Parking
Lake Rotoroa car park and jetty; the walk starts just to their right.
Overview
About Flower Brothers Walk
Why go
- A quick walk through kahikatea-dominated forest beside the lake outlet.
- The short point-to-point route links the car park with the lodge-side road.
Heads up
- The published 500 m one-way distance and available mapped linework do not agree.
- Retrace the route to return to the Lake Rotoroa car park.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Nelson Lakes map
Full mapElevation449–464 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
3 active Nelson Lakes alerts
- ClosureRotoroa Route permanently closedThe Rotoroa Route is permanently closed along the eastern side of Lake Rotoroa between Rotoroa village and Sabine Hut.Official details
- CautionUnbridged stream between Sabine and D’Urville hutsThe bridge on the track between Sabine Hut and D’Urville Hut has been removed; trampers must cross an unbridged stream at GR E1571366 N5359831.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Nelson Lakes Tour Guide
Your drive to Flower Brothers Walk, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Nelson Lakes National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this trailhead
Lake Rotoroa Foreshore0:00 / 0:32
“You're nearing Lake Rotoroa's northern foreshore, at the end of Gowan Valley Road. Stop here for a walk onto the jetty and a look down the lake between forested mountain slopes.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Nelson Lakes Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Braeburn Walk and Falls
- Rotoiti's Mainland Island
- An Eel's Ocean Journey
- Listen for the Whio
- 26 audio storiesacross Nelson Lakes’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor New Zealand Falcon, Weka, Kererū, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 57 trails, 47 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Flower Brothers Walk
Between the lake and outletFlower Brothers Walk links the Lake Rotoroa access with the road near Rotoroa Lodge in about 15…
Flower Brothers Walk links the Lake Rotoroa access with the road near Rotoroa Lodge in about 15 minutes. It is listed at 500 m one way, though available mapped track lines cover much less; the published distance and drawn line do not yet agree.
Start and finishBegin just to the right of the Lake Rotoroa car park and jetty.
Begin just to the right of the Lake Rotoroa car park and jetty. The point-to-point walk passes the lake outlet and reaches a road near Lake Rotoroa Lodge; retrace the same path to return. Dogs are not allowed.
Kahikatea and the Flower familyThe route passes through mixed podocarp–beech forest dominated by kahikatea.
The route passes through mixed podocarp–beech forest dominated by kahikatea. It commemorates early Lake Rotoroa settlers Cyril and Hubert Flower. Kahikatea, New Zealand’s tallest native tree, often reaches 60 m; its wet lowland forests have been widely cleared.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Nelson Lakes
20 sightingsNew Zealand FalconMost seen around 9 AMSighting map
39 sightingsWekaMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
11 sightingsKererūMost seen around 9 AMSighting map
55 sightingsBlack SwanMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
23 sightingsParadise ShelduckMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
17 sightingsTūīMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Nelson Lakes. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
