Whirinaki Forest: 3 days tramping in December

A 3-day tramp through the Whirinaki rainforest. This time of year we had a few too many stream crossings and stinging nettles to contend with, but it was beautiful all the same.

We took my ten year old son 16 kilometres up the trail from the River Road carpark to Central Whirinaki Hut. I think it took about 7 hours through showers and misty rain with lots of treats and encouragement on the way. It was a long day for him – but an authentic experience of the rainforest!

Our next day’s tramping took us to the Mangamate Hut (9 beds). We spent most of the day walking in streams that were beautiful, but required considerable concentration. Mostly they were only ankle or knee-deep, but occasionally they concealed gritty sinkholes of soft pumice and deeper pools, and were fringed with stinging nettles and dense clumps of cutty grass. My son entertained himself by counting stream crossings and got up to about eighty. On a hot sunny day it would be lovely. We had grey, cold weather, quite a few nettle stings, and were delighted to reach the hut, get the fire going and dry out.

The next day (pictured) was sunny, and we walked down the stream to rejoin the Whirinaki River and the main track back to the carpark. At first it was easier walking in the stream bed than trying to follow the track as it criss-crossed the stream. Later it got thigh-deep and some of the last crossings would be dodgy in heavy rain. When we stopped for lunch, the number of rotting possum carcasses by the stream made us glad that we’d brought the water filter! As we were munching our cheese on crackers, we saw a long-tailed cuckoo marauding through the forest, searching for the nests of unsuspecting grey warblers. It was a straightforward and enjoyable day and we got out in time to meet our scheduled pick up and drove to Rotorua to hit the hot pools.