On the Honeydew Walk at Lake Rotoiti
The other short walk I did while on my recent tramping trip to Nelson Lakes NP was the Honeydew Walk. It is a great little walk and it branches off the main Lakehead Track running along the lake side.
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| Lake Rotoiti from the start of the track at Kerr Bay |
The first part of the track is along the side of Lake Rotoiti before you climb up onto a an old glacial terrace and do a loop through the beech forest. It was a little windy in the forest but otherwise it was a perfect day to be out and walking.
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| DOC signs at start of Lakehead Track |
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| At the start of the track at Kerr Bay |
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| Lake Angelus can be accessed along the Lakehead Track |
I had contemplated walking the longer St Arnaud Range Track but as that took another five hours and involved climbing steeply up a series of switchbacks for many kilometers I decided to go with the slightly easier option.
On the Honeydew Track:
The Honeydew Walk is a short side track off the main Lakehead Track...it is about one kilometer long and takes 25 to 30 minutes to make your way around.
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| DOC map of the track network from Kerr Bay |
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| Setting out from Kerr Bay to walk the Honeydew Track |
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| The track skirts Lake Rotoiti to start... |
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| On the Lakehead Track at Lake Rotoiti |
The eastern terminus of the Honeydew Track starts about a kilometer from Kerr Bay and it climbs up onto old glacial terraces before sidling around and back down to the main track about 300 meters from the carpark.
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| Map: Honeydew Walk, Nelson Lakes NP |
Just to clarify things a bit...on the map above I is the Honeydew Walk, II is the St Arnaud Range Track and III is the Lakehead Track. The eastern end of the Honeydew Track comes off the Lakehead Track while the western end attaches to the end of the St Arnaud Range Track.
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| Western Terminus of the Honeydew Walk |
You can walk the track in either direction it is really up to you to choose. Clock wise from the eastern end is probably best...
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| Eastern terminus of the Honeydew Walk |
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| Climbing onto the Honeydew Walk, Nelson Lakes NP |
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| Honeydew Walk: the life cycle of a beech forest.... |
The Honeydew Walk travels through a magnificent area of beech forest and is a part of the Lake Rotoiti Recovery Project. The Project aims to restore a vast swathe of forest in Nelson Lakes NP back to a pre human condition. To this end they have an extensive trapping program for introduced pests and they also undertake planting to restore the forest cover.
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| Information about the Inland Island project |
Initially the project only covered about 100 hectares but it has since grown to cover over 5000 hectares of forest, tussock grasslands and mountain tops. It has created a virtual 'Inland Island' where birds, insects and small animals are able to thrive.
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| Walking along the first terrace on the Honeydew Walk |
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| On the Honeydew Track at Lake Rotoiti |
The Honeydew Walk is an all weather track with just the one bridged stream crossing. The track is dirt and covered with leaves but it is well drained and elevated so it is usually quite dry. Although it is not wheelchair friendly it is not far off...it is wide, well maintained and easy to walk along.
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| Only bridge along the all weather Honeydew Walk |
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| Not much water in the stream...Honeydew Walk |
After the initial climb up onto an old glacial terrace you find yourself sidling along a mostly flat track with a variety of beech species and podocarp trees. You can see quite a way out into the open forest and it is a very pleasant place to go for a stroll.
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| There are several information panels along the Honeydew Walk |
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| Honeydew Walk: the fauna of Nelson Lakes NP |
You turn along the track and head west towards the St Arnaud Range Track. The track weaves in and amongst the trees and it was awesome walking along in the dappled sunlight coming in through the forest canopy.
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| Good quality track along the Honeydew Walk, Nelson Lakes NP |
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| Goblin Forest along the Honeydew Walk |
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| Fallen tree debris cleared from the Honeydew Walk |
After about 15 minutes walking you come to an area of jumbled glacial erratic's...huge boulders and rock slabs deposited here when some ancient glacier came to a halt and dumped the heaviest debris. The whole of Nelson Lakes NP was formed by and shaped as a result of glaciers evidence of which can still be spotted.
