An enjoyable two hour walk through one of the last remaining areas of untouched native bush in New Zealand. The Arohaki Lagoon Track is one of the better known walks in the wonderful 56,000 hectare Whirinaki Te Pua-a-Tāne Conservation Park, a relatively little known place 1.5 hours drive east of Rotorua. It was thankfully saved from logging in 1984 and is now home to a number of tracks, including short walks, mountain biking, and up to 5 day tramps.

The walk starts 1.5km from the River Road Car Park, reached by a reasonable gravel road. The terrain was more different from the Whirinaki Waterfall Loop Track than I expected, and had more altitude gain and loss in half the distance.

A little bit of light penetrating through the thick bush helped.

The track was mostly uphill on the way out.

There were plenty of excuses to stop and take photos.

Arohaki Lagoon was worth the walk, though there was less water in it than I expected. During the summer it is often dry. The lagoon is surrounded by huge kahikatea, and the rainforest canopy was alive with birdsong, some of the best I’ve heard anywhere in New Zealand.

I returned the way I came, through this beautiful landscape.