THE TRACK THAT IS IN FACT, A CIRCLE, AT THE PELORUS SCENIC RESERVE
08 JANUARY 2023
FUN FACT: Lord Of The Rings Was Filmed Here!
The Pelorus Scenic Reserve is the ultimate playground for outdoor enthusiasts. For starters, there are loads of walks in the reserve, that are anywhere from 5-minutes to a few hours long, which take you through rich and luscious native bush (where we found the most weird and wonderful things - more on that later in the blog). There are icy cold and emerald rivers running through the reserve with the most popular being the Pelorus River. Seriously, this thing is such an incredible colour, especially when the sun's out to say hi. This makes it a really popular swimming and kayaking spot in summer... but don't be fooled - it's icy cold all year round!
FUN FACT: If you're a LOTR (Lord of the Rings) fan, you'll be excited to know that the Pelorus River was featured in the first of the Hobbit trilogy, 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey', in the scene where Bilbo, Gandalf and the dwarves are escaping the orcs by floating down the river in barrels. Ok, ok, time to calm down now.
We did the track on an overcast day which didn't matter too much as the track is completely undercover so it's not like there were any great views we had to hike up to a summit for. The only thing that really did matter about it was that the rivers would have looked even more beautiful if the sun was out shining... but you can't have sunshine every day right? Right? If you know of a place... let us know.
The trailhead starts across the bridge from the carpark and there is a separate area for pedestrians, such as yourselves, to hop on over. It's a beautiful sight from the bridge when you look down and across the stunning Pelorus Bridge. When we went across, there were quite a few people jumping into the river and it's easy to see why - it looks super inviting!
FUN FACT: If you're a LOTR (Lord of the Rings) fan, you'll be excited to know that the Pelorus River was featured in the first of the Hobbit trilogy, 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey', in the scene where Bilbo, Gandalf and the dwarves are escaping the orcs by floating down the river in barrels. Ok, ok, time to calm down now.
We did the track on an overcast day which didn't matter too much as the track is completely undercover so it's not like there were any great views we had to hike up to a summit for. The only thing that really did matter about it was that the rivers would have looked even more beautiful if the sun was out shining... but you can't have sunshine every day right? Right? If you know of a place... let us know.
The trailhead starts across the bridge from the carpark and there is a separate area for pedestrians, such as yourselves, to hop on over. It's a beautiful sight from the bridge when you look down and across the stunning Pelorus Bridge. When we went across, there were quite a few people jumping into the river and it's easy to see why - it looks super inviting!
Dracula, Is That You?
The circle loop track in Pelorus (that's right ladies and gentlemen, it is in fact, a walk in a circle, also known as a loop track... 10 out of 10 for name creativity!) is 1.7kms and takes around 45-minutes to complete. It's a really easy track, suitable for most although there are roots sticking up on the track so you need to have good eyesight and be aware on this walk or you'll be falling flat on ya face!
We were surprised how busy it was on the track but at the same time it's no surprise (ooooh, conflicting) as the Pelorus Bridge Scenic Reserve is a truly beautiful place that attracts a lot of visitors each day.
When we were at the carpark, we were reading some information boards about bats in the Pelorus Bridge Scenic Reserve. It's so weird to think of bats living in New Zealand but it's home to one of the last remaining population of bats in NZ - the long-tailed bats. It would be pretty cool to see these little guys out and about at dusk and you can often see them feeding off moths in the streetlights. The bats roost around 30 meters up in the trees so there's no chance of seeing them during the day.
Unfortunately, the usual suspects such as possums, stoats, rats and cats are causing a decline in the population of these blood sucking creatures but the team at Forest & Bird are working really hard to get rid of pests in the reserve, so you'll see a lot of traps around the tracks. Just doooon't be that one idiot who has to stick their hand in - it won't be pretty!
On the track we came across a suspension bridge (the girls LOVE a suspension bridge) that took us over the Rai River. We have been on quite a few of these on our hikes around New Zealand... The Lake Matheson Track in Fox Glacier, the Rail Tunnel Loop Walk in the Karangahake Gorge and the Hooker Valley Track at Mt Cook, to name a few goodies.
The girls love swinging on these types of bridges and ask Lath to run and jump on it so they are feeling the full effect of it swinging! I'm not the biggest fan of this... not a fan of heights, so the quicker I can get across the bridge, the better!
We were surprised how busy it was on the track but at the same time it's no surprise (ooooh, conflicting) as the Pelorus Bridge Scenic Reserve is a truly beautiful place that attracts a lot of visitors each day.
When we were at the carpark, we were reading some information boards about bats in the Pelorus Bridge Scenic Reserve. It's so weird to think of bats living in New Zealand but it's home to one of the last remaining population of bats in NZ - the long-tailed bats. It would be pretty cool to see these little guys out and about at dusk and you can often see them feeding off moths in the streetlights. The bats roost around 30 meters up in the trees so there's no chance of seeing them during the day.
