Hokitika, III of V: Mananui Bush Walk, 24th September 2021

Another short walk near Hokitika...

On our third day in the Hokitika area Karen and I headed south to explore the tracks around Lake Mahinapua. The lake itself is beautiful and there are a lot of interesting tracks here from ten minute bush walks to multi hour tramps to the foothills of the Southern Alps.

Mananui Bush Walk sign on SH6 near Ruatapu

We started with the Mananui Bush Walk just north of the Lake Mahinapua Tavern on SH6...there is a prominent sign on the left of SH6 pointing you to the carpark. Mananui Bush is a remnant of coastal Totora forest and it is stunning with dense understory and some fine examples of Totora, Kahikatea and other Podocarp species. 

Mananui Bush Walk car park holds 4-5 cars....

The carpark can hold about 4-5 cars and the track starts right from the edge of the gravel area and meanders through the bush for about a kilometre to the coastline west of the reserve. We were the only people there the whole time we were in the reserve and it was calm, peaceful and sheltered in amongst the trees. 

The Mananui Bush Walk starts right from the carpark...

Both Karen and I thought this was one of the nicest walks we did on our whole holiday so lets take a look at the Mananui Bush Walk. 

Mananui Bush Walk:

I have driven past the Mananui Bush sign probably ten times over the last five years and every time I thought to myself "...ooooooohhh I would like to go walk that track". When we were planning this camper van holiday it was one of the first 'to do' locations I added to the list. It is not a long track but it is one of the nicest small bush reserves I have ever visited and totally worth stopping for. 

The Mananui Bush Walk is an area of coastal Totora forest...

Bruce parked at the Mananui Bush Walk carpark

The track meanders through the forest for just shy of a kilometre and the end of the walk is a very remote section of Ruatapu Beach. The track quality is excellent and this walk can be finished in running shoes...boots are not a requirement. 

Map: Tracks around Lake Mahinapua

Start of the Mananui Bush Walk, Ruatapu

From the entrance you are straight into mature Totora forest with classic dense West Coast bush under the trees. There are some big Podocarp trees including Kahikatea, Matai, Miro, Rimu and of course Totora. Most of these are heavily festooned with a whole eco-system of moss, lichen, vines, ferns, grasses and small plants.

Gravel covered Mananui Bush Walk

I have to say I am surprised this area of bush still exists...it is right next to a major road and occupies potentially useful farmland.  Unfortunately early pioneer New Zealanders were not known for their attachment to conservation values which is why this type of coastal forest is now so rare. I can only imagine it was saved as a source of timber by some long dead landowner and eventually taken over by the NZ Forestry Service and then DOC.

The bush is super thick along the Mananui Bush Walk

We saw this rock perched in the Y of a tree along the track..they have become more common over recent years. I know this is a form of visual pollution but putting the odd rock in a tree does not irritate me like masses of rock stacks on a river bank do. I think it looks quite nice!

A painted rock along the Mananui Bush Walk

Most of the trees in this bush are covered with a mass of climbing vines and plants which is a common feature of Podocarp forests. While it does get cold on the West Coast most of the time the air blowing in off the Tasman Sea is warmer that the land so you have a temperate climate. 

Vines growing up a Matai Tree in Mananui Bush

When I was in the Army we often did exercises on the West Coast as it is basically a jungle environment much like the Pacific Islands and SE Asia where we expected to be fighting. For difficulty of movement and harsh living conditions it has few equals in this country. 

Epiphytes growing on a Totora Tree, Mananui Bush Walk

The forest grows right up to the edge of the track and I am sure that if DOC didn't occasionally cut it back it would soon reclaim it. You are basically walking along a corridor through the dense bush with a cathedral like arch of green foliage over your head. This walk would be beautifully cool on a hot summer day....

The Mananui Bush Walk is a corridor through the bush

The understory is ferns, grasses and small bushes...

Totora Trees are often covered in vines, ferns and flaxes and these one's are no exception...in a lot of cases you can barely see the tree through all the plants growing on its trunk...

...most of the trees are cloaked in climbing plants...

...they add to the beauty of the trees...

 There are a lot of Mahoe or Whitey Wood trees in this reserve...they drop leaves all over the track which eventually become handsome leaf skeletons. I have seen these trees in several places along the West Coast including Paparoa NP, Kahurangi and up around Whariwharangi in Abel Tasman NP. 

Mahoe/Whitey Wood are one of the understory trees...

Here is another stash of rocks deposited in a hollow tree by people coming back from the beach. Ruatapu Beach is dark sand but it also has a lot of rock banks as the local rivers shift a huge amount of smaller stones out to sea. You will often find Serpentine, Quartz, Sandstone, Mica, Gneiss and even Pounamu on the beaches. 

A rock filled stump in Mananui Bush.....

They add colour to the dark green forest...Mananui Bush Walk

As you get closer to the beach the trees start to space out a bit more so there is a lot more light filtering down into the forest. It makes for more dramatic photos as you get shining beams of light crossing the track. There are a lot more Kahikatea Trees down this end of the reserve as they love sandy soils...

Kahikatea grove along the Mananui Bush Walk

Rata vines on a Totora tree in Mananui Bush

This is an interesting photo...you have all of the major Podocarp species in this one area including Mahoe, Rimu, Totora, Matai, Miro and Kahikatea. 

