Friday, 17th May 2024 - Redwood Forest & Okera Falls

Our last day in Rotorua.  What did we still need to see?  Apparently, you can't come to Rotorua without visiting the Redwoods so this morning we intend to do the Redwood walk and tonight we have booked in for the Night Treewalk.  During the day we will squeeze in a drive to Okera Falls.

First stop, however, is breakfast at Eastwood Cafe in the Scion Innovative Centre.  Breakfast was pretty good but the building it is in is quite spectacular.  It's the headquarters of Scion, a research institute that specialises in technology development for the forestry industry and as you would expect "shows off" what can be done with timber.  The building is all triangles made from laminated veneer timber.

Time to walk off breakfast in the Redwoods.  We chose the 3.4km Waitawa Walk which starts through the  Redwood Memorial Grove planted in 1901.  These amazing redwood trees tower above you at approximately 67 metres tall and the path continues on to a boardwalk over an old thermal pond returning to the visitors centre through a stand of Douglas Fir. 

Originally planted for use in the building industry, the Californian Redwood (Sequoia semperviren) plantation was not a success.  Because of the rich volcanic soil, favourable climate and high rainfall, they grew faster in New Zealand than in their native homeland of the United States and the timber was not suitable.  Instead, they've become a great tourist attraction. 

Back to our accommodation for a rest and then off to Okera Falls (not too far away).  The falls and the Okera River are favourite spots for adrenaline junkies who enjoy themselves in both Kayaks and rafts.  We were fortunate to be there just as a group came over the falls.  Not for us but they certainly appeared to be having fun.

There's a nice easy 1.2km walk from the carpark that takes the Okera Falls and a smaller falls all the way through to the Trout Pool. We went as far as the falls and then backtracked to the carpark and drove to the Trout Pools, to arrive just as the raft group were packing up.

At the entrance to the walking track, there is a huge turbine, evidence of the  Okere Falls Power Station that began operating in 1901 and closed in 1939.

Also of interest are Hinemoa's Steps, some steep steps near the falls which take you down to the water's edge.  Tutea's Cave is at the bottom of these steps but it's fenced off and you can only see a little way into the cave (apparently named after one of the local chiefs; Tutea).



All in all, a lovely spot and well worth adding to the itinerary.

Our evening adventure was back to the Redwoods for the Nightlights, a pretty unique experience of walking through the canopy between 9-20 metres above the forest floor.  This award-winning eco-tourism walk is 700 metres long, spans 28 suspension bridges and 27 platforms, and takes about 40 minutes to complete.  Jill was pretty nervous about the thought of it but managed admirably - didn't like it when the bridges "bounced" though.  The walk features 34 lanterns by world-acclaimed designer and sustainability champion, David Trubridge.  Quite spectacular!