Bellbird Walk
Lake Rotoiti - Nelson Lakes National Park
Your Nature Guide
Marios Gavalas
Author And Researcher
Nau mai, haere mai
Nau mai, haere mai
I'm Marios, delivering the best of Aotearoa's nature walks to your device.
I've personally walked hundreds of New Zealand's tracks and spent months in libraries uncovering interesting information on New Zealand/Aotearoa. And you'll find a slice of that research on this page - enjoy!
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Photos
Information
Bellbird Walk
800 m return | 15 minutes return
Nelson Lake National Park is a mountainous park, studded with lakes. Lake Rotoiti is the best known. The mountains rise to over 2500m and are snow-capped in winter.
This is an easy stroll.
Walking Track
Access
In St Arnaud, Kerr Bay Road is signposted on the right. Park at the DoC visitor centre or continue to the lake edge. The start of the track is signposted at the eastern end of Kerr Bay (left looking towards the lake).
Track
The track is well marked and the surface is well graded and suitable for wheelchairs.
Fauna
The enchanting calls of the bellbird Anthornis melanura are one of the most captivating sounds of the New Zealand forest. The bellbird is often heard, but rarely seen, as its sweet song is carried through the vegetation. These bell-like notes are learned from neighbouring adults of the same sex or parents. Often bellbirds are heard in tandem, singing and counter-singing to determine territorial spacing. Pairs are monogamous and may duet. These honeyeaters take nectar from many native trees. In autumn, by feeding on berries, they act as important seed-dispersing agents in the ecology of the forest.
Details
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Organisation |
DOC Nelson/TasmanCentral government organisation |
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Location |
South Island ▷ Nelson Region ▷ St Arnaud |
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Directions To Coordinates |
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Coordinates |
Walking
Nearby
Reviews
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5.0/5
Excellent short walk, the entrance is a bit hard to find - go to the 2nd carpark after the visitors centre, there is a sign for another Kiwi Campsite, go past that & into the forest a bit & you will see
the sign for the walk & the info board hidden amongst the trees.
The Campsite here is also fabulous!
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5.0/5
Wonderful walk in wonderful weather.
We have never seen so many bellbirds anywhere else! Remarkable, and they were quite bold, so some great photos with some pretty ordinary camera gear
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5.0/5
Great little walk in the rain.
Worth the time. But watch the signs as there is a network of tracks in this area and a wrong turn will lead to a longer walk than you may have expected.
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4.5/5
We only did the short loop tracks but can recommend these for a pleasant walk under one hour.
Bird life is returning.
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4.5/5
Super example of mainland species control, beautifully laid out track with informative display through the Honey Dew Forest.
Tip: Take sandwiches and do the whole track!
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4.5/5
It rained, we got bitten by sandflies, but we heard bellbirds + learned about honeydew.
It was very beautiful and very peaceful.
