Name |
Glenorchy Boardwalk |
Location |
Glenorchy |
Co-ordinates |
1235113 5023334 |
Alternative co-ordinates |
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Configuration |
Loop |
Distance |
4 km |
Status |
On-leash |
Grade |
Easy |
Access |
Beside golf course, end of Oban Street, Glenorchy. |
Description |
In many ways this easy walk is unassuming. From a grassy strip beside the golf course, it runs first along a gravel track and then a looping boradwalk through the marshes. Lots of birds, a sense of placidity and far-awayness, mountain views . . . bliss! |
Connecting tracks |
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Further information |
Glenorchy Boardwalk
Glenorchy has to be one of my favourite places in New Zealand. The nearby mountains are mainly out-of-bounds for dogs, but the village is just like a village should be. Not showy, not trying to be what it isn’t, but just making the best of what it is, with its proud little school, its eclectic café and shop, a hotel/pub that serves absolutely wonderful food, a small but excellently provisioned camp site and a real sense of community and freedom. Oh – and wonderful views.
The boardwalk at Glenorchy is a pleasant 1-hour stroll in a figure-of-eight configuration. The rules about dogs is simple: under strict control. But there are nesting birds around, so it’s off-leash if you can trust your dog, but on-leash if you can’t, for it’s the sort of place that deserves respect and protection. The going is easy on either a gravel path or slatted boards – though the latter inevitably brought surly looks from Merlin, our Springer spaniel, who objects to them for their wire-netting surface and scary gaps between the boards. The lagoons are modest affairs, the mud on either of the boardwalk red with iron as Merlin found out when he slipped off the edge. But there are ducks and black swans to watch, and the wider views to the mountains are cause enough to be there. What adds to the pleasure, though, is that it’s easy to extend the walk by another couple of kilometres, first by exploring the golf-course near the start (and end) of the boardwalk, and then by following the track that runs down to the lake edge, and from there by wandering through the haphazard series of small grassy reserves, and if you want by continuing on the tracks at the end of the waterfront, either further along the lake or inland towards the entrance to the Bonnie Jean mine.
It’s the sort of place where the day passes easily, without any great dramas, and leaves you feeling relaxed and fulfilled at the end. I can’t wait to go back again.
The boardwalk at Glenorchy is a pleasant 1-hour stroll in a figure-of-eight configuration. The rules about dogs is simple: under strict control. But there are nesting birds around, so it’s off-leash if you can trust your dog, but on-leash if you can’t, for it’s the sort of place that deserves respect and protection. The going is easy on either a gravel path or slatted boards – though the latter inevitably brought surly looks from Merlin, our Springer spaniel, who objects to them for their wire-netting surface and scary gaps between the boards. The lagoons are modest affairs, the mud on either of the boardwalk red with iron as Merlin found out when he slipped off the edge. But there are ducks and black swans to watch, and the wider views to the mountains are cause enough to be there. What adds to the pleasure, though, is that it’s easy to extend the walk by another couple of kilometres, first by exploring the golf-course near the start (and end) of the boardwalk, and then by following the track that runs down to the lake edge, and from there by wandering through the haphazard series of small grassy reserves, and if you want by continuing on the tracks at the end of the waterfront, either further along the lake or inland towards the entrance to the Bonnie Jean mine.
It’s the sort of place where the day passes easily, without any great dramas, and leaves you feeling relaxed and fulfilled at the end. I can’t wait to go back again.