Lake Waikaremoana

After the "hustle and bustle" in Gisborne, we were drawn back into solitude. We went inland to the secluded Lake Waikaremoana National Park. Since the last 30 km (or 80 km coming from the other side of Rotorua) of the road is gravel, not many people come here. However, there is a well-equipped camping site located on a lake arm, where you can spend a few days hiking. This lake is so huge that many people launch their motorboats here. But even they have to drive their boat trailers over the gravel road, so caution was necessary due to the heavy oncoming traffic. And it was also dusty as hell.

We had a day of hiking and went to Lake Waikareiti, a very secluded lake in the mountains. Luckily, there was a small shelter where we could have our picnic, because a fierce storm came up over the lake. However, the weather quickly calmed down again on the way back, so we made a detour to a waterfall. In the evening, there was a heavy shower and at the same time sunshine, so a strong rainbow formed over the lake. What a sight!