Lake Hood Loop

Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Distance: 6.1 km
Start: Lake House Restaurant car park, Lake Hood Drive, Lake Hood
Finish: Same place - it's a loop
Date: Friday 19th July 2024

A string of wintery, foggy, soupy days in Canterbury this week. To brighten up, today we were heading towards the Ashburton Art Gallery to check out the Ashburton Society of Art's 60th exhibition. The plan was to first have a quick circumnavigation of Lake Hood followed by lunch in Ashburton township before checking out the gallery.  

We turned a bit too early off State Highway 1, but managed to get to the lake without drama - via a bit of a dog-leg onto Grahams Road. We drove past the flash houses and empty sections lining the waterways and parked at the Lake House Restaurant.  Not a soul in sight. The last time I was here was in 2021 when my daughter and nephew both competed in the South Island Half Marathon. Three circuits of the lake. I remember how proud I was as they each ran to the finish line, with a spring in their step. 

Despite being advertised as "The real kiwi dream", Lake Hood (a.k.a. the Ashburton Aquatic Park) has a bit of a weird feel to it that I can't quite put my finger on. It's one of those artificial recreation lakes with a companion subdivision, plonked in the middle of nowhere. I have only visited twice - both times on the greyest of winter days, so perhaps the "weird feel" verbalism is a bit harsh.  The Lake Hood website, is abundant with superlatives "one of New Zealand's best communitites", "incredible canal lifesyle living","unique aquatic playground","incredible amenities"; "a key asset to the people of the region". Very positive indeed. No mention of the current public health warning due to cyanobacteria doclichospermum, "which can be present as green globules floating in the water ... or form surface scums or sheens". Exposure may cause "skin rashes, nausea, stomach cramps, tingling and numbness around the mouth and fingertips".

We entered the Lake House Restaurant to ask for directions as there is no signage for the track around the lake. We were instructed to cross the bridge and walk the circuit in a clockwise direction. We set off briskly, initially on the road but then we headed to the lake side on the grass (no actual track). It was 5 degrees and a damp kind of cold. Brrrr. Carolien is off to Thailand on Monday and our chat turned to warmer climes and pending adventures.

At the northern end, we were no longer on the grass but on a proper shingle track which sidled around the top of the lake and then past the golf course.  The water was a beautiful silvery grey sheen, flat calm like a mirror with gazillions of birds doing their thing. Ducks of all shapes and sizes - scaups, mallards, paradise shelducks. Also shags; spurwing plovers and, in the middle of the lake at the southern end, a massive flock of loquacious seagulls. They didn't seem particularly bothered by doclichospermum.

As we headed back towards the subdivision, I checked Google Maps becasue we were a bit worried about getting through the subdivision islands at the southern end of the lake. We crossed a footbridge over Carter's Creek and walked to the end of Ludlow Street where there is a peculiar circular mechanical set up, with detailed instructions on how to cross on the "ferry". We boarded, closed the gate, pressed the green button and slowly traced a semicircle across the canal, while the "ferry" on the other side did the same. It was a quirky ride.

It was a short 10 minute drive back to Ashburton township for a very pleasant lunch at the Somerset Grocer Cafe and Bar on Burnett Street. The grand finale was the Ashburton Art Gallery and Museum. The ASA exhibition was awesome. I brandished my brass brush and polished my rings.