WARNING: LOOK AWAY IF YOU'RE ALLERGIC TO 'SHROOMS
09 MAY 2023
Entoloma hochstetteri mushroom
You're In Luck... Only 25% Of The Time
Lake Matheson is a picturesque glacial lake located in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island, in Fox Glacier. The lake is famous for its stunning mirror-like reflections of the surrounding Southern Alps, which make for some truly incredible photo opportunities!
Now, when I say it's a picturesque lake, I mean the incredibly mirror reflection that happens 25% of the time if you're lucky enough to go on a still day, not the lake itself as it's super brown! The tannins, which give the lake its brown colour, is what gives the lake its beautiful reflections.. Isn't that amazing? You'd think that clear water lakes would be the best but no, nature wins again and don't even ask me how! Peters Pool in Franz Josef, 30-minutes from Fox Glacier, is a brown kettle lake which also has incredible mirror-like reflections of the Southern Alps and the Franz Josef Glacier.
The track is a treat to walk and is a 4.4km loop track through a beautiful forest with SO MUCH weird and wonderful to discover - yessssss, we LOVE nature's weird and wonderful side. The track takes around 1.5 hours to do, but there is a shorter option which is only 45-minutes return to the first jetty lookout.
We took a lot longer to do the whole track on the account of all the blue mushrooms we found and had to photograph as many as we could! We couldn't believe our eyes when we saw our first one and we honestly thought it was a piece of blue rubbish that had been left behind in the forest - it was that vibrant. New Zealand isn't known for bright and colourful anything, really, so it was a surprise to know that the blue mushrooms aka Entoloma hochstetteri (what a mouthful - I'll stick with calling them blue mushrooms) are not only native to New Zealand but are also on our $50 note. We have explored hundreds of bush and forests around New Zealand and have never come across them till we saw them at Lake Matheson.
The first part of the track took us to a picture frame with Mt Tasman and Mt Cook in the frame - it was a bluebird day, so we got a really great shot of it. This is a great spot to take some fun family pics!
We then came across a small swing bridge, crossing over a brown stream (not very exciting) and passing by a sign noting that kiwis live there. It's kind of funny how the kiwi is our national bird... it's what we're known for... New Zealanders are even known as kiwis.. yet no one ever sees the flightless things! Anyone else find that weird?
Arabella & Sienna were really happy playing Ninja on this track as there was so much to bounce off from and tree trunks to swing on, holes to climb through. Actually, I think Arabella was Spider Girl or something, but they had a blast! We also came across a HUGE patch of clover and the girls were really hoping to find a four leaf clover in amongst them, but no luck. Sienna got upset when we had to leave as she really had her heart set on finding one. But when I say the clover patch was huge, I mean we would have been there for 3 or 4 hours just looking in that one patch!
We had a peek of the lake during one point of the track and we could see it was pretty still so we were very excited to get to the jetty to see the Southern Alps reflected in the lake... but alas, when we got there, the wind had picked up and the lake was still no more! We got chatting to a guy there with his daughter and he said that we had just missed it by 2-minutes! We were pretty gutted, but we knew there were other lookouts along the track and we had high hopes that the wind would disappear and we would be in luck to see the reflection.
The girls made friends with the little girl and although she spoke little English (she was Slovenian), the girls all got on so well and managed to start making a hut. Arabella was super sad to say goodbye to her friend but it was time to finish the rest of the track. Lucky for her, we ended up seeing them again at the playground in Franz Josef later that afternoon and we all did the Terrace Walk together!
Now, when I say it's a picturesque lake, I mean the incredibly mirror reflection that happens 25% of the time if you're lucky enough to go on a still day, not the lake itself as it's super brown! The tannins, which give the lake its brown colour, is what gives the lake its beautiful reflections.. Isn't that amazing? You'd think that clear water lakes would be the best but no, nature wins again and don't even ask me how! Peters Pool in Franz Josef, 30-minutes from Fox Glacier, is a brown kettle lake which also has incredible mirror-like reflections of the Southern Alps and the Franz Josef Glacier.
The track is a treat to walk and is a 4.4km loop track through a beautiful forest with SO MUCH weird and wonderful to discover - yessssss, we LOVE nature's weird and wonderful side. The track takes around 1.5 hours to do, but there is a shorter option which is only 45-minutes return to the first jetty lookout.
We took a lot longer to do the whole track on the account of all the blue mushrooms we found and had to photograph as many as we could! We couldn't believe our eyes when we saw our first one and we honestly thought it was a piece of blue rubbish that had been left behind in the forest - it was that vibrant. New Zealand isn't known for bright and colourful anything, really, so it was a surprise to know that the blue mushrooms aka Entoloma hochstetteri (what a mouthful - I'll stick with calling them blue mushrooms) are not only native to New Zealand but are also on our $50 note. We have explored hundreds of bush and forests around New Zealand and have never come across them till we saw them at Lake Matheson.
