TIME - Fit 35 minutes Rambling 1 hour 10 minutes
A gentle walk round Lake Waikapiro.
- Start at the camping ground and walk along the road by Lake Tutira towards the entrance till just before the gate at Lake Waikapiro. Turn left and walk up the tract and over the stile.
Note: the midden in the road cutting coming over the rise from the camping ground. The shells are from freshwater mussels. The lake was formed about 6,500 years ago when the side of the hill fell off, filling the valley floor and creating 3 lakes –
Lake Tutira covers 182 ha
Is 2.4 km long and 1.2 km wide
Is 42 m deep
Is the 2nd largest lake in Hawke’s Bay
Is administered by the Department of Conservation
An orange buoy in the lake measures the water quality of the lake from the surface to the bottom.
Lake Waikopiro covers 15 ha
Lake Orakai is on the western side of the highway
- Walk round the marked track on the left, up the valley, is a wetland being developed. Willows were recently cleared, 2 ponds dug and a planting programme initiated.
- Continue round the lake past an area planted by Forest & Bird volunteers this winter.
- Walk back along the road to the camping ground.
