Cockayne Nature Walk: Arthur's Pass National Park: 29th May 2020

Heading for Punakaiki for Queens Birthday....

My partner Karen and I went for our first post Covid-19 lock down holiday over Queens Birthday weekend. We headed over to the West Coast of the South Island and spent three excellent days in Punakaiki. It was an awesome trip possibly the best holiday I have ever had with the lovely company, great scenery and stunning weather.

The main drag through Arthur's Pass Village, Arthur's Pass NP

At the Cockayne Nature Walk in Arthur's Pass NP

The Pororairi River from the Paparoa Great Walk Track

The famous Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki on the West Coast of the South Island

Dolomite Point and the Punakaiki River mouth, Punakaiki, West Coast

The Punakaiki Cavern, on SH6 at Punakaiki

It was really good to be able to get out and travel once again and many other Kiwis were doing likewise. We based ourselves in Punakaiki and spent two days walking the local tracks and visiting some of the points of interest in the area. 

On Truman's Track about 5 kilometres north of Punakaiki

At Cape Foulwind Lighthouse, Westport on the way home...

On the way we went through Arthur's Pass National Park and we stopped just past Otira at the Cockayne Nature Walk and went for a stroll along the short 30 minute track. This is where Professor Cockayne had a botanical retreat in the early 1900's as the area contains a great variety of alpine and sub alpine flora. 

Cockayne Nature Walk: start of the walk at Kelly's Creek

I have been meaning to stop and walk the track for a long time now as I regularly pass it on my way to/from other tramps...so for your edification here is what you can expect to see on the Cockayne Nature Walk.

Walking the Cockayne Nature Walk, Otira

The Cockayne Nature Walk is located at Kelly's Creek which is approximately three kilometers west of Otira township. There is a car-park here for the Cockayne Walk as well as the tracks to Carroll Hut and Hunts Creek Hut.

Signs at the start of the Cockayne Nature Walk at Kelly's Creek

The Cockanye Nature Walk is at Kellys Creek near Otira

The area is a recognised backcountry campsite and while it is terribly basic there is a flat area for tents and a toilet visitors can use. If you stay here you can take water from Kelly's Creek as the watershed has no habitation on it but boil it or treat it before use. 

Kelly's Creek with the Kelly Range in the distance...

The walk is named after Professor Leonard Cockanye who was a leading botanist in New Zealand in the early 1900's. He had a cottage located here which he used for studying flora in the surrounding hills and valleys.

The Kelly Creek car-park, near Otira, Arthur's Pass NP

 Leonard Cockayne was also one of the prime movers in the formation of several nature reserves and parks including Arthur's Pass National Park. He believed it was a unique area which needed to be protected from the rampant development which was so prevalent in early New Zealand. 

Cockayne Nature Walk: information panel about Professor Cockayne

Professor Cockayne taught throughout New Zealand, he received many awards and accolades & became the elder statesman of botany in his latter years. There are a number of places named after him including this walk, a reserve in Arthur's Pass township and several geographical features across the country. 

Clearer version of the Professor Cockayne information panel

The Cockayne Walk is about 1 kms in length so it takes about 25-30 minutes to complete the full circuit. The track starts right at the Kelly Creek car-park and goes up along a spur to a plateau and then sidles down through the forest to emerge onto the river flats alongside Kelly's Creek.

Heading up hill on the Cockayne Nature Walk

Karen on the Cockayne Nature Walk

We choose to walk the uphill section first....the rough, mossy track follows a series of switch backs to a point about 80 meters above the car park. The track is not well marked but it is easy to follow...there is a clear ground path despite not receiving many visitors.

Native Fushia grove near the start of the Cockayne Nature Walk

Close-up of a Fuschia Tree, Cockayne Nature Walk

The track is steep, moss covered and slippery. Karen decided that the shoes she was wearing were not up to the task after a couple of hundred meters so she turned around and headed back to the car. I continued along the path..I recommend you wear good shoes or boots on this track with a grippy sole. I think a walking pole could also be useful to maintain your balance as you walk...