Unfortunately, the usual suspects such as possums, stoats, rats and cats are causing a decline in the population of these blood sucking creatures but the team at Forest & Bird are working really hard to get rid of pests in the reserve, so you'll see a lot of traps around the tracks. Just doooon't be that one idiot who has to stick their hand in - it won't be pretty!
On the track we came across a suspension bridge (the girls LOVE a suspension bridge) that took us over the Rai River. We have been on quite a few of these on our hikes around New Zealand... The Lake Matheson Track in Fox Glacier, the Rail Tunnel Loop Walk in the Karangahake Gorge and the Hooker Valley Track at Mt Cook, to name a few goodies.
The girls love swinging on these types of bridges and ask Lath to run and jump on it so they are feeling the full effect of it swinging! I'm not the biggest fan of this... not a fan of heights, so the quicker I can get across the bridge, the better!
A Nature Fashion Designer In The Making
The Circle Loop Track really is beautiful - it's so lush and green, even in the middle of a very dry summer. We were thankful that it was a covered walk as it has been such a hot summer and we had been missing going on walks during the day. Anyone with kids knows that late arvo or evening walks aren't aaaaalways the best time to go walking because the kids could potentially be tired out by that time! Don't get me wrong, we have had some epic evening adventures and hikes (Lower Quail Stream in Blenheim was a family fav) but we do love a morning or day hike!
I can't say it was peaceful at all because WOW the cicadas were SOOOOO loud in the trees above us! There were some areas we walked through where it got so loud that it was absolutely ridiculous! From our experience all around New Zealand, it's safe to say that Marlborough has the loudest choir in the forests and bush.
Our hikes usually take us high up mountains or they go quite a long way, so it's not often we do a walk like the Circle Loop Track where it's flat and easy but it was good because we took our time a bit more to take photos and the girls were able to explore more without us all saying "right, let's just get up this 23847239473287492387489 metre hill, then we can take a break" (totally not an exaggeration AT ALL). They loved climbing along logs, finding insects and most importantly, finding fairy doors and windows in the trees.
Bella loves fashion design and is a big fan of dressing Sienna up in nature with leaves, flowers and whatever else she can find to make an outfit and crown for her. It's super cute and she has such a creative imagination. So she ended up making a very full and bushy skirt from some ferns, as well as a beautiful crown (just like the one she made on the Rail Tunnel Loop Track in the Karangahake Gorge). Sienna got a lot of compliments from people along the way which made Bella VERY proud.
The only thing that we DIDN'T like about the track was the amount of wasps that were hanging around. They seemed to love the black diseased trees and while they would keep tho themselves and not chase us, it wasn't nice to have to plan when we were crossing the wasp highway when they were buzzing between trees. This seems to be a common issue in Marlborough as we noticed it on the Tirohanga Track in Picton, down at Governors Bay Beach along the Queen Charlotte Track (oh boy, there were wasps EVERYWHERE on the beach) and even Whites Bay Beach north of Blenheim. In saying that, the stingy little flyers are generally there over summer in abundance but not so much the rest of the year. They seemed to not be too interested in us which was good!!
I can't say it was peaceful at all because WOW the cicadas were SOOOOO loud in the trees above us! There were some areas we walked through where it got so loud that it was absolutely ridiculous! From our experience all around New Zealand, it's safe to say that Marlborough has the loudest choir in the forests and bush.
Our hikes usually take us high up mountains or they go quite a long way, so it's not often we do a walk like the Circle Loop Track where it's flat and easy but it was good because we took our time a bit more to take photos and the girls were able to explore more without us all saying "right, let's just get up this 23847239473287492387489 metre hill, then we can take a break" (totally not an exaggeration AT ALL). They loved climbing along logs, finding insects and most importantly, finding fairy doors and windows in the trees.
Bella loves fashion design and is a big fan of dressing Sienna up in nature with leaves, flowers and whatever else she can find to make an outfit and crown for her. It's super cute and she has such a creative imagination. So she ended up making a very full and bushy skirt from some ferns, as well as a beautiful crown (just like the one she made on the Rail Tunnel Loop Track in the Karangahake Gorge). Sienna got a lot of compliments from people along the way which made Bella VERY proud.
The only thing that we DIDN'T like about the track was the amount of wasps that were hanging around. They seemed to love the black diseased trees and while they would keep tho themselves and not chase us, it wasn't nice to have to plan when we were crossing the wasp highway when they were buzzing between trees. This seems to be a common issue in Marlborough as we noticed it on the Tirohanga Track in Picton, down at Governors Bay Beach along the Queen Charlotte Track (oh boy, there were wasps EVERYWHERE on the beach) and even Whites Bay Beach north of Blenheim. In saying that, the stingy little flyers are generally there over summer in abundance but not so much the rest of the year. They seemed to not be too interested in us which was good!!
Weird And Wonderful
We noticed so many people walking the track as quickly as possible and we get it... sometimes you just want to get some exercise and some people aren't that into nature.... but we really took our time to see what we could find on this track and we found some really cool and interesting things!
