Moraine Walk

Moraine Walk is an easy-to-moderate out-and-back from the SH 63/Lodge Road junction on St Arnaud’s western edge to the Buller River. The mapped corridor is about 2.5 km one way; retracing it makes roughly 5 km total (about 3.1 miles) and takes around 1.5 to 2 hours. Published figures differ: one gives 4 km return, while another measures 2.7 km to the river. Plan around 5 km if you return the way you came. This route stays low around Black Hill; it does not climb to the summit, which belongs to a different walk.

The path crosses moraine left by the ancient Travers Glacier and passes small kettle ponds formed where blocks of ice melted inside gravel. Stony deposits make some footing uneven, but this is a low-level walk rather than a hill climb. Dense mānuka and kānuka form a close corridor around Black Hill. Along the Buller River, these shrubs can mark early forest regrowth after fire as beech returns.

Begin at the SH 63/Lodge Road junction and continue behind West Bay Campsite to the Buller River; turn around there for the out-and-back described here. Anglers Walk continues along the river as a separate extension with different return logistics. A car park and jetty sit beside West Bay Campsite, but no dedicated parking is confirmed at the documented start. Dogs are prohibited on these tracks. Summer sandflies can be heavy, wasps are common from December to April, and freezing conditions can occur in any season, so bring warm, waterproof layers. No food or drinking-water point is confirmed along the walk.