Lake Tarawera is one of the many lakes that can be found in the geothermal town of Rotorua (around 3 hours south of Auckland). It is a favourite holiday destination for many New Zealanders for all manner of boating activities, swimming and hiking. It has also become a very popular spot for photographers due to the endless jetties along the lake shore and the resting volcano Mount Tarawera in view from many different angles.

Famous for its eruption in 1886, Mount Tarawera has been dormant since, but there is a lot of history tied with both this mountain and lake, and its importance to Maori is significant.

From the Rangiuru Bay carpark the lake there are at least 4 jetty's you can choose to use a leading line for your photography. This location is spectacular for viewing the night sky and astrophotography is definitely worth a try with very minimal light pollution. It also is stunning at sunrise with stunning reflections of Mount Tarawera and colourful skies filling the frame.

Take your wide angle lens for this location.