Waterways of northern Westland

We left Canterbury (for now) at Arthur’s Pass, descending once again into the West Coast and bound for Lake Brunner. This would be the first of a number of lakes, rivers and wetlands that we would explore during this section of our tour in the northern part of Westland District.

Coordinates

SH73 heading west

Once over the Arthur’s Pass summit we were back in the West Coast; the road down from the mountains (SH73) meant to impress from the outset. First, there’s the Otira Viaduct, a 445m cantilevered bridge (first photo, from the lookout). Soon after, a shelter deflects the rockfalls common in Otira Gorge, while an adjacent structure diverts the waterfall over the top of the road (second photo). As we descended the gorge, we noticed red-looking rocks in the riverbed. Stopping to investigate, it was soon apparent that this colouration was due to a covering of lichen (third photo). Colour drew our attention once more, as we stopped to appreciate the turquoise waters running beneath the bridge on Lake Brunner Road (fourth photo):

Lake Brunner

Lake Brunner was a welcome sight after a long day. In Māori it is named either Kōtuku Whakaoho or Kōtuku Moana, meaning flapping of the white heron’s wings, or sea of herons, respectively. Brunner was first European credited to have sight of the lake in 1849, which at 39 square kilometres, is the largest lake on the West Coast. We arrived in time to enjoy the glorious evening light from the excellent freedom camping facility at Iveagh Bay, also home to this little pied cormorant (last photo):

The light on Iveagh Bay only got better at sunset:

A wet morning at Lake Brunner followed a night of thunderstorms. However, the sun made a brief appearance at Iveagh Bay, producing a double rainbow (first two photos). Around the shore at Moana, the Arnold River mouth still managed to appeal even in the rain and dreary greyness (third photo). Across the lake, Mt. Te Kinga at 1204m dominated the view (fourth photo):

While at Moana we saw a group of people pile out of a van and disappear down a track that hadn’t been noticed by us. They had gone to a swing bridge across the Arnold River; we followed. On a whim, we decided to follow the path on the other side to the left, signposted “Wedding”—instead of taking the marked trail to the right. This put us on the Lake Brunner Scenic Trail, which is still under development, but you can walk 3.4km before getting to a deep creek that’s not been bridged yet.

On this trail we had our first sighting of blue mushrooms (we’ve since seen them on a number of occasions). They looked so incongruous! Were they blue plastic toys made in China? Someone dipped them in food colouring? A local artist painted them onto porcelain? Had we stumbled upon the Lost Smurf Kingdom? Our AI species classifier confidently predicted we had encountered werewere-kōkako:

It is blue, but is it magic?

Entoloma hochstetteri is also know as the blue pinkgill, or werewere-kōkako in te reo Māori. The fungus is native to Aotearoa New Zealand, although relatives can be found in India and Brazil. The Māori name links the mushroom to the kōkako bird, whose wattles are of a similar blue hue. According to legend, the bird rubbed its face onto the mushroom to obtain the colour. In 2002 a series of six native fungi were depicted on NZ stamps: E. hochstetteri was one of them. It is also unique in so far as it is the only fungus worldwide that is featured on a banknote: it shares the $NZ50 note with the kōkako, Pureora Forest in the central North Island and Sir Apirana Ngata, the first Māori to graduate from a NZ university and an elected member of parliament for 38 years. Entoloma mushrooms are not rare, with over 1000 species worldwide; some are edible, others are not, and most are drab. So is the blue one magic? No hallucinogenic chemicals have been found. However, it is still protecting its inherent “magic” from scientists, being notoriously difficult to grow in laboratory conditions. It has not yielded all its genetic secrets, despite attempts to extract them in the search for natural blue food colourants. Look up Christian Gottlieb Ferdinand Hochstetter in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography (Ngā Tāngata Taumata Rau) as his story is also quite magical.

🤔 Curiosity

There were multiple clusters of blue mushrooms present beside the trail, but the bunch we had first sighted seemed to be the bluest of them all; many had faded to a pale blue-grey colour (as per below left):

While the blue mushrooms were no doubt a highlight, we enjoyed the Lake Brunner Scenic Trail. Here’s the Arnold River mouth, having crossed the swing bridge (first photo). The second photo shows a lake view from the Trail. We drove out via the southern end of the lake, where we saw trees in the water with Mt. Te Kinga behind, from Swan Bay (final two photos):

Lake Kaniere

Just when you think the forecast is bad, that the weather will ruin any chance of capturing a half-decent photo, NZ does it again and pulls more scenery out of the bag! Here’s the early evening light (plus a few rain drops) from Hans Bay on Lake Kaniere, near Hokitika:

Of course, evening turns to dusk—but we were inside the camper, it was chilly out and there were sandflies massing! Why would we venture out again? This is why: sunset at Hans Bay on Lake Kaniere. There’s a little island just offshore called—you guessed it—Hans Island, in front of which a dinghy returns from a fishing trip (fourth photo):

Having decided to take the gravelled Dorothy Falls Road out from Hans Bay, we stopped at Dorothy Falls (below left) before arriving at the southern trailhead for the Lake Kaniere Walkway (below right):

We walked along the trail for 45 min/ just over 2km—a wet, uneven path with limited views (below left), but did see more of our blue friends (below right):

However, just after the 2km mark you reach the gorgeous (albeit petite) Lawyers Delight Beach. We didn’t see a soul; wild swimming anyone?

