Mushroom Hunting at Mokaihaha
Last weekend, Jono and I went mushroom hunting. I heard a rumor. A saucy rumor. There were werewere kokako mushrooms at a track called Mokaihaha near Rotorua. So off we went a-mushroom hunting.
Werewere Kokako are an endemic mushroom found in New Zealand and they are kind of my favorite mushroom. Why you ask? Well, because they are bloody gorgeous and I like pretty things. Yes, I am a simple creature haha.
So on Saturday, armed with coffee and a preppy playlist on Spotify, we headed off to the track. It was around an hour and 15 minute drive from Hamilton. Not too bad of a drive, especially since most of it is highway.
The walk is quite out of the way. I had never heard of this track until someone mentioned it on a mushroom forum I follow. And maybe it is a good thing that it is not well known, less people to disturb the mushrooms. Also a perfect walk to go into when you just want to be around nature and not people.
The last five minutes of the drive to the track is gravel. But it is not too dodgy, so dont worry about that. The parking situation was a bit rough. There is room for one car. The rest of the carpark is a muddy bog and I would not recommend parking in that mess. There is also room to park on the side of the road.
The track was wild. The path, looking like it was in the process of being reclaimed by nature. Vines, moss, lichen and plants, creeping over it.
Simply follow the orange triangles and you will be okay.
The entire walk is around 4km, in and out track. It takes around 2 hours. However, my husband and I simply walked to the Lake Rotohokahoka, which the track goes past. We did this for two reasons. One - we forgot snacks. Again. I was seriously hungry that morning. Two, I was only 50% caffienanted. I love nature. I love nature a lot. But, I am seriously hopeless without suitable amount of caffiene.
The walk to Lake Rorohokahoka was around 20 minutes. But Jono and I are dawdlers. So it took around 40minutes. And during this 40 minutes, we saw many cool things. I want to share some of those moments with you.
Bracket Fungi greeted us at the start of this walk. If I was to guess, I would say this was Laetiporus portentosus (pūtawa), native to NZ. It was used by Māori to start fires.
Of course, I had to have a bit of a moment in my dress in the forest. Look how lush and green it is. Simply beautiful.
Some of the trees in this forest were drapped in moss and lichen. It reminded me of the goblin forest in Taranaki.
This was a tiny tiny mushroom. It was found sprouting from a ponga. It was quite difficult to photograph this mushroom being so tiny and surrounded by ponga hair.
Some beautiful brown mushrooms found growing from a fallen log. I have no idea what they are, I just know they are cute and pretty.
Not the best photo, but I was thrilled to find some puff ball mushrooms. I like poking them. Poke a puff ball, and you may get some spores coming out. It is quite fun and interactive.
New Zealand has around 500 species of moss. I know that this is one of them, but that is all I know. I love the texture of this moss though.
We stumbled upon one spot, that had six stick insects. All within one square metre. It was quite a sight. When we left, a robin arrived. I did fear that some would be made a robin’s breakfast.
The infamous werewere kokako. This was the only one we found on the walk. A tiny baby one. But I was happy to see this flash of blue and marvel at it, in all its prettiness. Such a gorgous mushroom.
The lake. This is such a unique lake. It was enveloped by green. It was covered with green. It was a forest lake, if that makes sense. I felt like a goblin or a swamp fairy should live here or something.
The Details
Where: South Road, Kinleith 3491
Parking: Limited.
Fitness Level: It is not a difficult walk - so I would recommend a moderate level of fitness
Faculties : No toilets or water - bring your own water and snacks. No rubbish bins - bring rubbish out with you.
Other info: The track is a little wild. So be sure to follow the orange markers.