Having the day off might not be as good as not having to work all-together, but it’s certainly up there in the list of things we enjoy, things like being paid or boarding a plane to go on holiday for example... the excitement is there, building up before it happens, and at the end of the day, it’s what motivates us to get out of bed and go to work in the first place (Also free coffee).
It was only 3 days after starting work at the Chateau that we were given our first day off and we intended to get as far away as possible, but after working so hard the night before we figured we had earned a lay-in and also, we wanted to be back at reasonable time because we were up early the next day ... alright, so actually we didn’t really go very far at all, but it turns out we didn’t need to.
Our first stop was a walk, only half an hour away, 45 minutes if you include the time we spent trying to park - yes, we got a bit lost but guess what? You don’t have to! - Once you get to the end of Omaki road (T junction), turn left and follow Whakapapa Bush Road (the gravel road) all the way to the bridge that crosses over Whakapapa River, and there you’ll find both a car park and a toilet.
There are quite a few walks here but we decided to take one of the shorter ones. Originally a 2-hour walk, the one we picked (The Lagoon Walk) had been shortened due to a partial closure after being recently damaged by the river. Because of this, part of the track involves walking back down the gravel road that you’ll recognise as being the same one from the journey there.
At the start of the track you’ll find an series of pathways that lead to the river. There’s a noticeable fishy smell in the air but don’t let that put you off trying these, because if you follow them you’ll be rewarded with great views of the Whakapapa river and the Whakapapa River Bridge. The walk then takes you through an abundance of plant life and over the Ohinetonga Lagoon, which is the highlight of the track.
The lagoon isn’t anything super impressive or beautiful but makes the track slightly different from others. Overall, it’s a nice place for an afternoon walk and we enjoyed it from start to finish, including the part on the gravel road. If the weather is nice you can even swim in the river. For the wildlife fans, this reserve houses an array of native birds, one of them being the Whio, which is a type of blue duck.
This was a good place to practice making videos because the forest is quite varied in terms of vegetation and features, so we spent a long time messing around with our cameras leading to us eventually becoming pretty hungry. Nearby is a takeaway/fish'n'chips shop that deserves a mention for being an absolute miracle when you’re hungry. Golden Kiwi Takeaways in Taumarunui is honestly amazing and so, so cheap. We genuinely couldn’t believe how much food we got for our money and it just tasted awesome. Seriously guys, check out their menu HERE!!!
Not only is it pure taste-heaven, but if you tell them we sent you, you’ll get 0% discount and they will tell you how they’ve never heard of us.
With our energy levels now back to normal, we moved on to another track. This one was called The Sunshine Track and just like the previous one, we got lost on the way there, but guess what? Once again you don’t have to! At some point you’ll cross Victory Bridge (from any direction if you are following the main roads) and then google maps will instruct you to turn right, but what you should do is turn left instead and follow a tiny road up where the track will shortly be on your right. The start of the track is located by a stile.
The best time to do the Sunshine Track is just before sunset, and you should allow yourself 30-40 minutes to get to the top. It’s a fairly short track but very steep although don’t let that discourage you - Sabina made it, therefore you can to. There is another stile at the top to jump over and then you’ll be able to see over the Whanganui River Valley, with a Redwood plantation to your left. This is where timing is key; the sun sets in front of the viewpoint and turns the Sunshine Track and surrounding area orange as it does. We’ve never seen Redwoods at sunset before but they turn the most amazing colour, which is just another reason why this is such a good place to be as the night falls.
It wasn’t until the sun had gone behind the hills that we realised we didn’t bring a torch with us. As of now, we can no longer make fun of anyone for doing anything, because this was just stupid of us. It was also pretty funny though and we joked about it on the way back, naturally blaming each other for the faux pas as usual.
“I guess blaming each other just adds a bit of humour to the situation to disguise the fact that deep down, we both knew it was Sabina’s fault” - L
We said the track was steep right? Well, it used up a hefty amount of our energy so we had to make a detour to the supermarket after we finally made it back to our car (somehow in one piece). There’s a foursquare in town that we got some more food at before continuing to our last stop for the day.
Ok, so now time for a question - how much would you pay to see thousands of glow-worms at night? $20, $50?... How about nothing? They say the best place to see them is at Waitomo caves, where you can have a tour for $53 and see loads of them, whilst walking around with a load of tourists at a set pace of course and yes, we’re sure it would still be amazing, but you could also see plenty of them at your own pace, in Kakahi with nobody else around and save yourself $53... so being us, we went for the latter of the two options, obviously.
Kakahi Village was on the way back home for us, and for the third time that day, you guessed it, we got lost. Guess what though? You don’t have to! Simply follow Te Rena Road all the way to the ‘point of interest’ on google maps and park there. Please don’t even ask what we did. There is one thing however - if you continue to drive past the point of interest and park by the river you’ll spoil the surprise for yourself, so we strongly recommend not doing that, because it’s just nowhere near as fun. Instead, park by the point on the map and walk down to the destination.
On the way you’ll start to see more and more glow worms until eventually, there’s thousands. Top tip - this place is great to bring a long exposure camera and a tripod, or a super macro to capture the worms themselves. We only saw a couple of other people during our visit but the area is big enough to feel like you are completely on your own anyway. You’ll want to bring a torch too because the high walls of mud where the glow-worms live block out most of the light, making it extremely dark there. For something that’s completely free, this was just amazing. We spent over an hour walking around and admiring the little creatures and if we had the chance, we’d probably stop there again - it really is something.
Well, that was our day out in the Ruapehu region. To summarise, the Lagoons Walk was a pleasant way of breaking up the drive to the Sunshine Track where the sunset was simply stunning. But, without question, seeing the glow-worms was easily the best part of the day! We really weren’t sure what to expect and had our doubts about finding the location, but our patience paid off and our experience was incredible. One way to describe the glow-worms is like looking up at a starry night sky - it really makes you stop and stare, and it’s certainly a great feeling.
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