26 December 2013

Lake Waikaremoana, Great Walk!

While the malls were heaving with zombie shoppers just before Christmas we escaped to the remote Te Urewera National Park to tramp for four days around Lake Waikaremoana.  As with the other NZ Great Walks, the scenery was spectacular.




The track climbs up the Panekiri Range then descends back down to lake level to follow the western shoreline.


What was perhaps less than spectacular was the condition of the Department of Conservation (DOC) huts along the way.  We were told that there are now no hut wardens until Boxing Day meaning there was nobody to check to see whether we had paid the $32 per night fee, or to keep the huts in some semblance of order - no firewood or toilet paper, unswept floors and filthy toilets.




The nine "Great Walks" showcase New Zealand's spectacular environment to the world, but I think the experience of noisy 30 bunk dormitories and dirty facilities may be putting many people off the great outdoors, tourists and New Zealanders alike.  

I certainly don't blame DOC for this.  They struggle with insufficient funds and shrinking budgets, but I think there is room for improvement in a way that would benefit DOC, tourists, Kiwi trampers and the environment and I will cover this in a separate post.

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