Lake Hanlon - Middle Earth's Hidden Gem!

We settled in Middle Earth since 1988 but we never been to Lake Hanlon!

According to the Buller District Council...

"This lovely tranquil lake is relatively recent as it was formed in 1929 as a result of the Murchison earthquake.

This mirror lake sits on a south terrace of the Karamea Bluff.  It is in the middle of beech forest with a track that is an easy grade – rising moderately and then winding down to the lake.  A beautifully built viewing platform allows great viewing and photos."


adventureguide.co.nz  reckoned...

"Just 7 km southeast from Little Wanganui on Karamea Highway is a walking track leading to the beautiful New Zealand lake, Lake Hanlon. Lake Hanlon is a small sheltered lake set inside a thick perimeter of native New Zealand bush.

This lake does a good job of protecting itself from the wind and often produces flat glassy water that mirrors the surrounding native bush offering the photographer unlimited potential for that perfect New Zealand lake shot."

I envy my colleague Heather!  She and family were there during our 2 weeks Christmas-New Year break!

These are from the email she sent me...

"I decided we would go somewhere different. At first I thought we could go to somewhere like Franz Josef glacier or maybe Jackson Bay in South Westland.

Dad always took us on camping holidays every year when we were kids and he said we camped at Karamea one year. I didn't remember a thing about that trip or about Karamea,,my sister remembered everything but I didn't!"

"I booked the bach about March last year and we just went there. It is sub tropical micro climate...different plants. The fern I took a photo of.. I've never seen before. I think we will try somewhere different every year. Somewhere accessible from the west coast."

"Here are some of the photos from our Karamea trip, taken with my LG phone."

"Lake Hanlon is a lake where no one swims... till Sam and I arrived (are you sure Heather?)!

It is a lake surrounded by vegetation and there seems to be no shoreline. We had to jump off the viewing platform. The water was  stained brown from the  leaves of the beech trees and it was fresh and warm.

When I told the manager of the batches that we had been swimming in Lake Hanlon she was shocked and surprised.

She said" No one ever swims there!!! It's full of eels!!"  LOL... I felt like swimming over to the other side. It was so nice. When we called out, we got an echo. It was so still and all we could hear was birdsong!"

Picnic area at the lake where Heather and gang had breakfast :)

Lake Rotoiti towards Mount Robert and Saint Arnaud Range. Another stunning lake that Heather shot!

 The Karamea Estuary, another photographer's delight!

Heather's 11 year old grandson Reef who comes to all their holiday! Lucky boy!

Two for the road... sunset and flower of the Karamea cactus, all taken with a mobile phone!  Who need a compact point and shoot camera?  ;)

Well done Heather!