Travel Time
12 minutes. (Located 3 Km South of Ohaupo.)
The reserve is one of very few remaining peat lake systems in the region that has retained many of its unique characteristics and spectacular native aquatic plant communities free of invasive submerged weeds. Long and short-
finned eel, common bully and a lakebound population of smelt are found in the lakes, along with fourteen species of water birds. These include the now threatened grey duck, Australasian bittern, dabchick, spotless crake and banded
rail.
In addition the lake margins have wellestablished reed beds and, further back, there are areas of flax, manuka,
swamp coprosma species and kahikatea forest. Of particular note is the recently acquired kahikatea stand and an area of peatforming species including the rare giant jointed rush Sporodanthus ferruginous. The vegetation
diversity and ecological values are high and the lakes’ water quality is amongst the best in the region.