Description
Lake Clearwater Circuit
Track category: Walking track
Time: 3 hr
Distance: 10.3 km
Walk or mountain bike around the lake shore.
This is a shared-use track. Follow the mountain bikers code: respect others, respect the rules, respect the track.
Lake Clearwater to Mount Guy summit
Track category: Tramping track
Time: 3 hr one way
Distance: 4.3 km
Climb Mount Guy (1319 m) for fantastic views.
Lake Clearwater to Mystery Lake
Track category: Tramping track
Time: 4 hr one way
Distance: 11.8 km
The area around Mystery Lake is fascinating, with steep roche moutonnées (rocky ‘knobs’ smoothed by passing glaciers), jumbled scree and (surprising for such a treeless area) large Hall’s tōtara.
Return the same way or continue to Potts River car park (4 hr, 9.2 km), another 7 km down Hakatere Potts Road.
Getting there
Lake Clearwater is on Hakatere Potts Road, about 33 km west of Mount Somers. Leave Mount Somers on Ashburton Gorge Road, which becomes Hakatere Potts Road.
Know before you go
Before you go into the outdoors, tell someone your plans and leave a date to raise the alarm if you haven't returned. To do this, use the New Zealand Outdoors Intentions process on the AdventureSmart website. It is endorsed by New Zealand's search and rescue agencies and provides three simple options to tell someone you trust the details about your trip.