Features

Human History

Martins Bay, known to Ngāi Tahu as Kotuku, was an important settlement between 1650 and 1800 giving easy access to food resources in the nearby lakes, sea and forests, as well as pounamu (New Zealand jade). Large trees on the river banks were felled to make canoes for use on the lakes and ancient Māori middens have been found on the sea side of the estuary.

Captain Alabaster, a whaler, was one of the first Europeans to explore the valley. In 1863 he met Ngāi Tahu chief Tutoko at Martins Bay and named the chief’s daughters Sara and May. Dr. James Hector, the first provincial geologist of Otago, visited later the same year and named the hills above the bay after the girls.

Dr. Hector travelled up the Hollyford Valley to Queenstown, and reported favourably on timber, indications of gold, iron, copper and zinc in the area. He also suggested a road through the area could be built and the idea is still a controversial issue.

Jamestown and the settlement at Martins Bay were doomed by isolation and only a few settlers stayed on. Among them were Hugh and Malcolm McKenzie, who raised cattle and drove them to sale-yards at Mossburn over 250 kms away. Today the Jamestown site is marked by ancient rose bushes and apple trees. Rose bushes also survive at Big Bay and at Jerusalem Creek there are sycamore trees planted by the early settlers.

Lake McKerrow

In 1926 the McKenzie brothers sold out to David Gunn who continued running cattle and started guiding tourists from the Hollyford Camp. Since David Gunn’s death in 1955, his son Murray has managed Gunn’s Camp.

Each spring the juveniles of several native fish of the galaxid family begin their annual migration up the river. These inanga, or whitebait, were an important traditional food item and today are still an important recreation fishery.

Natural History

The U shaped Hollyford Valley was carved by a huge glacier, about 20,000 years ago. It left behind the Donne Glacier on the eastern face of Mt Tutoko. Lake McKerrow/Whakatipu Waitai was originally a fiord which was cut off from the sea by sedimentary deposits at Martins Bay.

The lowland forests, rivers, lakes, estuary and coast of the valley provides habitats for birds and animals. The main forest is silver beech with kāmahi, kahikatea, mataī and rimu. The forested areas have a rich understorey of coprosmas, wineberry, fuchsia and pepperwood, with abundant ferns, mosses and lichens.

Small birds; tomtit, robin, brown creeper, bellbird, grey warbler, fantail, rifleman and silver eye are still common in many areas in spite of introduced predators. The large forest parrot, the kākā, is a feature of the valley, often calling at dusk.

Kererū, the native fruit pigeon, can be seen when kōwhai and other blooms and fruit are available. Rātā and flax attract the honey eaters, tūī and bellbird. Fiordland crested penguins nest in scrub and rocks near Long Reef where there is a fur seal colony. Fernbirds live in areas of swamp and scrub scattered through the valley, while bitterns hide in reeds at Martins Bay. Occasionally the kōtuku, or white heron, winters over at the bay. Ducks, shags, gulls and terns can be seen in the Hollyford estuary and schools of dolphins regularly visit the lake. Introduced animals include red deer, possums, rabbits, stoats and rats. The rare pekapeka or native short- tail bat is present but not common.

back to top