Access

Turn into Trout Pool Road in the settlement of Okere Falls, 8.2km north of the S.H.30 and S.H.33junction. The large parking area with toilets is a further 500 metres on the right.

Track

The track is wide metalled and even.

From the carpark there is a 1-minute-return walk down steps to a lookout, level with Okere Falls. These steps are often wet and slippery.

At the turbine by the toilets, there is 1-minute-return detour to a lookout above Okere Falls.

The main track continues for 10 minutes to a side track on the right down Hinemoa’s Steps to Tutea Caves (5-minutes-return) and a lookout above a further set of falls.

It’s a further 15 minutes to the Trout Pool and another parking area, 1.3km north of the first carpark. A network of informal tracks weave around the small series of rapids and falls in the vicinity of the placid Trout Pool.

Polynesian History

Tutea’s Caves are named after a local chief. During times of war, women and children hid in the secluded caverns, sheltered by steep forested hills and the river.

European History

The turbine at the entrance to the track was salvaged from Okere Falls Power Station, which was constructed in 1901 to fuel the burgeoning demands of an expanding Rotorua. From 1902, with the connection of the Palace and Grand Hotels, demand outstripped the capabilities of the single generator and a second 50kW Waverley Horizontal turbine was installed. By 1907 there was a need to double the output so a wing dam was constructed to increase the head of water. Not until 1913 was a 24-hour service introduced. The station closed in 1939.

The name ‘Hinemoa’s Steps’ was an invention to lure tourists, who visited the area from the early 1900s. They were cut in 1907 under the supervision of Mr Beal, the engineer in charge of the power station construction.