Silica Rapids Walk

After crossing Whakapapanui Stream near Whakapapa Holiday Park, the track winds through beech forest past the Whakapapanui Track junction toward Silica Rapids. A golden stream, coloured by iron oxide from upstream swamps, flows beside plants such as Coprosma, five-finger and broadleaf.

Leaving the forest, the path climbs onto a marshy area of wire rush, tangle fern and red tussock. Boardwalks protect the fragile plants and offer mountain views; ponds here hold kōura (freshwater crayfish).

Beyond the Whakapapaiti Track junction the trail follows the stream to Punaruku Falls, where Tawhainui Stream drops over an old lava flow after heavy rain. Metal bands on trees protect mistletoe from possums. The vegetation changes from snow tōtara and bog pine to alpine herbs such as mountain daisies and harebells.

Higher up, the stream deposits creamy white silica on shallow terraces — the Silica Rapids. The track then climbs a tussock-covered lava flow, past the highest mountain beech trees, before returning along Bruce Road.