Short Walks: Honeydew Walk, Nelson Lakes NP: 3 July 2021

   A short walk at Lake Rotoiti...

The other short walk I did while on my recent tramping trip to Nelson Lakes NP was the Honeydew Walk. I zipped around this track on the way out from Lakehead Hut...I stayed there the previous night. It is a great little walk and it branches off the main track running along the lake side. 

Mt Robert from one of the Lake Rotoiti beaches...

It was heinously cold the previous night (-9 degrees Celsius) but by the time I got up near Mt Robert it was a balmy 10 odd degrees, sunny with light winds. I passed about half a dozen people on my way out from the hut...mostly day walkers but also some people heading up to Lakehead Hut for the night. 

Jon stopping at the Loop Track junction with Lakehead Track

I had contemplated walking the longer Loop Track but as that took another hour and involved climbing steeply up a series of terraces for four 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. The southern terminus 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. 

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 southern end of the Honeydew Track comes off the Lakehead Track while the northern end attaches to the end of the St Arnaud Range Track. You can walk the track in either direction...clock wise from the northern end is probably best...

Start of the Honeydew Walk, Nelson Lakes NP

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. 

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. 

Climbing the first terrace on the Honeydew Walk

..the Honeydew Walk is on an old glacial terrace...

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. 

Only bridge along the all weather 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. 

There are several information panels along the Honeydew Walk

Honeydew Walk: the fauna of Nelson Lakes NP

You turn along the track and head north 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. 

Good quality track along the Honeydew Walk, Nelson Lakes NP

The Honeydew Walk sidles through the beech forest

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.

 As late as 20 000 years ago there was a huge glacier coming down the Travers Valley carving out Lake Rotoiti on its way north. 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.

Honeydew Walk: tree growing on a erratic boulder...

The apex of the Honeydew Walk, Nelson Lakes NP

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. 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. 

Information about Wasp infestation in Nelson Lakes NP

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. 

I am planning on stopping by to walk the Loop Track the next time I am up this way...probably in mid October on my way to Abel Tasman NP. It is about four kilometers or 1.5 hours to walk the full Loop Circuit which joins the St Arnaud Range Track about 20 minutes past the junction with the Honeydew Walk. 

Honeydew Walk and St Arnaud Range Track junction

The rest of the walk is on the St Arnaud Range Track...

St Arnaud Range Track leads up to the St Arnaud Range

I headed down the St Arnaud Range Track on my way back to the main trail on the route out to Kerr Bay and the end of the tramp. It was very quiet in the forest...I didn't see any people at all the whole time I was walking around the Honeydew Walk even though it is close to the carpark. 

Honeydew/St Arnaud Range Track heading to St Arnaud

I did see and hear a great many birds in this forest including Silver Eye, Fantail, Kaka, Bellbird and Tui. A New Zealand Robin or Tomtit followed me along the track for a way hoping for an easy meal of bugs kicked up by may passage. I didn't see any Weka/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. 

Probably too cold for them...

Information panel about the vision of a restored forest

Sidling down the Honeydew/St Arnaud Range Track

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.

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...

...northern terminus of the Honeydew Track...Lakehead Track

Kerr Bay is just 300 meters away...

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. 

Short Walks: Bellbird Walk, Lake Rotoiti, St Arnaud

  Exploring the walks at Lake Rotoiti, St Arnaud

I went up to Nelson Lakes National Park last weekend for another of my Winter Series of tramps. I walked into Lakehead Hut for the night and stayed and then walked out the next morning. On my way back to St Arnaud I did a couple of short walks down near Kerr Bay including the Bellbird Walk. 

Start of the track network at Kerr Bay, Lake Rotoiti

Map: Bellbird Walk, Kerr Bay, St Arnaud

Numerous tracks start at Kerr Bay the shortest of them is the Bellbird Walk. It is a nice 10 minute walk through lowland forest close to the carpark in an area which is being restored by a local trust to original condition. The track is to wheel chair access quality so anyone can have a short jaunt into the nice forest. 

This is the start point for numerous tracks at Lake Rotoiti

There are a number of information panels at the start of the track describing the Lake Rotoiti Restoration Project. This has a long term goal of restoring the flora and fauna around Lake Rotoiti to a state before humans arrived in New Zealand. To this end the restoration trust is trapping pests, planting and maintaining the forest in the area.

On the Lakehead Track...information panels

A series of information panels about Nelson Lakes NP...

From the information panels you head on up the Lakehead Track for about 100 meters where you will head up a small rise before you come to a track junction. Turn left and follow the Bellbird Walk back through forest to the start of the track near the information boards. 

The start of the short climb to the Bellbird Walk, Lake Rotoiti

Track junction of Bellbird Walk and Lakehead Tracks

The forest is a mix of beech and podocarp species and there are also a number of native Fuschia Trees along the side of the track. There is a thick and varied understory with many of the usual plants you will find in this sort of forest. 

Bellbird Walk...heading away from Lake Rotoiti...

The Bellbird walk is to a good standard for all of the way...

Most of the trees are naturally sown but there are a couple of areas where planting has obvious been carried out. There is a nice area of lowland swamp plants half way round the track that looked very nice. 

