Time: 3 hours and 10 minutes
Distance: 11.5 km
Start: Camp ground car park, D'Archiac Drive, Lake Clearwater
Finish: Same place (it's a loop)
Date: Friday 7 July 2023
He ataahua Ka Tiritiri o Te Moana. The Southern Alps of New Zealand are stunningly beautiful, there is no denying it, and today the stars (and weather) aligned so we got our fix.
It was a chilly, minus two degrees - with patches of ice about and we were carefully driving up the Hakatere Potts Road, relishing the setting moon and Ka Tiritiri o te Moana in the distance: The Two Thumb, Potts, Arrowsmith and Cloudy Peak ranges. All jumbled up with the prominent peak of Mt. D'Archiac (2975 m) sticking out the top. Lord of the Rings country.
We parked at the Lake Clearwater camp ground and immediately flourished our cell phones and started taking snaps of that gorgeous scenery: A flat calm lake a.k.a. Te Puna a Taka - partially iced over and flanked by tussock lands and snowy peaks. I couldn't find a translation of Te Puna a Taka. "Puna" means spring in Te Reo Māori, but "Taka" has multiple meanings: surround, encircle, heap, knoll.
Today we were circumnavigating the lake in a clockwise fashion, initially heading west, towards those fabulous mountains. Eye candy. The ice crunched underfoot and the scaup/pāpango heard us coming. In unison they tried to get airbourne, but the take-off did not eventuate. Instead, their feet could gain no traction on the icey water and their legs spun in circles at right angles to their bodies like a Disney cartoon. It looked so comical that we all burst out laughing. Their kerfuffle proceeded to have a snowball effect on all the other birds on the lake and soon there was a caccophony of squawking and unnecessary panic. A group of shag-type avians did manage to get airbourne and, as they flew past, we wondered what they might be.
Later on that evening I searched the Environment Canterbury website for more information. "DO NOT DISTURB THE BIRDS" it said. Oh shit. Oh well, too late now. Lake Clearwater/Te Puna a Taka is one of the Ashburton Lakes at the heart of the Hakatere Conservation Park. The area is called Ō Tū Wharekai - place of the food house, a reference to its former role as a mahinga kai (key food gathering ecosystem) for the Tākata whenua of Hakatere - local iwi, Kāi Tahu. There are twelve lakes (according to DOC), numerous swamps, fens, kettleholes, seepage wetlands and marshes - the consequence of retreating glaciers. These habitats are unique and vulnerable and home for many species of birds, fish, plants. Tragically, the lake is polluted - almost to a eutrophic "flipping" point - most likely due to farm fertiliser run-off. FYI it is a 5.3 on the Trophic Level Index (TLI) which means it is classified as "supertrophic" with water quality rated "Very Poor". Te Papa Atawhai/The Department of Conservation and other groups are trying to save it. I think the shag-type birds may have been Giant Crested Grebes.
Back on the walk, we didn't know any of this and we were just in awe of the beauty of the place. The track is flat and the going was fast. We were soon near the western end - where the water was mostly frozen, and so we went a bit off-piste to check out the lake edge. Offshore a swan was stuck fast in the ice. How on earth did it get itself into that predicament? Perhaps it fell asleep at night and woke up iced over? Hard to imagine. It was in deep water and we couldn't save it. We continued on.
We crossed the swampy area over the boardwalk and then came to an obstacle. A partially frozen stream. It looked wide and slippery and deep and freezing and we dilly dallied around for awhile before finally leaping across, one by one, like Thompson's gazelles. Dry footed.
After that we required some sustenance in order to regain our composure. We ate our egg sandwiches and scroggin and scoff and lolled about on the icy turf chatting about the pros and cons of colonoscopies until our bottoms got too cold and we had to continue on.
We were now on the northern side of the lake and couldn't resist a five minute side trip to check out the Te Araroa Trail which runs the length of Aotearoa/New Zealand. Once, on a Friday Walkies at Lake Hill , we traversed a grand total of 0.23% of the trail. And another time, me and my hoa rangatira inadvertently walked 80km of it.
Back on track we could now look across the lake and see the weird vista of Clearwater Village. Norway? Iceland? Nup. But definitely one of New Zealand's quirkier settlements. There are about 100 baches/huts/cribs, jam-packed on a grid of nine streets with names like Mount D'Archaic Drive and Mount Harper Street. According to submissions to the Ashburton Council's Lake Camp and Lake Clearwater 30 Year Plan the land was owned by the New Zealand and Austailian Land Company (based in Edinburgh) and was a reserve in the 1920's but was then "gifted" to the people (whom exactly?) in the 1950's. I'm not sure if the baches are owned or leased -empty sections cannot be developed and apparently there is no electricity or running water. The common goal of the Council and the locals is to improve the lake water quality.
We passed the Mt Guy turnoff and rounded the eastern end of the lake, crossed a decent footbridge and did a spot of ice-thickness testing. We were soon back at the car. With one last longing look at the panorama we were leaving behind, we turned tail and headed back to the Staverley Store. Within the theme of the day, the reception was a little icey, but the food was yummy and the coffee good.
