Otago Canoe and Kayak Club

Lake Monowai is one of those wild places. It lies between the Hunter and Kaherekoau Mountians in Fiordland National Park. The gravel road that takes you to the put in lies about a third of the way from  Manapouri going south to Tuatapere. Raised in 1925, Lake Monowai was one of the first lakes in New Zealand to be controlled for hydro purposes. Alan Woods and I decided to make the most of the long weekend to go there and have a quiet paddle. The use of our sea kayaks made it very easy to pack plenty of food and tramping gear suitable for a winter trip ( including some coal ). Because of a poor weather forecast for the whole weekend we planned to sleep in huts but took a tent along as a precaution just in case we found the huts full.

Monowai is quite small compared to other lakes in the region, long skinny and sheltered by trees and mountians. At the north western reaches, mountians rise steeply and sheer from the water`s edge. The lake has three, easy to access Department of Conservation huts. The first one is on the right in Rodger Inlet. From this hut there is a track leading up to the Green Lake. The second hut is half way down the lake, but on the left at Eel Creek. The third and largest hut is at the head of the lake. This hut is the best of the three; it sleeps twelve and is equipped with a fire, running water and a sink. From there a track leads to Clarke Hut and on into the Grebe.

Day 1  We paddled the whole length of the lake. By crossing the lake twice we were able to stop to explore each hut site and do a little sunbathing. Total paddling time was five hours.

Day 2 dawned cold, wet and windy. We made the most of the day by walking up to Green Hut, a return trip of just under five hours through some pretty boggy places.

Day 3 We chose to travel much closer to the shore enjoying the dense bush, giant trees, birds and streams. A series of stunning rainbows marked the progress of heavy rain passing by us on the other eastern side of the lake while we remained in sunshine all the way.

Company in the hut was mixed. Our first night was shared with a group of generous and very able hunters. They shared tales of the bush and freshly caught  deer and fish. The second night three younger men joined us. One of whom got so drunk that he fell off the top bunk during the night in his haste to get outside. Of course being drunk he did not hurt himself and true to form they started the next day with a beer and fried up Jimmy`s pie.

As Les Coxhead used to say "Fiordland is there for all of us to enjoy and explore".

Maggie Oakley