The water levels were pretty low and so we were able to make our way along the shore to a comfortable spot to enjoy our picnic. The weather couldn’t have been nicer, such a rare occurrence in Fiordland, and so after lunch I decided to take advantage of the clear skies and head up to the lookout whilst Eric relaxed by the lake.
After following the lake shore for a short distance, the track turned inland and started climbing rapidly through the forest. Like so many of the tracks here in New Zealand, there were no switchbacks to lessen the grade, instead the track just went straight up the side of the mountain. In places, the roots from trees formed a kind of ladder that I could use to pull myself up the steeper sections.
After a while, I came to the first break in the trees and I was able to get a glimpse of Lake Hauroko far below me. It was suddenly clear that the steep climb was going to be well worth it once I got to the lookout.
A little while later I came to the lookout, what turned out to be a rocky clearing. Perched high above the lake I had fantastic views over the almost the entire 30 kilometer (18.5 mile) length of the ‘s’ shaped lake.
Looking south I was able to pick out the jetty and beach where we had eaten lunch as well as the Forveaux Straight on the horizon. The trip back down to the car was a lot quicker and soon we were heading back to our accommodation in order to get our rucksacks ready for our next hiking adventure that would be starting in the morning.