Tarawera Falls & River Walk

It had been over a month since I had been walking with the tramping club so, last week, I joined them for a lovely walk along the Tarawera river.

We met up in Kawerau, where we consolidated into fewer cars and obtained permits to drive into the forestry land.  I went with Rob & Sue and a couple of others. It was a long drive along dusty gravel roads to get to the parking spot.

Once on the walking trail we passed by a number of huge boulders, possibly landing there after being thrown out of the eruption over a century ago. 

Essentially less than 10 minutes into the walk we arrived at the Tarawera Falls, that emerge directly from the face of a cliff, as opposed to coming over to the top. The river takes a number of routes underground to achieve this unique spectacle.

The trail then snaked and curved around to higher ground, amongst which were glimpses of sections of "river" that seemed to pop up and disappear regularly. One of them flowed into a hole in the ground, I assume to head underground to the falls. For parts of the walk we were accompanied by a deep rumble as water pushed through crevices deep within the earth.

 

A lovely swimming hole with rope swings seemed to be located a long way from anywhere convenient for those interested in bathing. 

One section was a bit exposed, and later a lovely section went through moss covered ground, with the gentle babble of the river of to the left.

After 5.5 km of walking we arrived at the lake, where there was a sharp wind making the surface of the lake choppy.

After a break for lunch the return journey seemed to be much faster.

We got back to the cars after an 11km round trip.  Rather a dusty drive out, but it was an enjoyable walk and one I would certainly consider doing again.