Not to be confused with the Westmere Walkway , which is also a great walk, in a completely different part of town. Turns out Westmere is a very big “rural community” that covers basically all of rural Whanganui on the northern side of the river. So. Now you know.
The Maori name for this lake is Roto Mokoia (“Roto”= lake, “Mokoia” = tattooed) and was so named after a chief was tattooed on the shores of the lake. This name is sadly not yet formally recognised.
Track Facts
- 1.8km
- 25minute walk
- Easy track
- Kid friendly
- No dogs (really important as there is a large baiting operation at the moment)
- No swimming in the lake
Westmere Lake Wildlife Refuge / nature reserve is located on Rapanui Road, about a 5 minute drive out of Whanganui (heading north). To get there, simply take SH3 out of Whanganui (signs to New Plymouth) until you get to the Caltex and sign pointing to Kai Iwi beach. Here you want to turn left on to Rapanui Road and the lake (and car park) is on your right in 750m. Easy enough.
If you keep going down this road you will get to Bason Botanic Gardens, and further still to Kai Iwi / Mowhanau Beach. Both of these places are must-dos if you are visiting Whanganui. I would recommend hitting all three and having lunch ready for a picnic at any one of these spots.
The track itself is a very basic dirt/grass track. While on the whole it is well maintained, it is much more “rugged” than Virginia Lake, although I think you could still get a off-road push chair around pretty easily (if you have another person to help a bit as there is one particularly tricky section). There is a picnic table part way through the walk (going counterclockwise) that would be a great turning around point for little ones in a pram, as after this point the track does become more uneven.
The walk is mostly flat, although there is an option of a loop add-on (which I haven’t done) that looks a bit steeper if you want a bit of next level effort. The lake is 8 hectares in size, up to 6meters deep and is surrounded by 20 hectares of bush and farmland. Sadly, you can’t swim or participate in other recreational activities due to high levels of nutrients and E. coli.
While there are some views of the lake, I must say that the track leaves you wanting more. The vegetation between the track and the lake edge is often tall and obscured what would be a great view. It does give you a great opportunity though to enjoy native trees, being under a canopy and forest bathing, which I love (see Shinrin-yoku).
The sign at the start has some interesting history to read. Some facts that caught my attention were the following:
- In the 1920s students at Westmere School used the lake for swimming lessons
- On 12 Feb 1929 there was a sort of eruption from the lake that covered the vegetation in a blueish sulphurous sediment (maybe from geothermal activity?)
- A man name Henry Churton purchased the lake in 1848 and named it Lake Westmere (reason unknown).
Anyway, that’s all for now. But I’ve included some more pics of the walk below 🙂
Happy hiking / exploring
Xx
Moochelle.
There is a rich variety of bird life in the forest and on the water. For such a small forest it is better than you would expect. If you are lucky you may even see a morepork, especially in the spring or summer