Fern Burn ramble (about 4 hours)
The weather looks as if it will be calm, cool and partly cloudy.
From the Lakeside carpark meeting place take the Mt Aspiring road past Glendhu Bay, turn left onto Motutapu Road to Motatapu track carpark (15km)- approx. 3km from Glendhu Bay Camp.
Fern Burn car park to Fern Burn Hut is 3–4 hr, 7 km, but we will turn back after about 2 hours walking. The track meanders along the true right of Fern Burn, passing shrubland and grassy flats. It then climbs into significant, remnant beech forest: mountain/tawhairauriki, silver/ tawhai and red/tawhairaunui. Here the Fern Burn narrows, featuring cascades and waterfalls. An hour from the car park, the track briefly enters the 4144 ha Stack Conservation Area.
The Motatapu valley was used extensively by Māori from coastal settlements, travelling between lakes Wanaka and Wakatipu. Wanaka was important for māhika kai – gathering food in summer, including eel/tuna, weka . By 1861 gold mining was in full swing, particularly in the Macetown and Arrow areas, where alluvial gold was recovered with relative ease. As a result, a government-funded pack track was formed to link Arrowtown with Lake Wanaka, and the Motatapu Track follows sections of that route.
Walk leader: Chris Kjelgaard
