The largest national park in the North Island, Te Urewera invites you to vanish into a vast world of forest, lakes and mountains.
Remote, rugged and immense, Te Urewera National Park is the largest forested wilderness in the North Island. It is loved for its lakes and untouched beauty. People come here to hike, fish, kayak and hunt.
For centuries Te Urewera has been home to the Tuhoe people, who are known as the 'Children of the Mist' because they trace their ancestry to Hine-puhoku-rangi - the celestial mist maiden.
Lake Waikaremoana provides a focus for most activities in the park. The lake was formed 2200 years ago by a huge landslide, which blocked a narrow gorge along the Waikaretaheke River. In many ways, the lake resembles a fiord. The Lake Waikaremoana Track, one of New Zealand's "Great Walks" follows the western shore of the lake and takes around four days to complete.
Near the shores of Lake Waikaremoana is the small settlement of Aniwaniwa, where you'll find a visitor centre, museum, accommodation and kayak hire. Several walks start here, ranging from 20 minutes to six hours in length. Aniwaniwa is also the starting point for the walk to idyllic Lake Waikareiti, where row boats are available for hire.
By Lisa Ikariyama