The first part of the track took us to a picture frame with Mt Tasman and Mt Cook in the frame - it was a bluebird day, so we got a really great shot of it. This is a great spot to take some fun family pics!
We then came across a small swing bridge, crossing over a brown stream (not very exciting) and passing by a sign noting that kiwis live there. It's kind of funny how the kiwi is our national bird... it's what we're known for... New Zealanders are even known as kiwis.. yet no one ever sees the flightless things! Anyone else find that weird?
Arabella & Sienna were really happy playing Ninja on this track as there was so much to bounce off from and tree trunks to swing on, holes to climb through. Actually, I think Arabella was Spider Girl or something, but they had a blast! We also came across a HUGE patch of clover and the girls were really hoping to find a four leaf clover in amongst them, but no luck. Sienna got upset when we had to leave as she really had her heart set on finding one. But when I say the clover patch was huge, I mean we would have been there for 3 or 4 hours just looking in that one patch!
We had a peek of the lake during one point of the track and we could see it was pretty still so we were very excited to get to the jetty to see the Southern Alps reflected in the lake... but alas, when we got there, the wind had picked up and the lake was still no more! We got chatting to a guy there with his daughter and he said that we had just missed it by 2-minutes! We were pretty gutted, but we knew there were other lookouts along the track and we had high hopes that the wind would disappear and we would be in luck to see the reflection.
The girls made friends with the little girl and although she spoke little English (she was Slovenian), the girls all got on so well and managed to start making a hut. Arabella was super sad to say goodbye to her friend but it was time to finish the rest of the track. Lucky for her, we ended up seeing them again at the playground in Franz Josef later that afternoon and we all did the Terrace Walk together!
Sienna searching for a 4 leaf clover
A kereru/wood pigeon
Can you see Mrs Caterpillar?
The Most Beautiful Songbirds We Have Ever Heard
As we went further along the track, we found more and more blue mushrooms, which were all different vibrancies - some grey and some so blue that it was so hard to believe they weren't fake! We also found various other mushrooms in red, white and yellow, including some teeny tiny red ones which were so adorable!
The forest seemed to become greener and lusher the further we went along and there were so many birds there! We heard the most beautiful birdsong out of anywhere else we had been in New Zealand. Some of the birds you can see/hear at Lake Matheson are: Kea (cheeky mountain parrots), Canada Geese, Tui, Silvereye, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Sparrow, Chaffinch, Fantail and loads more!
On one point of the track, we made a detour up some stairs to another lookout (which we think is the best lookout) high above the lake - the View of Views (yes, it's actually named this!) There are some steepish stairs up to a small platform and the trees beautifully frame the lake and mountains to offer a beautiful view. The wind was still up so no reflection! Luckily the mountains were in sight and the trees surrounding the lake were so vibrant and green, or it would have been a very boring view!
The forest seemed to become greener and lusher the further we went along and there were so many birds there! We heard the most beautiful birdsong out of anywhere else we had been in New Zealand. Some of the birds you can see/hear at Lake Matheson are: Kea (cheeky mountain parrots), Canada Geese, Tui, Silvereye, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Sparrow, Chaffinch, Fantail and loads more!
On one point of the track, we made a detour up some stairs to another lookout (which we think is the best lookout) high above the lake - the View of Views (yes, it's actually named this!) There are some steepish stairs up to a small platform and the trees beautifully frame the lake and mountains to offer a beautiful view. The wind was still up so no reflection! Luckily the mountains were in sight and the trees surrounding the lake were so vibrant and green, or it would have been a very boring view!
View from 'the view of Views'
View from 'the View of Views'
No More Photos, Mum!
Parts of the track looked like they could have been slippery, so we took our time, especially on the stairs. The forest reminded us of the Goblin Forest that we passed through to get to Dawson Falls in Taranaki in the North Island and also Mt Manaia in Northland, as there was so much vibrant green moss growing on everything.
I spent a lot of time looking in the forest for more blue mushrooms but by this point everyone was saying "come ooooooooon, mum.. no more mushrooms!". I'm a huge nature fan and when I see something so incredibly beautiful and different, it's hard to leave and go home! You'll find the blue mushrooms in Summer and Autumn but they're at their best between April and June.
I want to tell you guys about how we came to another lookout and were still hoping the wind had dropped, but we all know how it ended ;( The great thing is that when there is no wind, there are quite a few areas to enjoy the reflection from. Lake Matheson is an ideal place to set up at sunrise or sunset, to take some gorgeous photos. Check out a weather website so you can look to see what the wind is doing, if the reflections are vital for your visit.
I spent a lot of time looking in the forest for more blue mushrooms but by this point everyone was saying "come ooooooooon, mum.. no more mushrooms!". I'm a huge nature fan and when I see something so incredibly beautiful and different, it's hard to leave and go home! You'll find the blue mushrooms in Summer and Autumn but they're at their best between April and June.