Native Fuschia trees along the Bellbird Walk, Lake Rotoiti

Bellbird Walk: an area of lowland swamp....

Below are a couple of the native Fuschia Trees you will see on the track. Fuschia Trees are under threat as they are one of the favored foods of Possums...they will eat all of the leaves and even chew into the soft sappy wood as well. 

Native Fuschia Tree on the Bellbird Walk

The paper like bark of the Fuschia is a good fire starting material...

Even though you are right next to the track entrance it was really calm and peaceful as there were not a lot of people around. There are a lot of birds in this forest due to the intensive trapping program and I saw a number of them as I ambled my way along. 

Mix of Beech and Podocarp trees, Bellbird Walk

Black Beech is the predominant tree type....

The track loops back onto itself after about 10 minutes of walking arriving back next to the information panels near the track start. From here you head right and out to the end of the track at the Kerr Bay carpark. 

Back at the start of the Bellbird Walk...

The tracks start at Kerr Bay, Lake Rotoiti

It was busy at Kerr Bay with lots of cars and people putting boats in the lake but there was still plenty of parking available. If you are just walking the shorter tracks on the way through St Arnaud you should park down here near the track entrance. Longer term you are better to park up by the Park Ranger HQ....

Lots of parking at Kerr Bay, start of the tracks

It was a nice walk to finish off a good trip...as an add onto the an existing tramp or just as a short walk to break up your journey you should come down and see what Lake Rotoiti has to offer. 

NB: If you are out doing winter tramps please be very cautious. The conditions up in the mountains are icy and slippery at the moment so take care and make sure you have your PLB in case you need it. 

Cheers!!!

Access: Bellbird Walk starts and finishes at the Kerr Bay carpark 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.  
Track Times: It takes 10 minutes to walk the full circuit of the Bellbird Walk. 
Miscellaneous: High quality track, wheel chair accessible from the carpark. There are some information panels at the star of the track network. 

Forgotten Lands Campaign of the Federated Mountain Clubs (FMC)

A look at three of the current FMC projects....

The FMC or Federated Mountain Clubs of New Zealand is an umbrella organisation which advocates for outdoor users in New Zealand. They consist of almost every tramping club as well as the New Zealand Deerstalkers Association (NZDA) and various other fishing, MTB, 4 W/D, walking, kayaking, caving and canyoning groups. 

Logo of the Federated Mountain Clubs (FMC)

The FMC also have over 30 000 individual members (...including Jon...) so they really are the voice of the outdoor community here in Kiwiland. I thought it might be useful to look at three of the most exciting and interesting of the projects the FMC is currently working on. All of these projects are centered around the huge areas of land controlled by DOC but which are undesignated at this time.

What to do with Stewardship Land?

When the Department of Conservation was set up in 1987 most of the land managed by the Crown was placed under their control. Much of the land had been previously designated as National Parks, Forest Parks, Scenic Reserves and Conservation Areas but there was also a lot of land with no legal standing. These areas with lesser/no control are known as Stewardship Land. 

The land surrounding Lake Kaniere is all Stewardship Land

This Stewardship Land was meant to be designated as something else within 10 years of the establishment of DOC but there has been little political will to do so. A lot of this land has resources like water, timber or minerals on it which various enterprises would like to exploit. Designating it would also cost the country as DOC would require additional resources to manage it. 

Around 33% of the DOC estate is Stewardship Land

The FMC has turned a focus on these 'Forgotten Lands' as demands to use them have increased over the years. There have been several large mines built on Stewardship Land as well as over 15 proposals to build new hydro/irrigation dams, new roads and requests to exploit virgin forests for timber. 

An FMC Forgotten Lands poster.....

One of the assumed roles of the FMC is advocacy for this land so they have a number of ongoing projects to have the land legally protected under the overall umbrella of the Forgotten Lands Campaign. This campaign is meant to bring public attention onto these areas and hopefully to kick start some sort of process for designating them. 

Three current FMC projects:

Here are three of the current projects being pursued by the FMC. These are the recognition of new Wilderness Areas, the proposed Remarkable National Park and proposed Wild Rivers Park.

Recognition of Wilderness Areas:

The FMC has a long term project to campaign for more Wilderness Areas around the country. A Wilderness Area is a special type of backcountry experience...it will be remote from civilisation and will have zero to very minimal human impact on it. There will be no huts, bridges, tracks or roads and access by vehicle or aircraft is generally prohibited. These are meant as true wilderness places where outdoor explorers can meet nature very much on its terms.

Tasman Wilderness Area lies to the south of the Heaphy Track

There are several existent Wilderness Areas around the country with good examples being the Olivine Wilderness in Fiordland and the Tasman Wilderness Area in Kahurangi NP. Some of these have been in existence since the 1970's while others are more recent. FMC and a number of other organisation's would like to increase the number of Wilderness Areas around the country including in some Stewardship Land areas.

