Sandy Bay Hut

Manuoha Hut - Sandy Bay Hut

Time: 8 hr

This section of the track is graded as a route, not a track. The way is marked but there is no formed track. This is the longest and most strenuous part of the trip. The route from Manuoha Hut to Sandy Bay Hut on the shores of Lake Waikareiti winds down around the side of Manuoha through the 'Goblin Forest' (silver beech covered with moss and lichen). Twenty minutes from the hut the route passes onto a ridge system that eventually leads to the Pukepuke Range, after crossing the sources of the Waiotukupuna and Te Kei Streams and the Mokau River. This ridge is wide and has a canopy of beech with a coprosma and rice grass understory. There are views of Lake Waikareiti and glimpses of Kaipo Lagoon at different points along the route. About 5 hours from Manuoha Hut, the route veers to the right and descends to the Kaipo Lagoon. From the lagoon there is a well defined track down to Sandy Bay Hut. The track meanders past Sopps Hollow, Lake Henrietta and the Clay Patch which along the lagoon, make up 'The Tundra'. Two hours along this track will take you to the Waikareiti Track junction, with a further 5 minutes to the Sandy Bay Hut. Sandy Bay is large and shallow, ideal for swimming.

Sandy Bay - Āniwaniwa (alternative route via Lake Ruapani)

Time: 7 hr

If you wish to see more of the area, there is a detour you can take through the Ruapani wetlands. This will add approximately 2 hours 45 minutes to your trip. Instead of taking the track to Waikareiti Shelter, take a fork to the right, approximately 2 hours 30 minutes to the south of the Sandy Bay Hut. This track takes you past several small, swampy water basins that attract birds such as robins, kaka, kakariki and rifleman. There is also a good view back to Manuoha. Two and a half hours from the Waikareiti Track junction you will come to Lake Ruapani, a larger body of water with no obvious outlet. The lake is in a small basin surrounded by beech forest, with smaller shrubs and grasses closer to the water's edge. Another 1 hour 30 minutes along the track and slightly downhill, is the Ruapani Wetland. This is part of the same system of water basins. There is kahikatea (white pine) in this area, thriving in the damp conditions. Past the wetland the track drops down for another 45 minutes to its end, giving good views of Lake Waikaremoana and the Ngamoko Range along the way. At the end of the track turn right to reach the start of the Waikareiti Track on SH38.

Beyond the day shelter a tramping track runs to Sandy Bay Hut at the northern end of the lake (a further 3 hours from the day shelter). The hut (bookings required) lies idyllically on the shores of a shallow bay which features brilliant white sand.