Karen climbing the Cockayne Nature Walk

Cockayne Nature Walk: there are a number of interpretive panels....

There is a wide variety of sub alpine and alpine trees as well as some large podocarp trees including Rimu, Rata, Totora, Miro and Hinau. There are a lot of useful information panels along the track which give you excellent information about the species located nearby.

Steep climb at the start of the Cockayne Nature Walk...

Mixed podocarp forest along the Cockayne Nature Walk

Cockayne Nature Walk: typical dense undergrowth...

After walking for 10 minutes you come to a clearing with a clear view down to the Kelly Creek car-park...from here it is about another 5 minutes climb to get to the apex or high point of the track. The forest gets more open as you climb as the forest starts to thin in the poor soils along the top of this spur.

Looking down to Kelly's Creek from the Cockayne Nature Walk

Cockayne Nature Walk: Southern Rata information panel

Cockayne Nature Walk: Southern Rata...

Approaching the apex of the Cockayne Nature Walk

There is a long flat plateau leading off towards the Otira River...you walk along this for about five minutes before the spur begins to descend towards the river once again. There are some impressive examples of various trees along this plateau include a couple of large Rimu trees and some Mountain Totora trees.

Cockayne Nature Walk: Rimu information panel

Cockayne Nature Walk: Rimu tree...

Last rise along the Cockayne Nature Walk....

There is a bench half way across the plateau....I sat here for a couple of minutes and listened to the birds in the surrounding forest. I heard some Fantails, Bellbirds and a Tui along here and I also think I could hear a Kaka as well...they make quite a distinctive sound and I have seen/heard a few lately in Fiordland and on Rakuira.

Bench at the top of the Cockayne Nature Walk

Kaka numbers are on the rise so they are becoming more common through many forests in the South Island. They look very similar to Kea but are less colorful & tend to occupy dense bush and forested valley bottoms. 

The Cockayne Nature Walk meanders along a flat plateau...

It was nice sitting on the bench but I was concerned that Karen would wonder where I was so I set off once again and started the slow winding walk back down towards Kelly Creek. 

Cockayne Nature Walk: Hinau information panel

Cockayne Nature Walk: young Hinau trees...

The track looks flat in the following photos but it was actually on a slight downward decline...

Starting the descent along the Cockayne Nature Walk

Cockayne Nature Walk: Totora information panel

Cockayne Nature Walk: a young Totora tree...

There is a Fantail in the bush on the right of this photo...it had been following me along the track for the last 10 meters. There seem to be a lot of Fantails out at the moment...I saw several on this walk and they were numerous at Punakaiki. They are probably confused by the unusual warm weather this year and think it is Spring already.....

Cockayne Nature Walk: there is a Fantail in the tree on the right....

Just before you start down the stairs there is a semi clear view out to the Otira River....I could hear the passing cars on SH73 as the road is right at the base of this spur. There were a few cars on the road but not as many as I expected given it was the start of a long weekend. I imagine it was very busy on Saturday as that is when most people would have been travelling.

View down to the Otira River from the Cockayne Nature Walk

Cockayne Nature Walk: Heading down to Kelly's Creek...

Jon on the Cockayne Nature Walk, Arthur's Pass

Cockayne Nature Walk: Broadleaf information panel...

Cockayne Nature Walk: a grove of Broadleaf trees

Hinau and Miro trees on the Cockayne Nature Walk

There are a lot of Lancewood trees at this end of the plateau. I have always thought Lancewood was a strange tree...when it is young it develops tough, sharp downward facing leaves on a long tough trunk. As it reaches maturity it develops a rounder head with softer leaves. 

Some botanists posit that it was a defense against Moa which were the predominant herbivore in ancient New Zealand. Several plant species adapted to protect themselves from Moa who ate their leaves and seeds. 

Cockayne Nature Walk: Lancewood information panel...

Cockayne Nature Walk: Lancewood trees...

This end of the track is a series of stairs...they are a bit the worse for wear so be careful as it was damn slippery. The stairs are not in a good state of repair...this whole track could do with a good cleanup as it was quite rough and ready. The track needs better marking, a bit of a cut back and gravel chucked down at strategic spots.

