The First Great Walk – Lake Waikaremoana

Here we go

Here’s a quick look at what our first Great Walk at Lake Waikaremoana experience was like:

DAY ONE

We were starting to get the feeling that rain in NZ was just a shower here and there. That feeling has changed… Around 7am the rain began and it didn’t stop until–well, it didn’t stop. In fact, as we ascended 1500 feet to the summit at 3700, it was no longer raining, it was snowing (and sticking). The wind was whipping around 30 mph (uh, 50 km/hr sounds better) and we were frigid. Thankfully, the Great Walks have these super cool things called huts spaced throughout the track and there was a warm hut right at the summit with people waiting to greet us. Unfortunately, this was not our ultimate destination. Also a bummer, the view from this hut is supposed to be spectacular looking one way at a panoramic shot of the lake and the opposite view all the way to the sea. We could not see either. All we could from here were a few bushes 10 feet away and a mass of clouds covering everything else.

Motivated by hearing the next hut had a roaring fire and knowing we needed to get off the summit before the weather got worse, we marched ahead through some of the muddiest track and coldest weather we have ever experienced hiking (save for the trip to Middle Sister with the Schneiders when it dumped snow on us in September–we thought about you guys a lot on this hike!). Nearly 6 and a half hours and 16.5 km (10 miles) after we began walking, we arrived at the Waiopoa Hut soaking wet and chilled to the bone. With water squishing between his toes, John realized that the word “waterproof” labeled on the side of his boots did not mean the same as what he thought waterproof meant. We were immediately welcomed by Tom, the hut warden. **Sidenote on the hut system: Prior to leaving the trailhead, hikers must make a reservation at each of the stops they will make along the journey. If you plan to stay in the huts, you have to know in advance which huts you’ll be staying in and pay for those huts. You cannot change your reservation once you are on the track. You must stay where you say you are going to stay. You can also choose to camp (which was our choice as it was half the price of the huts) but the same rules apply: you cannot upgrade to the huts when it’s pouring down rain, unless it’s a matter of life or death.**  As we mentioned to Tom that we would need to set up our tent he said that there was plenty of room in the hut and that it didn’t seem like tenting weather.  John said, “I thought we couldn’t do that.”  Tom said, “I won’t tell if you don’t.”  So we decided to quickly claim a bunk before Tom changed his mind. We came inside, changed into dry clothes, and stood by the fire for a least hour until we could feel our fingers again.  We were extremely thankful that we didn’t have to sleep outside as it continued to rain and the temperature dropped below freezing overnight. 

DAY TWO

What a difference a day makes. The weather we were expecting the day before was finally appearing. We woke to frost on the ground, but sun in the sky. This day’s hike was much easier than that of Day One. We had only 12 km/ 7.5 miles to go and most of it was around the lake so the track was relatively level. Lake Waikaremoana is a beautiful lake–we won’t bore you with details, but check out the photos for a look at what we were seeing. One of the coolest wildlife we continued to see were black swans with their baby swans, which were white. They were fascinating to watch.