View located on the Whakapapa to Desert Road track, just west of Waihohonu Hut (new).

Interestingly this broad valley forms a strip of vegetated land inserted between the much dryer and barren Rangipo Desert just south, and Onetapu Desert just north in the shadow of Ngaruhoe.
The vegetation is similar to that found north of Whakapapa Village and on the Mangatepopo Track (view 1), at a similar altitude (1100 - 1200 m/3609 - 3937'). Among the red tussock grow a variety of shrubs such as Hebe odora, Pimelea buxifolia, mountain toatoa (Phyllocladus alpinus), mountain inaka (Dracophyllum recurvum), and others. With increasing altitude on the way to Tama Saddle (approximately 1400 m/4593') shrubs progressively disappear and the vegetation changes to nearly pure red tussock.