Hiking journal #004: Lake Marian Track
Date: 12th December, 2019
Trail: Lake Marian Track
Where: Fiordland National Park, New Zealand
The Lake Marian Track is one of my favourite short day hikes in New Zealand. It has a great variety of dense forests, a flowing river and a grand view of a picture perfect alpine lake in front of a snow capped mountain.
The track begins from the Lake Marian carpark, which is 1 km down Hollyford Road. You will be introduced with a swing bridge that will allow you to cross the river and begin the track. This may be an interesting experience for people who haven’t been on a swing bridge before. You can easily feel off balance if there is more than one person on the bridge as each step forces it to sway in different directions.
Swing bridge at the start of the trail.
Most of the track is marked well and should be easy to follow as long as you keep an eye out for the triangle markers. The trail itself is mostly immersed in a very lush green forest and follows the river for a while at the start.
It is important to have some level of fitness for this track as it can be tough for people who don’t hike somewhat regularly. The hike isn’t too long being around 3 hrs return, but it can get steep at 421m elevation. The elevation is what might be a challenge for some people.
Once you reach the end you are presented with what I personally believe is one of the best views in New Zealand. It is a very serene space that makes you feel like you are a million miles away from civilisation.
I have completed this track twice - the first time was in September and the most recent time (being the one this journal is following), was in December. In September you were able to walk down to the rocks to get better angles and spots to sit and relax. However, in December, the lake’s water levels rose up all the way to the hike’s end point, meaning you could not see any rocks or walk anywhere. You were restricted to just a couple metres of space.
I would highly recommend this track to almost anyone. As long as you have done a hike or two in the past, it is a guaranteed great experience and the hike I’ll definitely keep doing every time I come back to the country. Be prepared though as sand flies are easily the worst aspect of this track, along with almost every other track in New Zealand. I did notice that they only generally hang around the start of the track, giving you some reprieve along the way at least!
Hiking gear:
Kathmandu Gore tex Jacket
Kathmandu hiking boots (2015, discontinued)