I want to tell you guys about how we came to another lookout and were still hoping the wind had dropped, but we all know how it ended ;( The great thing is that when there is no wind, there are quite a few areas to enjoy the reflection from. Lake Matheson is an ideal place to set up at sunrise or sunset, to take some gorgeous photos. Check out a weather website so you can look to see what the wind is doing, if the reflections are vital for your visit.
A Well Deserved Carrot Cake
As we looped back around to where we began, we came to a clearing with fields ahead of us before they stopped abruptly, and the Southern Alps stood majestically over everything. We were thankful that it was such a clear day to do the track so that we could see the mountains in the distance, so we'd recommend picking a clear or partly cloudy day to do it (and hopefully a windless day!). One of the best times to view Lake Matheson is in the morning at sunset as this is often the calmest time of day.
We finished off our time at Lake Matheson by eating a well-deserved carrot cake at the cafe beside the carpark... it was well deserved after all the 'shroom hunting we did, right? Right?? It was so delicious, definitely one of the top carrot cakes we've had in New Zealand and we paired it with a mocha - also delicious! The setting for the cafe is so peaceful and uninterrupted - no powerlines or buildings to get in the way of nature's view.
We finished off our time at Lake Matheson by eating a well-deserved carrot cake at the cafe beside the carpark... it was well deserved after all the 'shroom hunting we did, right? Right?? It was so delicious, definitely one of the top carrot cakes we've had in New Zealand and we paired it with a mocha - also delicious! The setting for the cafe is so peaceful and uninterrupted - no powerlines or buildings to get in the way of nature's view.
Back to where we started!
Know Before You Go
- There are toilets at the carpark
- One of the best times to visit Lake Matheson is at sunrise, when the wind is often calmest and the reflections are at their clearest
- There are bench seats scattered around the track (not literally)
- The track is well sign posted
- The loop track takes 1.5 hours and the track to the jetty and back takes 45-minutes return (this section of the track is flat)
- The blue mushrooms fruit in summer and autumn and are best to be gawped at between April - June
- The stairs to the 'Views of Views' can be a little slippery so take care
- Sandflies can be an issue on the West Coast so you may need to take some long pants or bug spray if you're into that
- The Lake Matheson Cafe serves some really delicious food and it's right beside the carpark. Click here for the menu and opening hours
- No drones are allowed, unless authorised by DOC
- Remember to bring your camera!
- Bring water as there are no taps (unless you go to the cafe for a drink)
Mappy McMap Face
How To Get To The Lake Matheson Track in Fox Glacier
The Lake Matheson Track is 5-minutes from the Fox Glacier Town. Head west on Cook Flat Road, then turn right onto Lake Matheson Road and you'll come to the carpark.
The track is 30-minutes from Franz Josef. From the town, head over the Waiho Bailey Bridge (one way bridge) then turn right. Drive for aaaaages (while enjoying the beautiful rainforests) and turn right into the Fox Glacier Village then eventually you'll turn right onto Lake Matheson Road and you'll see the carpark.
The trailhead for the Lake Matheson Track starts beside the Lake Matheson Cafe.
The track is 30-minutes from Franz Josef. From the town, head over the Waiho Bailey Bridge (one way bridge) then turn right. Drive for aaaaages (while enjoying the beautiful rainforests) and turn right into the Fox Glacier Village then eventually you'll turn right onto Lake Matheson Road and you'll see the carpark.
The trailhead for the Lake Matheson Track starts beside the Lake Matheson Cafe.
Conclusion
We can't recommend the Lake Matheson Track highly enough as it's one of the best walks we have done in New Zealand! Despite us not seeing the mirror reflections, it was still a really beautiful view and we loved how much songbird was going on in the forest. It's an easy, rewarding hike on the beautiful West Coast of the South Island.
The mushrooms are super cool to find and photograph and the girls were CONVINCED there are fairies living there! Be sure to visit in April & June to see them at their finest.
The mushrooms are super cool to find and photograph and the girls were CONVINCED there are fairies living there! Be sure to visit in April & June to see them at their finest.
Gallery of the Lake Matheson Track
Check out the rest of the awesomeness that didn't make it to the main blog but deserves to be shown.
More to do in New Zealand
WHAT TO DO IN FRANZ JOSEF WITH KIDS
WEST COAST From exploring rainforests with blue mushrooms, to hiking around reflective lakes and seeing it all from above in a helicopter.
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KEA POINT TRACK
CANTERBURY Discover the hidden gems of Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park on the 1-hour Kea Point Track. You won't be disappointed! |
ROCKY MOUNTAIN & DIAMOND LAKE TRACK
OTAGO One of our absolute favourite hikes in Wanaka with outstanding views of Lake Wanaka and Diamond Lake.
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