We had a little fun on the return walk, collecting and creating a correspondingly petite “fruits of the forest” display in the moss. The feature exhibit was of course the werewere-kōkako—just to remove any lingering doubt that our initial find at Lake Brunner had been a fluke (or a dream):

Hokitika and environs

The Hokitika River is said to have turquoise waters as it passes through Hokitika Gorge. Not for our visit—more of a blue-grey—being silted after recent heavy rains. It’s a popular attraction with a totally different feel to the quiet, little-known in between places we might have to ourselves. The sandflies were enjoying the international banquet put on for them:

Lake Mahinapua is some 10km south of Hokitika. The lake used to be a lagoon, forming part of the Hokitika River mouth, but said river changed course, leaving behind a new lake:

On the shore near the DOC camp there’s an old paddle steamer hulk. These boats had plied the almost continuous waterway between Hokitika and the gold rush town of Ross; the two original boats were built 1867, mostly from salvaged shipwrecks (but their whereabouts is unknown). This particular paddle steamer hulk is of a later vintage, built in 1883 and used on the lake to transport timber from 1885, towing several punts. The original boiler blew up in 1902 and was replaced, but the vessel was scuttled after the Hokitika–Ross railway opened in 1906. The wreck was raised from the mud in 1977 and partially restored for display at Shanghai Bay:

Hokitika’s population of almost 3,000 makes it the largest settlement in Westland District. It has several surviving art deco structures (see photos) and is known for its “Driftwood and sand” and “Wildfoods” festivals. Even the town’s name is spelt out on the beach in driftwood (third photo). Mount Tasman and Mount Cook/ Aoraki can be seen from town (fourth photo). We especially liked the driftwood sea monster on the beach (last photo); 1865–7 saw a collision, grounding or shipwreck on this treacherous coast every 10 days or so:

Here are some more of the driftwood beach sculptures:

South of Hokitika we spent an enjoyable few hours paddling 5km along the Mahināpua Creek (kayaks from West Coast Scenic Waterways), from the historic rail bridge to the lake of the same name, and back.

Look at the above image while playing the audio recording below, made while one of us paddled:

The waterway was dominated by flax and trees with very wet feet (first photo). We saw kahu/ swamp harrier, pūkeko, ducks, little pied cormorant (second photo), and the white heron (third and fourth photos):

Kōtuku, the white heron

The kōtuku or white heron has gained almost mythical status in New Zealand as a symbol of things both beautiful and rare. It is thought that only about 100 to 120 birds have their home in New Zealand, based in a single breeding colony at Waitangiroto, on the West Coast of South Island. Kōtuku are common in Australia, the South Pacific and Asia—where they are known as the eastern great egret. During the breeding season they grow long, loose breeding plumes from their back and wings, which have made them desirable for both Māori and European settlers—leading to their near extermination from NZ. They have long legs designed for wading in shallow, muddy waterways and move quite deliberately. Males build courtship platforms from which to advertise themselves to females by displaying their plumes and flicking their feathers. They feed on small fish and other aquatic life, as well as mice and small birds.

🤔 Curiosity

Lake Mahināpua itself was decorated with waterlilies (below left) and the intricate flowers of the water hawthorn (below right):

After our paddle the water was so clear and inviting that we had to take a dip (sorry, there’s no audio of the screaming that ensued):

Clear and cold water in Fishermans Creek

Having explored from the water, we turned to bikes. Even before we set out the day was off to a good start, with an early morning visit from the sacred kingfisher or kotare (Todiramphus sanctus):

We cycled almost 12km along the multi-day West Coast Wilderness Trail, which involved a mix of gravel on former tramways, boardwalk through wetlands, and a section of road with only light (historic) traffic:

We encountered trailside examples of the poisonous scarlet flycap (Amanita muscaria), seen here in both juvenile and mature form:

At our destination, the Treetop Walkway, the easter orchid (Earina autumnalis) was in bloom (it’s a small flower; we only had phone cameras, but it’s there!):

Easter orchid among epiphytes, moss and lichen on a rimu tree

The walkway itself is at 20m elevation above the ground, with a tower at 47m elevation (which we climbed, panting). Also a climber (in some cases), rātā were in flower, bring a splash of colour to a dull day (final photo):