When my parents came to visit, we decided to risk heading over to the West Coast to Lake Kaniere. Eric and I hadn’t been to the area before, but had heard good things about Lake Kaniere and the promise of some fishing seemed to make it the perfect spot to spend the weekend.
Of course, the West Coast is known for being quite wet, and Lake Kaniere is no exception with an average of almost 4,000mm (160 inches) of precipitation a year.
This summer had already seen some pretty intensive rainstorms hit the West Coast and as we ventured out on the first day we could see first hand the erosion that had recently occurred at the side of the track.
With my ankle surgery just a few weeks away, we picked an easy trail to explore and walked up the Arahura River. Our destination was the rather unfortunately named area know as The Cesspool.
Eventually the track left the river and started climbing more steadily up through the forest, and after a short scramble up some rocks, we caught sight of the swing bridge that marked The Cesspool.
As swing bridges go, this one wasn’t a particularly crazy one, although I don’t think anything will phase faze us after the three-wire bridges we crossed on the Hollyford Track. Although any time a bridge has a one person maximum load sign, you know it is going to be an interesting crossing! The views down to the Cesspool from the bridge were great, and a break in the rain meant that the river was a beautiful turquoise colour.
After spending a bit of time testing our nerve on the swing bridge and enjoying the views, we retraced our steps to the trail head. We remained none the wiser as to how this beautiful pool got it’s name, but were happy to have had a chance to explore the valley and not need our rain jackets!