Mangamate Hut to Waikite Valley Spa and the Fainting Goat in Rotorua

This is the final day of our five day tramp and is another easy four hour walk with a gentle downhill to the car, but like yesterday the first 75% of the tramp involved over 100 stream crossings!

We didn’t rush in the morning but we didn’t take our time as well as we really wanted to be in Rotorua with time to visit a spa before dinner.

Robin and Julianne asleep in the hut

Mangamate Hut, about to start out for the day’s tramp.

The first 45 minutes was downhill from the top of the saddle where the hut is located to the Mangamate stream where we started the first of many stream crossings.

Today the stream crossings started out small not even coming up to the top of my boot (but over the top of Robins boot) as we were at the head of the Mangamate stream but as we headed downstream the water level became progressively higher, deeper and much wider to cross. I enjoyed watching how Robin just went through all the these water crossings with confidence and ease after yesterday.

And I personally really enjoyed the experience of non-stop water crossings which is so different than a normal tramp and shows why doing non-Great walk tramps are not just nice and quiet they are simply just more fun. We were also lucky that it had not rained much recently so overall the water levels were low.

The water’s getting deeper but this is not stopping Robin

Also talking to a Canadian couple who were at the Hut last night the track has been vastly improved over the last couple of months which I reckon is because of the Government’s ‘Jobs for Nature’ Covid-19 response package in action.

By 11-30am we knew we were getting close to where the stream joined the main Whirinaki River and the main track. I really wanted get to the main track before we had lunch so our feet could start to dry out without having to get them wet again through more stream crossings.

But with so many river crossings our pace has not been very fast and we kept coming across water crossing after water crossing and we were like ‘where does this the end!’

It was not until just after 12 when we finally crossed the Mangamate stream for the last time and saw a bridge around the corner, we had made it!

Lunch, finally on a bridge

The sun was only shining on the bridge itself so we stretched out on this narrow bridge with the sun shining on our very wet feet and boots. We ate lunch knowing the car was a simple 4 kilometers and one hour walk to go. Julianne was in a ‘I want to finish’ mode so she went ahead and was out in 35 minutes while I walked with Robin for the last nice hour of the tramp where Robin spotted several robins Tui’s.

Robin nearing the end of the tramp

Completion of the tramp as always was a fantastic feeling and seeing how Robin has developed over the last five days of tramping was really special; from the first day where he was stopping every 5 – 10 minutes during a gentle uphill to walking for three hours with 100’s of river crossings and then climbing uphill non-stop to the Mangamate Hut yesterday – an impressive improvement – well done Robin!

End of the tramp!

Final hamstring stretch

Julianne wanted to visit a spa while in Rotorua, which is a classic tourist activity in the area and she found this amazing spa called Waikite Valley which is where locals go and only $20 an adult instead of the more famous Polynesian spa. Waikite Valley Spa was full of locals and even more handy was only 30 minutes south of Rotorua which happens to be where we join the main road to get to Rotorua.

So we all jumped into the car and drove for 45 minutes to the Waikite Valley Spa and ohh my goodness the naturally heated water between 37 and 40 degrees is just so nice on my sore achey tramping legs. I do like a good hot bath and this was even better. The next hour or so was spent relaxing in the different pools before having a nice super clean shower and getting dressed into clean clothes and heading into Rotorua; Julianne had chosen excitingly well.

Relaxing in a natural hot water spa after five days of tramping

We were staying at a backpackers in the centre of Rotoroa which had a family room with its own kitchen, ensuite, car-park, a great location all for a reasonable price.

We settled into our room at around 5-30pm which is a great time after spending the morning and early afternoon tramping and then the afternoon relaxing at a spa.

For dinner Julianne really wanted ribs and I couldn’t find any place online nearby that sold ribs except Lone Star which was not really a favorite choice for me while away on holiday. But nevertheless we headed out on foot to Lone Star but on the way I discovered The Fainting Goat, a restaurant which was right up Julianne’s ally as she is goat-mad plus they have this sharing meal for only $60 that includes ribs, steak, chicken, wedges, and much more and turned out to be the best post tramp meal ever! And for such a great price.

Great sharing meal at the Fainting Goat in Rotorua

The three of us could only eat two thirds of it, so the rest was taken back for lunch tomorrow. The Fainting Goat!, what a find! And the perfect way to end a tramp.