My favourites were the tree root that looked like some bald stoat (picture shown further down) and the skeleton leaf - i's not often you see them. We tried to bring it home, but Sienna was carrying it and it certainly wasn't in one piece by the time we got to the car!
The forest seemed to be thriving and there was so much growth on everything, which made it really interesting to explore. It was almost like the West Coast, notably the Lake Matheson Track in Fox Glacier without the incredible blue shrooms (you gotta check it out here!).
After we'd spent a good hour or so in the forest and peering down at the emerald Pelorus River to see if we could spot any fish, we went across to the Pelorus Bridge Cafe for a coffee and some hot chips. The girls got to do some colouring in there which they really enjoyed doing while they waited for their food.
My favourites were the tree root that looked like some bald stoat (picture shown further down) and the skeleton leaf - i's not often you see them. We tried to bring it home, but Sienna was carrying it and it certainly wasn't in one piece by the time we got to the car!
The forest seemed to be thriving and there was so much growth on everything, which made it really interesting to explore. It was almost like the West Coast, notably the Lake Matheson Track in Fox Glacier without the incredible blue shrooms (you gotta check it out here!).
After we'd spent a good hour or so in the forest and peering down at the emerald Pelorus River to see if we could spot any fish, we went across to the Pelorus Bridge Cafe for a coffee and some hot chips. The girls got to do some colouring in there which they really enjoyed doing while they waited for their food.
Can you see the animal? Kinda like a bald/plucked stoat lol Don't worry, it's just the tree root!
The trees had so much black disease on them
We're not 100% sure what this is.... it could be fungus but also could be dried dog poop How beautiful is this skeleton leaf?
Know Before You Go
- The Circle Track is 1.7kms and takes 45-minutes
- The track is mostly flat
- Young kids need to be watched on the track goes along the riverbank, with big drops in some parts
- In summer there can be a lot of wasps on the track (they love the black, diseased trees for some reason!)
- The track is covered the whole way so is great on a hot summer's day or even on a drizzle winter's day to get away from the weather
- There are toilets at the carpark by the Pelorus Bridge Cafe
Mappy McMap Face
How To Get To The Pelorus Bridge Scenic Reserve Circle Loop Track
The Circle Loop Track is located in the Pelorus Scenic Reserve which is 1 hour from Nelson, 1 hour from Picton and 50-minutes from Blenheim.
The trail head starts on State Highway 6 and there are two carparking options - the first is by the Pelorus Bridge Cafe and the second is opposite this carpark, which is a smaller carpark but is the closest one to the trailhead and means you don't need to cross over the road to get there. This carpark is where other short walks in Pelorus start and the best place to get easy and quick river access.
The trail head for the Circle Loop Track starts on the right just across the bridge which is next to the carpark. It's a one-way bridge that has a pedestrian crossing area.
The trail head starts on State Highway 6 and there are two carparking options - the first is by the Pelorus Bridge Cafe and the second is opposite this carpark, which is a smaller carpark but is the closest one to the trailhead and means you don't need to cross over the road to get there. This carpark is where other short walks in Pelorus start and the best place to get easy and quick river access.
The trail head for the Circle Loop Track starts on the right just across the bridge which is next to the carpark. It's a one-way bridge that has a pedestrian crossing area.
Conclusion
If your kids are like ours and they absolutely love nature, thrive in it and love discovering new things then they'll love the Pelorus Bridge Scenic Reserve Circle Loop Track (what a mouth full!!). It's full of so many cool things and the walk itself is really easy. Pelorus Bridge Scenic Reserve is such a beautiful place and there are so many short walks in the area, pretty much all from the same carpark!
The bats feeding in the streetlights at night would be a really cool experience to see and you could all fashion some nature outfits, inspired by Arabella!
After a short or long walk, the Pelorus Bridge Cafe is just across the road from the carpark which is perfect for hungry little tummies.
The bats feeding in the streetlights at night would be a really cool experience to see and you could all fashion some nature outfits, inspired by Arabella!
After a short or long walk, the Pelorus Bridge Cafe is just across the road from the carpark which is perfect for hungry little tummies.
Gallery of the Pelorus Bridge Scenic Reserve Circle Loop Track
Check out the rest of the awesomeness that didn't make it to the main blog but deserves to be shown.
More walks in the South Island
COWANS HILL TRACK
CANTERBURY
A beautiful and peaceful walk up the back of Tekapo, full of lupins in Nov - Jan if you go down the right track. Great mountain views! |
CULLEN POINT LOOKOUT
MARLBOROUGH A quick 10-minute walk from the carpark through native NZ forest, showing incredible views of Mahau Sound and beyond. |
TASMAN GLACIER VIEWPOINT TRACK
CANTERBURY Walk the Tasman Glacier View Track and witness the stunning beauty of the largest glacier in New Zealand at Mt Cook.
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