Is a peaceful romantic place, to take a girlfriend and propose to her, or go for a serene picnic.

 

Where is it?

Lake Rotakare is East-South of Mount Taranakei, New Zealand, below and between the towns Rawhitiroa and Mangamungi. 

When you get to the town of Eltham, take the Rawhitiroa Raod. Then turn off onto the Sangster Road and your way to the lake’s reserve. 

The collage below has four maps, read from top left to right,and then bottom left to right, to follow the way out to Lake Rotakare reserve's picnic spot.

When we got there:

It was a beautiful sunny day when we parked in the open area provided. You can tell by the panoramic photo below that the ground slops gently down towards the sparkling lake.

 

The men then went off together and left me alone to wonder along the trail path taking photographs. Since I love Nature, and I had plenty time according our son, I decided to take my time, to enjoy each and every turn in the trail’s path (seen in the above collage, bottom right).

The environment:

The lake snuggles comfortably within an open range of mountains. 

When you walk through and along the trail, you feel drawn down a cozy secluded walkway. I have given you series of photos so you may experience the same feeling I had.

The undergrowth is dense most of the time and at intervals you come across open areas looking out on to the lake and marsh areas. 

You can see by the photos there is quite a variety of plants and trees, making it a very interesting tour along the trail path.

 

As to how I felt of been on my own alone, it was a special moment to unwind, wondering and stopping every now and again, to feel and soak up the places peaceful ambiance.

Then on way back from the lake:

We took a different road back home, and landed up seeing Taranaki from another angle. This was such a dramatic scene I just had to take more photos of, which I hope to paint sometime. So we parked and got out the car to take the scene from different viewpoints.