Lake Okareka Walkway, Rotorua

 

Leave Rotorua on State Highway 30 on route to the airport. Take a right turn on to Tarawera Road, and follow this road for approximately 5 kms where a left turn onto the Okareka Loop Road should be taken. This road leads through the settlement of Okareka, after which turn right on to Acacia Road. Along this road is a parking spot with toilets at the start of the Walkway.

 

Lake Okareka Walkway

Time: 2 to 3 hrs (return)

Distance: 7 kms (approximately)

Grade: Easy with wheelchair access for part of the track

 

The Lake Okareka Walkway is part of a local project to improve water quality and re-junvenate habitat for wildlife in the Rotorua area. The 7 km walkway runs along the edge of Lake Okareka, past some beautiful wetland.

Approximately five minutes from the start of the track, there is a hide for orthnothologists to observe the local bird-life on the lake. The lake is home to various species including paradise ducks and kingfishers.

The track continues past the hide, with the lake on one side and farmland on the other. After 30 minutes a lake-side shelter is reached, a great spot to stop and admire the beautiful lake and surrounding countryside.

Five to ten minutes on from the shelter, the track starts to climb over the farmland and then drops down to a beautiful beach at the Okareka Outlet. A great spot for a picnic on a sunny summer's day.

 

No gradient image available, track is flat and partly benched apart from a small uphill section towards the end.