Cockayne Nature Walk: heading downhill towards SH73...

...indistinct track along the Cockayne Nature Walk..

The Cockayne Nature Walk is not well marked...

Cockayne Nature Walk: stairs heading down to Kelly's Creek

There were a number of Miro and Hinau trees at this end of the Cockayne Walk...both are endemic to podocarp forest but not so common in the rest of Arthur's Pass NP. The predominant tree type is beech but the plentiful rainfall and temperate climate on the West Coast allows other tree types to flourish.

Cockayne Nature Walk: Miro tree information panel

Cockayne Nature Walk: a couple of Miro trees

Switchback on the Cockayne Nature Walk as I head down...

The walk will deposit you at the start of the gravel road alongside Kelly's Creek...you can follow this back to the car-park if you like. It think it is better to stay on the actual track which winds through the forest about 10 meters in from the road. It is surrounded by dense bush and the most common tree is native Fuschia with its paper like bark.

The Cockayne Nature Walk opens on to SH73 at Kelly Creek

Cockayne Nature Walk: walking along the track back to the car park

Dense bush on the flat section of the Cockayne Nature Walk

Fuschia is a lovely looking tree...they have thin orange bark on them which makes an excellent fire starting material. In spring they are covered in sweet smelling pink-purple flowers that are beloved by nectar seeking insects and birds.

Fuschia along the Cockayne Walk at Kelly's Creek

Fuschia are very slow growing plants so normally they are 3 meters tall and about as thick as your arm. There are some enormous examples of Fuschia along this track...some are over a meter around the trunk and 5-10 meters tall so they must be ancient. This is probably one of the reasons Leonard Cockayne liked the area so much.

Cockayne Nature Walk: Fuschia information panel

Cockayne Nature Walk: really large example of a native Fuschia Tree...

Moss covered path near the end of the Cockayne Nature Walk

After about 300 meters the track will drop you onto the edge of the car park clearing...the toilet is near this edge of the clearing. I would be happy to leave my car here for the 30 minutes it takes to walk the Cockayne Walk but I would not leave a car here over night.

End of the Cockayne Nature Walk at Kelly's Creek car-park

The whole of SH73 is beset by vandals (...bunch of dirty bastards...) who steal or break into cars...it is a real problem. I once arrived to visit Carroll Hut and found a still smoking car ruin that they had set on fire. If you wanted to head into the hills along here it is better to leave your car up near the Otira pub and hitch/walk back to this point.

Kelly's Creek car-park and the Cockayne Nature Walk

View up Kelly's Creek to the Kelly Range from the car-park

The Cockayne Nature Walk is a nice little track and is well worth your time to stop and have a look. It is an excellent excursion if you are travelling over Arthur's Pass on your way to/from some other longer tramp in the surrounding area. 

View down Kelly's Creek to SH 73, the Otira River and Goat Hill (1654 asl)

Make sure you have some good grippy shoes/boots on when you visit as the track is very slippery and rough in places. There is some hill climbing required to make it up to the plateau along the track so bear this in mind. Nothing to difficult...it just isn't a wheelchair friendly track!

Bring a good jacket with you...remember this is the West Coast so rain is more common than sunshine. This area is sandfly heaven in Spring/Summer..they don't tend to bother you when you are walking or in thick bush but they are relentless around the car park. 

Cheers all!!!

Access: The Kelly Creek turn off is approximately 4 kilometer's west of Otira, there is a short gravel road on the western end of the Kelly Creek Bridge on SH73 (Christchurch to Greymouth). The car park is 300 meters from the turn off, the Cockayne Nature Walk starts right from the car-park.   

Track Times: From the start of the track it takes approximately 30-40 minutes to complete the circuit...the track can be walked in either direction.

Miscellaneous:Kelly Creek car-park is also a backcountry campsite. Toilets and water from the river but no other facilities. The track is rough and slippery so wear appropriate footwear and take a good jacket. DO NOT leave valuables in sight as this car-park is targeted by vandals.