Waihora Lagoon - Waihora Lagoon 3124 Western Bay Road

Road not suitable for vehicles, damaged the car and nearly ended up stuck with no cellphone reception. Road is not 3km like the website says, we were 6km in and nothing. Needs to have a sign stating 4WD only.

Went there with tihoi when it was raining, no lagoon, not fun

Amazing place . Quite the drive and hope the tourist buses can’t get there . I have given it five stars well deserved but please don’t allow it to be overtaken with crowds .

The place would have been great if only we could have gotten to it. I just want to warn others that the road is not suitable of any kind of vehicle after about 2 kilometers and we had to back a while before turning around. Doc will not answer emails. the farmer has ripped up the road with his tractor and bikes and now is impassible. No signs to warn you.

Off the beaten path, but absolutely worth an hour of detour to visit if you are on SH32 anyway. The gravel road leading to the wetland is not in the best shape. A vehicle with high ground clearance is recommended, but doable in a car.

Would have been 5 stars except for the horrendous dirt road in. 7km there and back felt like 70km; I thought our Honda Covic was going to break apart. Once there it’s a really lovely walk to the lagoon and that’s a really pretty spot, even with hardly any water in it. Take a 4 wheel drive vehicle!

Well worth the trip to the lagoon. It is about 7km of gravel road to get to the car park, and a 600m walk from the car park to the lagoon. I wouldn't recommend taking a low car along the gravel road as it is quite harsh in places. All in all a great scenic spot

Take an SUV of some sort or a vehicle with good suspension travel and high ground clearance. Unless you dont mind your car scraping its undercarriage or spinning wheels on some steep inclines then bring your "car". Our Sportage AWD handled it no sweat. Parking at the entrance is a small dirt culdisac and is a bit secluded (so lock it or lose it) Also, this is a hunting area if you apply for a permit, watchout. Track to lagoon is a short 10mins or less leisure walk. I advise coming here early or late as I'd imagine more than 1 group of people would crowd the viewing platform (which is small). The amount of water and clarity in the lagoon is dependable on rainfall and the time of year you visit etc. Peaecful and serene area the waihora lagoon is, respect it and the plants surrounding the waters and stay on the path.