A mix of Totora, Kahikatea, Miro and Rimu trees...

After about ten minutes of travel you reach the western edge of Mananui Bush and the forest starts to open up. The Podocarp trees turn to Kiekie, ferns, flaxes and grasses and grow incredibly dense to protect themselves from the desiccating effect of the on-shore winds. 

The western edge of Mananui Bush, Ruatapu

The forest opens up closer to the beach...Mananui Bush Walk

There is a sign near the beach warning that Penguins and Fur Seals breed in this area at certain times of the year. We were a little too early but if you are here around Christmas you should do your best to give them space...especially those Fur Seals as they can be grumpy bastards at the best of times. 

Kiekie and flax dominate in the sandy soils...

First view of the Tasman Sea on the Mananui Bush Walk

You pop out on a very remote section of Ruatapu Beach with no sign of habitation to be seen anywhere along the coast. The sea was rough as a storm was building out in the Tasman Sea and big rolling waves were crashing ashore incessantly. Ruatapu Beach kind of reminds me of the beach at Birdling's Flat on the way to Akaroa...the ocean just never stops roiling and making noise. 

Ruatapu Beach and the Tasman Sea, West Coast

...the surf was rough at Ruatapu Beach on the West Coast...

You could see a long way along the coast..on a clear day I am sure you would be able to see down to the area around Haast south of you. There is a small headland a couple of kilometers north so that would block any long distant views in that direction.

View south along Ruatapu Beach, West Coast

...driftwood shelter at Ruatapu Beach...

Karen and I were utterly alone on the beach..the only foot prints we could see were from birds and animals so I think we were the first people to visit that day. We walked a couple of hundred meters along the beach to a stone bank and collected some rocks to take home with us. Later we walked back to the beach entrance and sat for about ten minutes watching the waves roll ashore.

It was very tranquil......

Looking north along Ruatapu Beach

I would recommend that you do not go into the water if you ever visit this beach...it is just too dangerous. The sea is rough and chaotic and you could see both rips and side currents flowing quickly off the beach. It would be nice to sit in the sand dunes and enjoy the sun...it was warm here even with a brisk breeze blowing in off the sea. 

West Coast beaches are not for swimming at....

After twenty minutes on the beach we set off back along the bush walk...it was starting to get get cold as the wind was constantly blowing in off the sea. You return back along the same track with slightly different views as you approach the forest from the opposite direction.

On the Mananui Bush Walk enroute to the car park

The track winds through Mananui Bush 

I think this was the most overgrown tree along the Mananui Bush Walk with a huge billowing canopy of plants clinging to the lower extremities of the Totora which supports all this. They were growing from ground level right up to the top most branches of the tree...

This Totora is almost invisible under climbing plants

Further along there is an over hanging branch with a complex ecosystem of plants growing along it. there were lichen, moss, ferns and various other plants all clinging to the branch. Nature is a spectacular thing with all manner of species making their own place in the world. 

Really beautiful...

A hanging garden of ferns on the Mananui Bush Walk

...there is a whole ecosystem on this one branch...

A tree just off the track had blown over some time in the past and it highlights how thin soils in a coastal forest effect the flora. This bush is underlaid by deep sand with a thin crust of duff and soil on top. Usually the root systems of any trees in these areas are shallow so the forest is susceptible to blow down events in big wind storms. 

You can see how thin and weak the roots are in the blown down Matai tree shown below...

Coastal soils are shallow and sandy...

The clouds had cleared as we were walking the track so it was much lighter and brighter as we walked back to the carpark. It was also much warmer in the forest out of the strong wind blowing off the sea.

Karen photographing the Mananui Bush Walk

It was a pleasant day walking the Mananui Bush Walk

Here is a good example of the varied tree species in Podocarp forest with a Rimu right next to a Miro.  Just off to the right were a couple of big Totora Trees. Unlike Beech forest Podocarp is made up of many different types of large trees who co-exist by taking advantage of different conditions in the forest ecology which allows them to thrive. 

Miro and Rimu trees along the Mananui Bush Walk

Mananui Bush Walk: track side rock clothed in moss, ferns etc....

We arrived back at the carpark after about an hour on the track ....walking the track takes half this time the rest was spent sitting on the beach, gathering stones or taking photos. From here we jumped back into the van and headed about 2 kilometres south down SH6 to Lake Mahinapua. 

End of the Mananui Bush Walk, Ruatapu

Both Karen and I thought this was one of the nicest walks we have been on for quite a long time. The forest is just beautiful and surprisingly intact given how close to a road it is. The beach is remote and absolutely gorgeous and you will want to spend time there enjoying the total tranquillity of it all. Obviously I recommend you stop here even if you only walk five minutes into the forest. 

Access: Mananui Bush and the Mananui Bush Walk are located just off SH 6 approximately 10 km's south of Hokitika. Look for the sign on the left side of the road just before the Lake Mahinapua Tavern.
Track Times: The Mananui Bush Walk is approximately 2 km's return and takes 30-40 minutes to walk depending on how long you spend on Ruatapu Beach.
Miscellaneous: The Mananui Bush Walk is flat and well maintained for its whole length.  The walkway can be done in running style shoes no boots required. DO NOT SWIM at remote Ruatapu Beach...it is very dangerous with rips, cross currents and rough sea conditions the norm. There are no toilets or water points on this track.