Lake Waikaremoana

Waikaremoana - the sea of rippling waters - was formed about 2,200 years ago when a huge landslide blocked a gorge and the valley behind filled, which is why it is deep, irregular and edged with drowned bluffs rather than beaches. It sits in Te Urewera, the largest tract of native forest left in the North Island. Since the 2014 settlement Te Urewera holds legal personhood - it is neither a national park nor Crown land but a legal entity in its own right, with Tuhoe as its guardians, and that arrangement is worth understanding before visiting. The Lake Waikaremoana Track, still one of the Great Walks, runs 46 kilometres over three to four days, its hardest section the climb up the Panekire Bluff with the lake a long way below. Day walks reach Lake Waikareiti, Aniwaniwa Falls and shorter loops. Access is the real barrier: SH38 is long, partly unsealed and slow from either end.

What you actually see

• The landslide-dammed lake - deep water against drowned bluffs.
• The Panekire Bluff - the high traverse on the Great Walk.
• Lake Waikareiti - the smaller lake above, on a day walk.
• Te Urewera forest - the largest native forest in the North Island.

When to go

November to April. Book Great Walk huts and campsites well ahead. Check road conditions - SH38 is long, unsealed in parts and slow in bad weather.

Honest expectations

It is genuinely remote: fuel, food and phone coverage are all limited, so arrive stocked. Te Urewera is under Tuhoe guardianship and some areas have specific protocols - follow the signage. Weather turns fast on the bluff.

Nearby

Wairoa is the nearest town; Whirinaki and Murupara are north-west.