What has become an annual event for the Club is its midwinter trip to Rotorua, but this year was a bit different - three trips to Rotorua, one in late summer (March), one in early summer (November) and this one, not midwinter but to farewell the winter, being the transition from NZ Standard Time to Daylight Saving time after an unusually cold and wintry spring week.  This time we stayed once more at Lakeview Christian Camp, and walked from Lake Okataina to Lake Rotoiti as well as did a tramp in Tikitere Forest. Nineteen people came along, only ten of whom left from The Bracken - the remainder included two people from Hamilton, one from Tauranga and six school teachers in the middle of the term 3/term 4 holidays; they went directly to Lakeview camp. Friday We left The Bracken about 6:30pm in Lin’s car and Jeff’s van and travelled via the well-used State Highway 27 to Rotorua observing another Club tradition - the munchie stop at Matamata, so much that the proprietor of one of the takeaway bars knows our faces! We arrived at Lakeview Bible Camp north of Ngongotaha shortly before 11pm. Saturday A rather wet morning resulted in our changing plans - we were to have done the Tikitere Forest tramp, with its thermal areas and lakeside views, that day but we decided to swap round with Sunday’s planned trip, a 4-5 hour walk from Lake Okataina to Lake Rotoiti being in bush most of the way to be followed by an afternoon swim at the Polynesian Spa hot pools. The wet weather also meant that Jill shared the day’s devotion from The Word For Today before we left Lakeview Bible Camp rather than on the tramp itself. The main point shared was that if we lack wisdom in anything we should ask of God. If one’s mind is in a state of stress, one should calm down first before praying about the matter. Also - check your past. Has God ever failed you? - NO. We left one car at the Lake Rotoiti end of the tramp, near Ruato, and carried on to the starting point on the foreshore of Lake Okataina. The rain eased off as we prepared to set out on our tramp, and the rest of the day would be grey and overcast but no more rain. The track started about 100 metres back along the road from the carpark and climbed steadily through native bush before levelling out. Eventually we came to a junction, and the short track from there to cross the road was blocked by a tree felled in a recent storm, and we had to bash our way around it.

We crossed the Lake Okataina Road and re-entered native bush along Kepa Track. The Kepa and Anaha Tracks were pleasant, wide and mostly level tracks, and the Ngahopua Track brought us to a viewing platform on the edge of a deep crater with Lake Rotoatua way below. This was the first of two crater lakes, that were formed about 3500 years ago by volcanic activity. There are no tracks to the lakes themselves, which are home to many species of native birdlife. After our elevenses stop at the viewing platform we followed the track as it skirted the rim of the crater, climbing gradually. There were further views of the lake before we left the crater and carried on. Soon we could see the other crater lake, Rotongata, and the Lake Okataina Road on the far side. Then the track descended steadily to the road.

We stopped for lunch at the Okataina Outdoor Education Centre, sitting on a fence on the southern boundary of the centre grounds near the continuation of the West Okataina Walkway. A group from a Christian youth ministry based in Kawerau was setting the education centre up for a week-long children’s camp. The children would be coming in buses not long after we had finished our lunch and carried on. The camp was an outreach camp - the children would take part in games, tramping, canoeing, etc. during the day and at night would be presented with the gospel of Jesus Christ through singsongs, games and talks. These camps are held each year, and have had up to a 100% conversion rate amongst unsaved children, but the important thing is the after-camp follow-up as many of these children would return to non-Christian families. The Te Auheke track started behind the education centre grounds and went through bush to a tiny waterfall. This is a popular night walk with its glow worms. A 100m side track led to the Cascade Falls, an impressive waterfall tumbling over a 30m bluff. The main track finished on the West Okataina Walkway, which we then followed through to Ruato. We dropped down into a gully and followed that downstream. Recent vandalism on one of the signposts made us miss the turning and we ended back on the Lake Okataina Road. We did not have to backtrack far to get back onto our intended track, and this climbed up and over to drop down into Patotara, a large dry scrub-covered crater also known as The Bullring. The grunt up the other side was well rewarded with a rest stop with bracken etc. making excellent “easy chairs”. The final hour or so was along a mostly level