The boats that carry trampers around Lake Waikaremoana answer to the lake rather than to a timetable. In 2023 the water rose too high and the whole Great Walk shut; today it is too low for the boat to reach Hopuruahine Landing, so the northern pick-up has moved to Whananui.
Departure times as listed on Waiwai Xpres's booking pages on 29 September 2026; DOC says the service usually runs October to April and no start date for the 2026/27 season had been published — checked 29 September 2026 Waiwai Xpres – transfer runs · 2026-09-29
DOC's page for the Lake Waikaremoana Great Walk opens by noting that under New Zealand law Te Urewera has the standing of a living person, with a board to speak for it and Te Uru Taumatua, the operational arm of Ngāi Tūhoe, looking after it on the ground. DOC takes the hut bookings but points elsewhere for the boats: Tūhoe offers a water taxi to each end of the track from Te Kura Whenua, the visitor centre at Te Karetu, and Waiwai Xpres, run from that building, sells the seats.
In February 2023 Tūhoe pulled walkers and staff off the Great Walk ahead of Cyclone Gabrielle and, on 27 February, closed it for the rest of the summer, with the lake 30% over Genesis's maximum operating range and the boats dry-docked. Now the water is too low: Waiwai Xpres cannot get into Hopuruahine Landing, so every northern pick-up happens at Whananui.
What survives is a small, fixed pattern: a first boat at 08:00 from Te Karetu, runs out of Onepoto, two boats back from Whananui, and one listed price of $75 NZD a run.
Every scheduled run carries the same listed price, $75 NZD, whether it is the half-hour Onepoto–Whananui hop or the hour-long trip from Te Karetu. The listing does not say whether that is per person or per booking, so check the total before paying. Off-route stops and pack transfers are listed separately at $100 each. The operator says every ticket puts $5 towards pest control around the lake.
A 2022/23 Waikaremoana water taxi fare table still circulates on regional tourism pages; it is out of date and we have not used it.
| Any scheduled run (Te Karetu, Onepoto, Whananui) | $ 75 |
| Off-route transfer to a hut or campsite | $ 100 |
| Pack transfer, up to 3 packs to or from Te Karetu | $ 100 |
Prices shown on Waiwai Xpres's booking pages on 29 September 2026; the pages give no validity dates and do not mention GST Waiwai Xpres – transfer runs · 2026-09-29
Te Karetu, with the holiday park and visitor centre, is the operator's base; Onepoto, south along SH38, is the southern trailhead; Whananui is the nearest the boat gets to Hopuruahine Landing while the water is low. The off-route list adds Waiopaoa, Korokoro, Maraunui, Marauiti, Waiharuru and Mokau. DOC puts the two ends of the track around 30 km apart by road, which is why most walkers use the boat for at least one of them.
Onepoto is where DOC begins its description of the track, at the shelter beside the old Armed Constabulary redoubt. The water taxi uses the boat ramp instead: go past the car park and down the service road, following water taxi signs at the top and the bottom. DOC counts Onepoto as the closest public parking to the track, about 20 minutes' drive from Te Karetu, and the operator reports no recent vehicle trouble there.
Te Karetu is the settlement on SH38 with the holiday park and Te Kura Whenua, the Te Urewera Visitor Centre where Waiwai Xpres keeps its office, open 8am to 5pm Monday to Saturday. The boat waits at the ramp next to the holiday park, by a small shed with a water taxi sign. The visitor centre has free daytime parking but no multi-day parking; DOC points trampers leaving a car to the lakeside area towards the holiday park entrance, free for up to ten days.
Leave the car at Onepoto or Te Karetu, walk to Waiharuru, and book a Whananui boat on your last day. The operator estimates two and a half hours from Waiharuru Hut to the Whananui pick-up.
Take a boat from Onepoto or Te Karetu to Whananui on day one, then finish on foot at Onepoto, over the Panekire Bluff at the end rather than the start.
Low water keeps the boat out of Hopuruahine Landing. Starting or finishing at Whananui cuts about 5 km, or an hour and a half, off the northern end of the track.
DOC warns that SH38 is gravel for about 90 km between Murupara and Tuai and recommends a 4WD or SUV, and that the Hopuruahine road is currently unsuitable for 2WD cars.
DOC says the water taxi usually runs October to April and not in winter. Book huts or campsites with DOC first, then the boat, at least two days ahead.
The track has been changing too. In 2022 the Te Urewera Board decided to decommission some end-of-life huts; in June 2024 Tūhoe reported that the High Court had ruled on remedies after finding that decision technically unlawful. DOC lists four huts and five campsites on the Great Walk and notes that Whanganui Hut is closed. Hut fees are $35 a night for an adult all year, and entering Te Urewera is free.
Tūhoe's alerts show SH38 between the holiday park and Tuai closed at night through much of the 2025–26 summer for underslip repairs, then during working hours from March to early June 2026, cutting off Onepoto, with more remediation announced in April 2026. Check Tūhoe's page and NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi's journey planner before driving in.
DOC says it usually operates October to April, not in winter. On 29 September 2026 neither Waiwai Xpres nor Tūhoe had posted a 2026/27 start date; last year Tūhoe opened the Great Walk at Labour Weekend. Ring the operator before committing to dates.
Waiwai Xpres says low water stops its boat getting into Hopuruahine Landing, and Whananui is the closest point it can reach.
Book the Whananui boat, 10:00 or 15:30, for the leg that ends where your car is: it calls at Onepoto, then continues to Te Karetu.
$75 NZD per scheduled run, $100 for off-route and pack transfers; the pages do not say whether $75 is per person or per booking, or whether GST is included.
Yes, if you also have a water taxi booking. Waiwai Xpres lists up to three packs to or from Te Karetu for $100, each under 20 kg, and says pack carriage is at your own risk.
Yes. Off-route transfers run between 11:30 and 12:30 to places including Waiopaoa, Korokoro, Maraunui, Marauiti, Waiharuru and Mokau, with seven days' notice.