We started today with a drive down to the small town of Minginui. The last miles into this remote village are twisty-turning as the road enters more mountainous terrain. Perhaps it is this rougher landscape that prevented the ancient podocarp forest from being cleared for ranchland like so much of rest of the native trees were cleared. We drove down here to hike the Whirinaki Waterfall Loop Track. The highlight of this hike is actually not the waterfall, but the surrounding primordial forest, which is a pristine example of the native flora that used to cover the North Island before the arrival of humanity.
The hike is a loop along the banks of the Whirinaki River. We hiked in a counterclockwise direction, heading south along the west bank and returning along the eastern bank. The hike is 11 KM. We started at 9:50 A.M. and finished at 12:40 P.M. The hike was mostly level, so it was easy walking. It was not muddy, so it was a pleasant walk. I enjoyed seeing the primitive trees and imagining what sort of prehistoric creatures must have been living back in the forests back then.
Below is a map of the Whirinaki trail, outlined in red. We also intended to hike the Waiatiu Falls Track, but a sign warned that a bridge was out and so that trail was closed
After lunch, we drove to the Waio-Tapu Thermal Wonderland, which features a lot of geothermal attractions. There are three loop trails that can be walked; naturally, we walked along all three of them, starting at 2:15 P.M. They started closing the park down behind us, so we were some of the last to leave. Waio-Tapu has perhaps the most dramatic sights of the geothermal parks on the North Island, so if you only wanted to see one park, Waio-Tapu Thermal Wonderland would be the best one to visit.
We drove up to Rotorua and checked in at Blue Lake Holiday Top 10, which turned out to like a KOA campground. We had a cabin with bunk beds and a sink and tiny kitchen but the showers and bathroom were in a common campground building about a 100yds away across the grounds. A lot of RVs pulled in here.
The forecast for the next day predicted a lot of rain with afternoon thunderstorms.
