Lake Wainamu

So worth the drive and I understand why it is such a popular spot! I arrived at 7am and small parking area was already full. I parked 900m away at Bethells Beach and walked. You start by walking through a stream to the sanddunes, which are spectacular. I spend a lot of time there. The loop walk is easy and halfway you have a waterfall, definitely take a dip there. Had a swim in the lake at the end as well. Although parking was busy, I hardly saw loads of people. Great walk and swimming spot.

Walk from the carpark on the windy little path or in the little river all the way up to where the black aand dunes greet you. follow the river around the sand dunes u till you find the beginning of the lake. ot take a more challenging route up the sandunes for a beautiful view from above. Take a boagieboard and go down the sanddune landing right in the lake . great for families. Loved it so much

Pleasant easy walk 2hrs around the lake. Can walk in a shallow stream which is nice. Massive sand dunes for sand boarding. Nice little waterfall and swimming hole halfway around the lake. Good spot for lunch.

Amazing landscapes in one. Giant desert like black sand dunes, big fresh water lake surrounded lush bushes and hills all around makes a great place to relax and chill. Walking back on the warm river stream is so relaxing :)

30 mins walk to Lake depending.Great viewsHot sand dunesHard to find parking depending on capacity.

From the carpark to the lake, it takes about 30 minutes not because of the length but of the difficulty of walking there. The sand hills are great! How much enjoyable we walk on the soft sand and climb and run. The combination of sand and lake is so fantastic. We have never seen this kind of view before. Some kids play sand skiing there too.

Absolutely wonderful little microcosm of what New Zealand has to offer: stream to walk in, lake, waterfall, sand dunes and bird life. We had a thoroughly enjoyable walk on the lovely track around Lake Wainamu.

A great place to enjoy an evening with friends. Nice place for drinks and have a calm swim. You can either walk through the stream or walk through the sand dunes. Sand dunes are great for sand surfing.

The carpark to the lake is quite small but you can park closer to Bethells beach as there are more spaces there.To get to the lake you need to go through the gain dunes first. We opted to climb the dunes at the start so that we could walk around it at the end of the walk. After walking up the dunes, just keep walking in that general direction and you should eventually arrive at the lake. The lake is quite large and does look quite nice. There were quite a few people swimming in it but be wary that the shore of the lake drops quite suddenly. There isn't much cover on the lake so it would be wise to bring some sort of shade to protect you from the sun if you're planning to stay long.After arriving at the lake we went to the trail that goes around the lake. It was quite scenic with nice views of the lake as well as the dunes. There is a larger area on the other side of the lake which heads to the waterfalls. The falls are multilayered and you are able to hop into the pools to cool down a bit. You can either back track or keep going along the lake and you eventually reach the pier for the lake. Instead of heading back up we just went around the dunes, back to the carpark.It was about a 2 hour walk to get around the lake. It seemed that most people just stopped at the lake shore and stayed around there. It was an enjoyable walk and it was fairly easy, the hardest part being walking up the giant dunes.