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| Honeydew Walk: tree growing on a erratic boulder... |
As little as 8 000 years ago there was a huge glacier coming down the Travers Valley carving out Lake Rotoiti on its way west. The other major influence is erosion by both wind, rain action and by the gradual erosive force of the big rivers you find in the park.
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| The apex of the Honeydew Walk, Nelson Lakes NP |
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| Old glacial debris on the honeydew Track |
The apex of the Honeydew Walk is near the old glacial spoil...from here it starts to drop down to a junction with the St Arnaud Range Track before descending further to the main Lakehead Track.
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| Information about Wasp infestation in Nelson Lakes NP |
The walk through here is elevated over the forest so you can see way off into the forest towards old swamps and silted up kettle lakes.
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| Honeydew Track heading for the St Arnaud Range Track |
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| View off the Honeydew Track into the forest |
You eventually arrive at the St Arnaud Range Track/ Loop Track coming down off the surrounding peaks. I last travelled up the St Arnaud Range Track way back in 2016 when I did a day walk up to Parachute Rocks nearly 1100 meters above you.
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| Honeydew Walk and St Arnaud Range Track junction |
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| The rest of the walk is on the St Arnaud Range Track... |
I headed down the St Arnaud Range Track on my way back to the main trail on the route out to Kerr Bay. It was quiet in the forest...I saw about a dozen people the whole time I was walking around the Honeydew Walk even though it is close to the carpark.
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| Honeydew/St Arnaud Range Track heading to St Arnaud |
I saw and heard a great many birds in this forest including Silver Eye, Fantail, Kaka, Bellbird and Tui. A Kaka flew close by me at one point and sat in a nearby tree noisily protesting at my presence. Kaka numbers are growing right around the country and Nelson Lakes now has a strong population of these forest Parrots.
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| DOC 2000 pest trap on the Honeydew Walk |
I didn't see any Weka or Pukeko on this trip which is unusual as I often see a few around the Kerr Bay Campsite and on the flats around Lakehead Hut. There may not be any in the area at the moment.
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| Information panel about the vision of a restored forest |
The end of the Honeydew Walk is a gentle descent down to the main track running along the side of the lake....an easy end to an easy track.
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Descending down the Honeydew/St Arnaud Range Track
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| Near the St Arnaud Range Track and Lakehead Track junction |
From the end of the St Arnaud Range Track you turn right and head along the Lakehead Track back to the car park at Kerr Bay. From the track junction you are only 300 meters away from the end of your tramp...
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| ...Western terminus of the Honeydew Track...Lakehead Track |
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| Back onto the main Lakehead Track, Lake Rotoiti |
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| Kerr Bay is just 300 meters away...Lakehead Track |
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| Back on the flat ground next to Lake Rotoiti |
There are several excellent views along and up Lake Rotoiti to the Travers Valley which sits at the head of the lake. This is one of my favorite tramping destinations in New Zealand with a number of excellent huts heading up to Travers Pass. This is the path of both the Te Araroa Trail and the Travers -Sabine Circuit.
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| View along Lake Rotoiti to the Travers Valley |
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| Mt Robert (1421) from the Lakehead Track |
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| Nearly at the Kerr Bay carpark at Lake Rotoiti |
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| Back at the Kerr Bay entrance to the track |
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| End of the walk at the Kerr Bay Jetty |
The Honeydew Walk is a real gem....it travels through some really nice beech forest and would make an ideal intermediate track if you only had an hour or so in St Arnaud. I can thoroughly recommend the walk to you as I really enjoyed the experience.
Access: Honeydew Walk starts and finishes off the Lakehead Track near St Arnaud. Follow Kerr Bay Road or Lake Road off SH63 (Main Road) and down to the jetty at Kerr Bay. Numerous tracks start from this location and branch off the main Lakehead Hut Track. There is a track sign about 700 meters from the carpark at the start of Honeydew Track/St Arnaud Range Tracks.
Track Times: It takes 30-40 minutes (1.5 kilometers) to cover the full circuit of the Honeydew Walk.
Miscellaneous: High quality track, with multiple interpretation boards along the route. All weather track but potentially muddy after rain.
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