So my family and I have just returned from camping at Lake Rotoiti near Lake Rotorua, we were fortunate enough to know one of the land owners to give us access to the bay were we camped, however if you have a boat, then access onto this lovely lake is made easy.

There are many activities that can be done on the lake from, swimming, kayaking, fishing, exploring the tree clad shoreline, to soaking on the mineral hot springs that gush from the hill side.

There has been a concerted effort by the local council to keep the lake clean, and now all stock from nearby farms have no access to the lake edge, and all streams have been fenced off, added to this a wall has been built to stop water from Lake Rotorua entering Lake Rotoiti.

In places the lake is particularly deep, just off the beach from were we camped there was a rock shelf that went from half a metre to 14 metres in a sheer drop, this made for great swimming and diving.

There is a large catermaran that sails on the lake and takes in most of the bays on the lake and stops at the hot springs, you can find the link here http://purecruise.co.nz/

Lake Rotoiti’s full name, Te Rotoiti-kite-a-Īhenga, links it to Īhenga, the early ancestor from the Te Arawa canoe, who is credited with exploring the lakes district. The lake is graced by Matawhaura, a forest-covered mountain at its eastern end.

Rotoiti is really two lakes in one. The eastern part sits in the north of the Okataina caldera (volcanic depression), and has many hot sulfur springs. The western half – a drowned valley, Te Awa-i-Takapuwhaia – was formerly an outlet for Lake Rotorua. The two lakes today share an outlet at Rotoiti’s western end

Pure Cruise Cat

The track in requires full time four wheel drive

The bay in which we camped and swam