Waikareiti – is a tiny lake that sits above Lake Waikaremoana in the Ureweras on the East Coast of New Zealand.
It’s remote and takes a bit of travelling to get there. You’ll find it at the far end of several kilometres of unsealed road and then you walk and climb the last few kilometres – but as you can see it’s a truly beautiful place.
In the background of this song you’ll hear a haunting karanga – a Maori welcome calling you forward as an honoured guest to visit this place. I wanted to include a karanga as a fitting acknowledgement that this is a special place to the Tuhoe people – the People of the Mist. A wonderful friend organised and sang this introduction as a fitting acknowledgement. Waikareiti has a special place in my heart.
I’ve been driving on a gravel road past the hills and through the bends
To this lonesome lake I love where the forest never ends
And my heart went out on a journey
My heart took a track of its own,I walk up to the waiting lake. Once I took you there
I can hear the fat kereru fly, crash-landing somewhere
And I recall you laughed so suddenly
My heart just sank like a stoneThe echoes of your laughter, they’re still here
The echoes of your laughter, I can hear them everywhereTime has etched and shaped this silent place, now it waits so calm and still
Life has left its mark upon my face – time is gentle, time is cruel
And the seasons move so slowly
The seasons have no end
niels gedge 