The Scientific Wilderness Reserve is 21 km southeast of Te Anau on the Southern Scenic Route, State Highway 94. It may not have the most enticing name, but it is interesting to look back at the first vegetation appearing after the glaciers retreated from Southland 10,000 years ago. The dominant species in the reserve is NZ native bog pine (also mountain pine), which takes hundreds of years to reach waist-high and generally grows to about 3 to 4 metres.
These shrub-like trees like rough growing conditions such as stony post glacial moraines and river beds, hence their prominence as the glaciers retreated. They are also very tough and their thick bark is fire resistant. In addition, they are able to resprout quickly after a fire event, a useful trait on the dryer eastern side of the Southern Alps where forests were vulnerable.
The car park is immediately off the road. Take the short track through the bog pines to a viewpoint, looking over an area of bog pine wilderness and across the Mararoa River valley to the lovely 1,400 to 1,600-metre high Takitimu Mountains. Imagine the dominance of these small, hardy trees in the valley a little more than 200 years ago.
