Late night, tired ratty kids, and maybe one too many wines at the BBQ the night before …. but it was winter and the sun was shining, I simply had to get out amongst it, breathe in the bush air and soak in some rays. My mum was visiting and she had told me about this great track with 360 degree views, and not too far of a drive (maybe the kids could rest on the drive). I didn’t manage to wrangle up a friend for the kids (5 & 7) at such late notice so it was just us and Oma (my mum).

We accessed the Otanewainuku car park from the Tauranga side, down Opopi road and then left onto Mountain road, which in parts is a gravel road. There was a shelter with information on the tracks of the area and further along the track a toilet. The track sign states 45 minutes to the trig in either a clockwise or anticlockwise direction, we gave this decision to the kids and clockwise was chosen, this as it turned out is the least steep direction to take, and it took us 50 minutes.

The kids, with their self-packed backpacks, took turns leading us down the track; The bush is stunning, the towering Kahikatea trees (New Zealands tallest forest tree), frame the sunlight and blue sky perfectly making you feel like you are amongst giants and their roots are huge and provide great pockets for the kids to hide and jump out to “scare” you (cause we never see them do this).

The first part of the clockwise track is reasonably gradual, the second half zigzags uphill with some big steps for little legs. A platform amongst the tree tops tells us that we are at the trig, up the narrow stairs and wow! The views are wicked, you can see White Island, Mount Te Aroha and if the weather had of been clearer on the central plataeu we would have been able to see Tongariro, Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu. It was beautiful and an amazing lunch spot.

The kids unpack their bags on the platform and out comes: muffins, apples, water, soft toys, a transporter truck full of smaller cars and to top it all off, my son had carried up a large rock that his Aunty had painted for him; Not once did he complain of a heavy bag, I couldn’t contain my laughter, I was very surprised but also very impressed.

After the snack and play we start to head down the steeper track direction (which would be the anticlockwise track coming up). The kids took a keen interest in looking for the silver fern on the way down, their determination and perseverance was outstanding as every fern we passed was checked, and can I just say this track has an abundance of ferns. Many discoveries were made including the koru/spiral of a young fern and a curious robin that came to check us out, good spotting Nina. It took us another 50 minutes to come down, but that was with lots of exploring and many many stops.

I fully recommend this track, it’s stunning in so many ways and considering we all weren’t at our best that day it was one of my favourite walks I’ve done with the kids. There is another couple of walks that are accessed from the car park, which I’ll definitely be going back to check out.

Nutshell 

• Location: Otanewainuku Forest, Bay of Plenty
• Access:  There is a small car park, shelter and toilet located on Mountain Road. Mountain road can be accessed from Oropi road, Tauranga, or No.2 road, Te Puke.
• DOC Duration: 1.5 hour loop    Forest Family:  2 Adults and 2 Children (5 & 7), it took us 50 minutes to reach the viewing platform, and another 50 minutes to come down, we also took a 30 minute lunch break at top.
• Track Grade: Easy
• Highlights/Features: Stunning 360 degree view, huge Kahikatea trees, lots of bird life and just really beautiful bush.
• Notes: When you start this track you can either take a clockwise or anticlockwise route, the clockwise direction (the way we went), is a more gradual uphill and coming down the “anticlockwise” track was steeper (big steps for little legs). Also this is a Kiwi Zone, so no dogs or mountain biking is allowed.