season, get yourself logged into the Department of Conservation Booking Service site. Find your dates in the calendar and select the Lake Waikaremoana Track, followed by the number of days and the number of people you are booking for. Select Search, and pick the green squares that match your chosen huts and/or campsites and your dates.

If booking Waiharuru, there’s separate rows for those camping and those staying in the hut. Don’t book the wrong one else you might end up with a campsite booking and no tent to stay in!

Select Your Dates

Should any of the grid come up red, then those dates or huts/campsites are booked. Red with an exclamation mark is not booked, however, it just means that there are less than 8 spots left. If your chosen sequence is not available, you could walk in the opposite direction, or opt to book a different place to stay on one of the nights, making one day a little longer and one day a little shorter.

Double check you’ve done it right before you click Reserve. Then, you’ll put in your group’s names and ages, and then there’s nothing left to do but pay.

Make Your Payment

Unlike the alpine walks in the Great Walks of New Zealand, the Lake Waikaremoana Track can be walked in all seasons by the average tramper. Fees are therefore the same, regardless of the time of year, and they’re the same regardless of whether you’re an international visitor or a New Zealander, too. 

An adult will pay $32NZD 🇳🇿 ($20USD 🇺🇸) per night for a hut, totalling $64NZD 🇳🇿 ($40USD 🇺🇸) for two nights in huts, and $96NZD 🇳🇿 ($60USD 🇺🇸) for three nights in huts. 

For a campsite, it’s $14NZD 🇳🇿 ($9USD 🇺🇸) per night, totalling $28NZD 🇳🇿 ($17USD 🇺🇸) for two nights in campsites and $42NZD 🇳🇿 ($26USD 🇺🇸) for three nights in campsites.

On some tracks, children have a cheaper rate, but on the Lake Waikaremoana Track, children under 17 are free. They still need a booking, however.

Tips And Tricks

1️⃣ If you are starting at Onepoto (ie, walking from Onepoto to Hopuruahine Landing / Whananui Hut), which is the most common way, you’ll be climbing to Panekire Bluff with a pack full of food! But, if you walk the direction that we did (from Hopuruahine Landing / Whananui Hut to Onepoto), and save the climb for last, your pack will be considerably lighter!

2️⃣ If you choose to book the Lake Waikaremoana Track in summer, opt for four shorter walking days, over three longer walking days, to allow time to just sit by the lake or have a lunchtime swim, things like that. There’s no point rushing from hut to hut when there is so much beauty to stop and enjoy on the way.

Cancellations and Refunds

Sigh! Things happen! Department of Conservation staff are friendly and you can talk to them about what has happened by phone or by email. 

This page of theirs goes into detail about cancellations and refunds.

Booking Your Transport

Exciting! You’re booked! The next thing to think about is sorting your boat transport in and out of the track, and you’ll need to think about driving into Te Urewera and how much time to allow for that.

The Lake Waikaremoana Track is not a circuit and only goes around part of the lake, so a water taxi is generally required to get you in and out. 

It’s too far to complete the circuit by foot (you’d be adding on a few days walking around the lake in its entirety), so you’ll either need to split your group in half, with each half of the group taking a vehicle each to a carpark, and swap carkeys when you see each other on the track,

Or have someone pick you up from the end and drive you back to your car at the start,

Or you’ll need to use the water taxi services to come and go to where you need to be.

You can water taxi from Hopuruahine Landing / Whananui Hut right back to Onepoto, so you could leave your vehicle at the Onepoto Carpark and do it this way,

Or you could park for free near the Te Urewera Visitor Centre in the Te Karetu Inlet part of the lake and get a water taxi from and back to the Visitor Centre.

Getting to the Te Urewera Visitor Centre

The Te Urewera Visitor Centre is where you’ll arrive by road, and that’s located in the Te Karetu Inlet of the lake, next door to the Waikaremoana Holiday Park.

To get to Te Urewera Visitor Centre in the first place, you’ll need to drive in from one of two directions. You can come in from the top, which is the road out to Rotorua, or you can come in from the bottom, which is the road out to Wairoa.

It’s three hours from Rotorua to Lake Waikaremoana via the Te Urewera Rainforest Route (162 kilometres, or 101 miles).

From the other direction, it’s one hour from Wairoa to Lake Waikaremoana (59 kilometres, or 37 miles).

The majority of this stretch, from a bit below Rotorua right out to Lake Waikaremoana, and beyond, nearly to Wairoa, is State Highway 38.

If you’re coming from Rotorua, you’ll be on sealed road for about 45 minutes, and from Murupara, the road gets narrow, windy, hilly and is unsealed from that point onward. That’s a couple of hours on unsealed road, (70 kilometres of it, or 43 miles) so allow plenty of time!

If you’re coming from Wairoa, you won’t have it so bad. There’s only about 7 kilometres, (or 4 miles) that are unsealed road.

Wairoa is just an hour and a half up the coast from Napier, so the lake is nearly three hours from both Rotorua and Napier, sitting in the middle. If you’re visiting both Rotorua and Napier, and coming here is on your list, it’s probably easier to tackle the drive from the Napier (or Wairoa) end.

If you do not have access to a vehicle, you can shuttle in from Wairoa, which is the nearest town. Big Bush Holiday Park, located near the Onepoto end of the Lake Waikaremoana Track, can pick you up from Wairoa when the InterCity bus gets in, so you could get in and out of Te Urewera pretty easily using their service. Once you’re back on the InterCity bus after the walk, you have ease of access to the rest of the bus route. It would pay to check with Big Bush Holiday Park that they still offer this service, as travellers more recently have said that there are no more shuttle services operating as of 2024.

