Motorhomes Caravans & Destinations
BOB’S COVE
“Along the way, you’ll find a couple of beaches, beautiful native forest and possibly fossils of oyster shells and other molluscs at Farry’s Beach.”
Duration: 1-3 hour options
Difficulty: Easy
Distance: 4km Terrain: Undulating, well-maintained track Start/end: Bob’s Cove car park
There are some magic hiking options for families at Bob’s Cove, only a 15-minute drive from Queenstown. Take the kids on a one-hour jaunt to the beach and Bob’s Knob, or add an hour for the Bob’s Cove Bridle Track. Consider walking a couple of hours down to Twelve Mile Delta and back.
GETTING HERE
Drive southwest out of Queenstown on the road to Glenorchy at the head of Lake Wakatipu. Pass Wilson’s Bay, Twelve Mile Delta and, about 15 minutes from Queenstown, Bob’s Cove car park is on your left.
STARTING POINT
The start of the track is at the far end of Bob’s Cove car park.
01 To do the easy walk with kids, turn left and down through the beech forest almost immediately on leaving the car park. Ten minutes will bring you down to the gorgeous, pristine, pebbly beach – a great spot for kids to learn to skip stones or take a swim. Bob’s Knob is the little 385m ‘mountain’ not far to the south; lake level is around 310m above sea level. From the beach, head back onto the track for five minutes to reach an historic 1870s lime
kiln. Gum trees were planted here to use as fuel for the kiln and some have grown to massive proportions in the ensuing years.
02 A few minutes further on, you’ll pass a jetty down on your right. There are marvellous examples of the lancewood tree along this shore, with the long spiky leaves of the juveniles changing to the shorter, rounder leaves of the adult as the tree grows in height. Don’t turn left at the track junction, but carry on around the shoreline
of the peninsula. The track will gradually turn back on itself at Picnic Point, before making a scramble up to the top of Bob’s
Knob (385m). There are stunning views from here and it makes a great picnic spot.
03 Make the short scramble down the other side, and if you’ve had enough, take the track back to Bob’s Cove beach from near the jetty you already passed; make your way back to the beach and car park. If you’re up for more, after scrambling down off Bob’s Knob, follow the coastal track along the edge of Lake Wakatipu for an hour to Twelve Mile Delta, a popular Lord of the Rings filming location. Along the way, you’ll find a couple of beaches, beautiful native forest and possibly fossils of oyster shells and other molluscs at Farry’s Beach. Allow two hours to walk down to Twelve Mile Delta and back.
04 A possible addition to the walk, either at the start or end of your adventure, is to wander along the Bob’s Cove Bridle
Track, part of the original track linking Queenstown with Glenorchy.
The trail from the car park is well marked along the northern side of Bob’s Cove and includes stands of massive red beech trees. Keep your eyes open for kereru (native pigeon).
TAKE A BREAK
A natural place for liquid refreshments after a walk at Bob’s Cove is 1876, the bar that now occupies Queenstown’s old courthouse, built in, you guessed it, 1876. Lime mortar from Bob’s Cove was used between the stone blocks. Inside, you’ll find the old judge’s bench, while if you sit outside on the terrace, you can admire the ‘Trees of Justice’, two massive wellingtonia (sequoia) trees planted in the 1870s to provide shade for those awaiting justice. Open noon-late Mon-sat, to midnight Sun. 03 409 2178, 45 Ballarat St, 1876.co.nz
BOB FORTUNE
Bob’s Cove is named after Bob Fortune, a boatman for Queenstown founder William Rees in the 1860s, and is one of the bestpreserved examples of Lake Wakatipu’s coastal past. It’s believed that between 20 and 40 million years ago the ocean penetrated from the southwest as far as the Wakatipu, and terraces around Bob’s Cove contain fossils and shells, as well as bands of mottled limestone.
Māori used the cove (Te Punatapu) as a campsite while on pounamu (greenstone) expeditions, and later the Wakatipu Lime Company built seven lime kilns here in the 1870s. Lime mortar was used in building the old Queenstown courthouse and the Kawarau River suspension bridge.
SANDYMOUNT & SANDFLY BAY Duration: 3.5 hours Difficulty: Easy-moderate Distance: 7km
Terrain: Sandy, well-defined trails Start/end: Sandymount car park
Otago Peninsula, within close proximity of Dunedin, offers some excellent walking options. Two that can be done separately or linked into one hike are Sandymount and Sandfly Bay. For a longer hike, walk the onehour Sandymount Loop Track with its spectacular views, followed by the 2½-hour return track from Sandymount down to Sandfly Bay. An easier option, with two separate hikes, is to drive to the Sandymount car park, walk the Sandymount Loop Track, return to your car, drive to the car park at the end of Seal Point Rd and walk down to Sandfly Bay and back.
GETTING HERE
Both Sandymount Rd and Seal Point Rd are turns southeast off Highcliff Rd, the road that runs along the top of the spine of Otago Peninsula from Dunedin to Portobello. Both car parks are a 20-to30-minute drive from central Dunedin.
