Lake Waikaremoana Track |
 6. On Wednesday, 23 December 1987, we packed up and left our Aniwaniwa campsite and drove west around the northern side of Lake Waikaremoana to Hopuruahine, which was from our perspective the start (but from the perspective of most Lake Waikaremoana hikers, it is the end) of the track round the western and southern edges of the lake. This picture was taken of (from left to right) Tim Hannah, Evan Roberts, Nigel Roberts, and Heather Roberts at the start of our five-day, four-night hike. The notice board we are standing beside says, “All huts are the property of the Park Board. No set fee is charged. However a donation of 50 cents per night is suggested.” Fees have certainly gone up during the past thirty years or so: in 2020, for instance, adults paid $32 per night to use the Lake Waikaremoana huts – a mere 6,400 per cent increase (although children under 18 can stay in them for free)! Note, too, that although the notice states that the length of the track is “50 kilometres approx”, Department of Conservation (DoC) now says that the track is “46 km (one way)” – i.e., 28.5 miles. |