Transport To/From Onepoto

🛥 The boat trip from the Te Urewera Visitor Centre to the Onepoto end of the track is a 15 minute boat trip.

🚗 The drive from the Te Urewera Visitor Centre to the Onepoto end of the track is a 20 minute drive south. There is a carpark where you can leave your vehicle and you’ll be able to get a water taxi back there afterwards. It costs $80NZD 🇳🇿 ($50USD 🇺🇸) with the Waiwai Express.

Transport To/From Hopuruahine Landing / Whananui Hut

🛥 The boat trip from the Te Urewera Visitor Centre to the Hopuruahine Landing / Whananui Hut end of the track is a 25 minute boat trip.

🚗 The drive from the Te Urewera Visitor Centre to the Hopuruahine Landing / Whananui Hut end of the track is a 30 minute drive north, but it’s only 4WD accessible, so it’s less likely that you would be utilising the smaller, and more isolated carpark at this end. If you choose to leave your vehicle, you’ll be able to get a water taxi back there afterwards. It costs $80NZD 🇳🇿 ($50USD 🇺🇸) with the Waiwai Express.

Operators

👉🏻 If you book through the Te Urewera Visitor Centre, they will charge you $50NZD 🇳🇿 ($31USD 🇺🇸) for a water taxi from Te Urewera Visitor Centre to Onepoto, which is a 15 minute boat trip, and $60NZD 🇳🇿 ($37USD 🇺🇸) for a water taxi from Te Urewera Visitor Centre to Hopuruahine Landing / Whananui Hut – which is a 25 minute boat trip. It’s an 08:30am departure if you’re starting at Onepoto and a 09:00am departure if you’re starting at Hopuruahine Landing.

👉🏻 A water taxi can also be booked through Big Bush Holiday Park. Being so close to the Onepoto end of the Lake Waikaremoana Track anyway, they will take you to Onepoto by road and collect you from Hopuruahine Landing / Whananui Hut by boat, for just $50NZD 🇳🇿 ($31USD 🇺🇸). If you just want to get to the Visitor Centre (which is next door to the Lake Waikaremoana Holiday Park), or you’ve caught a water-taxi there and just want to get back to your vehicle at Big Bush Holiday Park, that boat ride will only cost you $20NZD 🇳🇿 ($13USD 🇺🇸). It’s $40NZD 🇳🇿 ($25USD 🇺🇸) from Hopuruahine Landing / Whananui Hut back to the start, back to Onepoto. Click here for their prices and timetable.

👉🏻 The Waiwai Express: If you book straight from the Wairoa Information Site (iSite) website, or the Ngai Tuhoe website, you’ll be booking the Waiwai Express (waiwaixpres@gmail.com) and you’ll be charged $65NZD 🇳🇿 ($40USD 🇺🇸) for a one-way water taxi from the Te Urewera Visitor Centre to Onepoto. It’s $80NZD 🇳🇿 ($50USD 🇺🇸) the other way, so expect a total return fare of $145NZD 🇳🇿 ($90USD 🇺🇸). These transfers happen at set times so it’s important to consult the timetable on the website.

Note that while 15-17 year olds will be free at the huts, they will need to be paid for for this specific water taxi service.

Is There A Guided Walk Option?

Sort of!

Walking Legends (walkinglegends.co.nz) do a guided Lake Waikaremoana Track option, but their itinerary only covers ‘selected sections’ of the Great Walk, so if you’re someone who really wants to tick the full track off your list, this wouldn’t be a fit.

You pay $1950ZNZD 🇳🇿 ($1210USD 🇺🇸) and have the perks of not having to carry your luggage, your meals provided, lovely accommodation, guides, and return transport to Rotorua.

Where Can I Stay The Night Before?

You will probably need to spend either the night before or both the night before and the night after the walk in accommodation at the lake (to allow for that early boat ride across the lake when you start your walk). 

Options are:

💤 Waikaremoana Holiday Park, which is next door to Te Urewera Visitor Centre.

💤 Big Bush Holiday Park, which is 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) from the Onepoto end of the track. (This was the operator that can do shuttles from Wairoa when the InterCity Bus comes in.)

💤 A third option is to book the only room at The Tuai Suite Waikaremoana, https://tuaisuitewaikaremoana.co.nz/, which is $175NZD 🇳🇿 ($108USD 🇺🇸) per night. It can sleep four people.

What Will It Cost Me?

Your hut/campsite fees are going to total somewhere between $28NZD 🇳🇿 ($17USD 🇺🇸), (for two nights in campsites), and $96NZD 🇳🇿 ($60USD 🇺🇸) (for three nights in huts). 

Your water taxi fares, if that’s the option you’re going for (and it is, for most people), are going to cost somewhere between $50NZD 🇳🇿 ($31USD 🇺🇸) (that is, if you can get to Big Bush Holiday Park at the Onepoto end by road, ie., you have a vehicle) and $145NZD 🇳🇿 ($90USD 🇺🇸), depending on what combination you need and who you book through.

Factor in one or two night’s accommodation costs before and after the track, and you’ll be totalling somewhere between $253NZD 🇳🇿 ($157USD 🇺🇸) and $416NZD 🇳🇿 ($258USD 🇺🇸).

Then, you just need to factor in either the cost of a shuttle from Wairoa, or petrol costs if driving from Rotorua or Wairoa (or Napier), and your food .. and ..

.. you will find that the Lake Waikaremoana is one of the cheapest of the 10 Great Walks of New Zealand. It is probably the most remote, which makes it really special as even in peak season it is not crowded. You are so far into the wilderness that you can expect unreal birdlife, a fair bit of solitude, glittering waters and mossy forest. It’s otherworldly, and pretty amazing. It slid right to number 2 on my favourites list (outed only by world-famous Milford Track).