Te Urewera National Park, New Zealand's third largest national park, is home to tranquil Lake Waikaremoana and the Lake Waikaremoana Track.
It's one of New Zealand's Ten Great Walks and as you drive into this great wilderness, you couldn't feel further removed from the pressures of the world.
Te Urewera National Park boasts the largest untouched tract of native forest in the North Island. This unspoiled forest features a myriad of clean, sparkling lakes, dramatic rock bluffs and tumbling waterfalls.
The Lake Waikaremoana Track takes four days/three nights to tramp and huts should be booked in advance.
For those with less time to spare, there's a wide range of shorter hikes to choose from - or you can try your hand at trout fishing or kayaking.
Holiday parks provide comfortable accommodation: there's the Lake Waikaremoana Holiday Park on the lake edge which offers chalets, cabins and a camping ground, and Big Bush Holiday Park which also has a café on-site.
For up-to-date information on the lake and the history of the park, don't miss the Department of Conservation's Aniwaniwa Information Centre. Here you will learn all about the mysterious locals, commonly known as "the children of the mist".