Walking in New Zealand: Whakapapa Silica Rapids

The Silica Rapids is a half day walk from WhakapapaThere are many other well signposted walks in the area.

The views on this walk are often dominated by the slopes of Mt Ruapehu, still covered in snow in early summer.

The vegetation here is very varied

Sub alpine tussock and bog surrounded by dwarf forests of southern beech

A guard round the trunk of a tree protects a mistletoe from the ravages of possum

The path crosses huge larva flows, some jagged mountains of rock , others smooth mounds

It is hard to grasp the scale of this landscape without a feature such as this bridge