Bev and Larry New Zealand 2012: December 18, 2012 Wilderness Lodge at Lake Moeraki

Today was a free day with optional outdoor activities of kayaking or hiking through the unspoiled rainforest. We signed up for the three hour Walk the Lower Moeraki Rainforest Track and Kayak the Moeraki River to the Tasman Seacost” activity. Gerry McSweeney, owner of the lodge, took us on the guided nature trip through the rainforest. He discussed many of the unique flora in the rainforest and pointed out the ferns, mosses, and trees (epiphyte-laden)filled with up to 101 species of plants living in their branches. We stopped at the base of one of the tall trees and had tea, coffee, hot chocolate, and cookies before continuing on the trek to the Burglar huts Burglar Robinson lived and caught white bait on the Moeraki River for selling on the open market. Further on we saw the Shady Rest home and then on to the Moeraki Lagoon for the kayaks to kayak down to the Tasman Sea. The kayaking took us down the Moeraki River through the forest and past flax plants filled with native birds. Along the way we saw the white bait platforms that are lowered for attaching nets to catch white bait. In a short while, we reached the Moeraki Beach on the Tasman Sea with the surf pounding the Moeraki inlet. We beached the kayaks and walked along the beach to look up the Tasman Seacoast with its towering cliffs and surf. Kayaking on the river was very peaceful. Aas we returned to the small lagoon the water was so still that the shoreline vegetation was reflected perfectly in the water.

At 6:15 pm we met for a tour of the hydropower generating station for the lodge. It consists of a turbine through which some water diverted from the river is directed for a 6 ft fall through the turbine. This generates 40 kw of power at a cost of $10/week to provide sufficient power for the entire lodge operation. At 7 pm we met for our group meeting, which was followed by dinner in the dining room.