and wide former logging track. There were views of Lake Rotoiti before the final drop to tramp’s end on State Highway 30 near Ruato. We were out by about 3pm. The Polynesian Spa hot pools were a great way to relax after our tramp, which also worked up our appetites for the Fat Dog, a low-cost restaurant in the centre of Rotorua that we had visited on previous Rotorua trips. Lin, June and Jocelyn decided to go to the flicks afterwards to laugh their way through Shanghai Noon, while the rest of us went back to the camp for a short time of playing cards etc. before hitting the sack. Sunday The weather looked no better than the previous day, but at least it wasn’t raining as we set out to Tikitere Forest. This was now one of Fletcher Challenge’s many commercial pine forests, and we had to obtain a permit to enter this to do our tramp. We parked our cars at the start of Race Rd, and set out along Cherry Bay Rd through an area of the forest stripped by recent harvesting - we were able to get excellent views of Lake Rotoiti and the surrounding area. We went as far as an outlook over Cherry Bay before backtracking then taking another track into mature pines to soon come to the Ruahine Springs. Ruahine Springs is perhaps the best of the many natural active thermal areas within Tikitere Forest. We had a stop on the edge of the large bare sinter/sulphur area, but were not game enough to get close to the boiling springs themselves in case we got stuck in hot mud, etc. June S and John ventured close enough to a black stream of water draining from the springs, to find it was lukewarm. As we sat on the white sinter ground looking across to the hillside crater containing the hot springs, Lin began to tell us about the walk, or steps, we take as Christians. Psalm 65 says that God prepares the earth for His people, and crowns it with goodness and abundance. Psalm 119 promises great peace to those who love God and follow His law. Lin asked the question What do we take when we take our steps? - we take ourselves and our character. Rain suddenly interrupted our devotion, and we scurried for cover under the pine trees. After a bit of discussion as to whether we should knock the rest of the tramp on the head, we decided to carry on along Ruahine Rd, and the rain began to ease off. It was a gentle downhill, with large rocky outcrops on our left (uphill) side. The track eventually came out of mature pines into scrub and younger trees, and we came to the intersection with Tumoana Rd. While the rest of the group turned right to go up Tumoana Rd and back to our cars, Paul, John and Nelson went on down Tumoana Rd to try and have a look at Tumoana Point, a peninsula and tiny island with hot springs in a sandy beach that a group from the Club visited during a canoe expedition back in March this year. We eventually reached the lake foreshore and identified the peninsula and island, but found we were unable to get to it because the lake level was high and the closest access would be through the backyards of some of the settlement of private houses. Climbing up Tumoana Road back on to Race Rd proved to be very interesting, with views of several active thermal areas, mainly bare areas of white sinter with sulphur with steaming fumaroles and/or springs, and accompanied by the typical smell of hydrogen sulphide gas similar to rotting eggs. We were back at Lakeview Camp soon after 1pm for lunch, and Lin was able to finish her talk about our steps. Referring to Hebrews 12, she said that as we step out we come into a state of healing and restoration. On our tramps it is always good have a leader whom we can trust and who can assure us of a good time; on our steps we have Jesus as our leader and instructor (Hebrews 12:2). Psalm 40 talks about God lifting us out of the bog and mire and setting our feet on a rock or firm hard path. Lin referred back to her experience on the muddy tracks of Neavesville earlier this year, and keeping her feet on rocks as she and Joy tackled the tricky stream section of the Goldies Bush track just a few weeks ago. 2 Peter tells us that Christ left an example so we can follow in His footsteps. We concluded our time by singing The Steps of a Good Man. We wasted no time in packing up and running the hoover and mop through the camp, and were away by 3pm, just as the rain returned. Two of the car loads stopped off at Tirau to browse some of the fancy gift shops including Home Sweet Home and sitting down to a coffee before tackling State Highway 27 from beginning to end. The rain stopped as we approached Maramarua on State Highway 2, and we were back at the Bracken at about 6pm. COSTS: Travel ex The Bracken (to and from Rotorua plus Saturday and Sunday trips) $35; travel Saturday $4; travel Sunday $3; food (2 breakfasts plus Sunday lunch) $7; accommodation $12 one night, $24 both nights; dining out at Fat Dog $10-$20; Polynesian Spa hot pools 15+ group discount $9.