STARTING POINT
If doing this hike as a single longer hike, taking around 3½ hours, the track starts at the car park at the end of Sandymount Road. Park here and walk straight up through the stand of tall macrocarpa (Monterey cypress) trees.
01 As this track runs through private farmland, it is closed from 1 September to 15 October through the lambing season. The walk is basically a hike around Sandymount (320m), which as its name suggests is a mountain of sand, covered with native scrub and flora, including flax, which lines the track to the top. Walking clockwise, initially you’ll have tremendous
views over Hoopers Inlet, Allans Beach and out to Cape Saunders as you walk
“Walking clockwise, initially you’ll have tremendous views over Hoopers Inlet, Allans Beach and out to Cape Saunders as you walk through working farmland, out to a new DOC viewpoint.”
through working farmland, out to a new DOC viewpoint. The track then winds its way right around Sandymount, before climbing to the viewpoint at the top.
02 If you’re also walking to Sandfly Bay, descend back to just short of the car park and follow the sandy track as it winds its way down to the beach, taking around an hour. The windswept landscape is spectacular – apparently Sandfly Bay got its name from the regular strong winds ‘making the sand fly’ rather than from the pesky little insect hated by walkers. Walk as far along the beach as you like, then make the long climb back up the same track to Sandymount car park.
03 If you’re doing two separate hikes, after summiting Sandymount, carry on down to the Sandymount car park. Drive back up to Hillcliff Rd, turn left and, in less than a kilometre, turn left down Seal Point Rd and drive to the car park at the end. Initially, the track crosses farmland to a
viewpoint out over the bay, then drops down through sand dunes to the beach. Walk along on the sand and return when you feel like it. Allow one to 1½ hours.
TAKE A BREAK
If you’re up for refreshments after your walk, carry on along Highcliff Rd (away from Dunedin) until it descends into the small, inland harbour village of Portobello. Here, you’ll find places such as Portobello Treats & Sweets for ice cream and milkshakes, Penguin Cafe and 1908 Cafe Restaurant for meals, and the Portobello Hotel & Bistro should you be after fish and chips and a cold beer.
RAINBOW REACH TO SHALLOW BAY
Duration: 3 hours
Difficulty: Easy
Distance: 6km
Terrain: Mostly flat; well-maintained track Start/end: Rainbow Reach car park
An easy walk through native forest to a beautiful beach on the shores of Lake Manapōuri, this is a top walk for families and a superb taste of the Kepler Track. There’s interesting flora plus the opportunity of a lake swim at Shallow Bay. The walk can be lengthened by 3½ hours to walk back to Lake Te Anau and the end of the Kepler Track.
GETTING HERE
The track begins at Rainbow Reach, 12km south of Te Anau on the Manapōuri–te Anau Hwy. After 10.5km, turn right at the signposted road to get to Rainbow Reach car park in another 1.5km. There are shuttle buses from Te Anau during the November to April busy season.
STARTING POINT
From the car park, cross the swing bridge over the Waiau River to get onto the Kepler Track.
01 The Waiau is a popular fishing river, loaded with rainbow and brown trout, so keep your eyes open as you cross the swing bridge. When you’re on the Kepler Track, it follows the river through mature beech forest, occasionally offering lovely river views until, after half an hour or so, you cross the Forest Burn, a small tributary of the Waiau, on a swing bridge.
02 After another 20 minutes or so, you’ll reach the Amoeboid Mire, a wetland with an interesting short side track on boardwalk out to the Spirit Lake viewing
platform which has information panels.
The wetland and lake are on a terrace that formed as the Manapōuri glacier melted. Expect wetland vegetation such as sphagnum moss, a wide variety of other mosses, wire rush and a range of herbs and shrubs. When there’s no wind, the lake has great mountain reflections.
03 Back on the main track, 10 minutes after another section of boardwalk over part of the wetland, head left at the signed turn-off to Shallow Bay. You’ll reach the beach 15 minutes later. Make sure to head around the pebbly beach and poke your nose into the DOC’S tiny six-bed Shallow Bay Hut – and if it’s warm, take a dip in the lake. This is a great spot for a picnic if you’ve brought supplies.
04 For some extra exploring, back at the junction, turn left to walk to the DOC’S impressive 40-bed Moturau Hut, also close to the lake’s foreshore, in another 20 minutes. This is where most Kepler walkers spend their last night before walking out to Lake Te Anau. If you came by shuttle and don’t have a vehicle at Rainbow Reach car park, consider lengthening your walk by 3½ hours and following the Kepler Track all the way up the western side of the Waiau River to Lake Te Anau and the start/end of the Kepler Track. Otherwise, follow the trail back to the Rainbow Reach swing bridge and car park.
TAKE A BREAK
Picnic supplies can be purchased in Te Anau or Manapōuri. When you have finished with walking, head to The Church (https://thechurch-manapouri.business.site) in Manapōuri – an 1885-built former Presbyterian Church that has been converted into a merry pub with exceptionally welcoming staff. This popular place serves up pub fare and refreshingly cold beer. Though there aren’t a lot of options in Manapōuri, Cathedral Cafe is next door.