Map of the Olivine Wilderness area in Fiordland

There are a number of suggestions for new areas...in the Kaimanawa-Kaweka Forests, Garvie Range in Central Otago, Preservation/Waitutu in Fiordland and Pegasus in the south of Rakiura/Stewart Island. The only one which currently has traction is Pegasus/Southern Wilderness Area as it is easily the most remote place in New Zealand with no habitation, tracks or hut network at all. It was supposed to be gazetted as a Wilderness Area in 2015...this has still not happened but the process is ongoing. 

View south from the Tin Range, Rakiura/Stewart Island

The Garvie Range is likely to become a part of the proposed Remarkable National Park while both the Kaimanawa/Kaweka and Waitutu proposals have faced criticism from some groups who would still like to be able to fly into these areas. They may all eventually become Wilderness Areas but for the moment they are stuck in limbo. 

There are many seldom visited areas in the Kaimanawa Ranges....

 

We still need truly wild places to escape from the stresses and strife of modern life. The FMC will continue to advocate for Wilderness Areas going forward as they are a very special and necessary part of the backcountry experience. 

Remarkable's National Park:

The FMC in conjunction with various other groups are advocating for the creation of a new National Park in the Remarkable Range just outside Queenstown. The proposed Remarkables National Park would encompass more than just the Remarkable Range and would also take in the Garvie, Hector, Old Man, Old Woman and areas of the Eyre Mountain Ranges. This is an area of great scenic, cultural and environmental value which currently has little to no protection. 

The Remarkable Range, Central Otago

The area is currently administered by DOC but largely has limited official designation so it is vulnerable to exploitation for farming, ski fields, forestry and mineral mining. What the FMC would like is to make it a National Park therefore protecting it for the future. It would be a great compliment to other local National Parks such as Aoraki/Mt Cook, Mt Aspiring and Fiordland NP. 

Rock formation in the Garvie Range, Central Otago

There is a lot of support for developing a National Park in the area with the Department of Conservation, local MP's, Lakes District Council and Queenstown Council all advocating for it. They are currently working on a proposal to be forwarded to the Government at which point is can be considered by a working party who will decide if the idea has merit. A National Park requires an Act of Parliament to go ahead so that is ultimately where this project is heading. 

Lake Wakatipu from the Hector Mountains

I can actually see this project succeeding...all of the interest parties like the idea and will apply pressure on successive governments for it to go ahead. We have not gazetted a new National Park in New Zealand since Rakuira back in the 1990's and this is an area which clearly could do with protection. It takes a long time to get a new park approved but at least it is moving along at pace and in the right direction. 

Tussocklands atop the Old Man Range, Central Otago

I hope this one succeeds as the opportunities for outdoor adventures would be immense...

Wild Rivers Park:

There is a mass of DOC land between Paparoa NP and Fiordland NP which has no official designation at all. This Stewardship Land was supposed to have been designated a long time ago but successive governments since the 1980's have lacked the will, interest or motivation to do anything about it. It contains some of the finest un-blemished wild rivers and rugged backcountry areas in the country and is very vulnerable at this time.

There are large tracts of Stewardship Land on the West Coast

The main dangers are from unrestricted mining and the development of hydro electric dams in this area. The West Coast of the South Island is rich in timber and minerals including coal, iron sands, oil, gold and trace elements. All of these have potential markets overseas so there is great interest in exploiting them.

Stockton Open Cast Mine is on Stewardship Land on the West Coast

 The area is also rich in large river catchments which make ideal locations for hydro electric schemes. There are corporations and groups who want to exploit these resources regardless of the ecological and environmental value of the land. 

Arahura River, West Coast of the South Island

A group of interested parties including DOC, the local Regional Councils and the FMC are proposing a new park to protect these areas. Wild Rivers Park would encompass land from the Otira/Taramakau Rivers south to near Haast and would contain many of the iconic West Coast catchments including the Styx/Arahura/Hokitika/Toroha/Whitcombe/Waitaha/Wanganui/Copland/Karangahua/Landsborough and the Haast. 

Hokitika Gorge would be part of the Wild Rivers Park...

The Kokatahi River is also in the proposed Wild Rivers Park

It would also give greater protection to the inland lakes along the coast and some of the lowland swamp forests around the mountain fringes. Many of these are already scenic reserves which have less protected status than a Forest Park or National Park. It would achieve the long term goal of a contiguous protected land corridor all the way from Kahurangi in the north right down to Fiordland and Rakuira/Stewart Island.

 

Lake Kaniere would be in Wild Rivers Park

It is a bold and exciting project but there is serious opposition from many vested interest groups so while I ultimately think this proposal will go ahead I don't see it happening in the near future. What may happen is that parcels of land and river valleys will be added to existing National Parks, Forest Parks and Scenic Reserves. These areas really need protection as there are constant demands to use these rivers and they need to be protected before they are degraded.  

How to find Stewardship Land details....

So there are three of the projects the FMC is working on...there are many more but this is a good representation of the work they do. You should consider how you can help to achieve these worthwhile projects...become an individual member of the FMC or donate time, expertise or money to help them protect our natural treasures. 

Update May 2022: 

A group of interested people including DOC, local Iwi, land owners, regional councils and businesses are currently reviewing the status of Stewardship lands in the South Island. They are expected to release some findings by the end of 2022 with movement to re-classify some/all of the land before the end of 2023.