The Brunner Peninsula Nature Walk is an easy scenic trail located on the edge of Lake Rotoiti in Nelson Lakes National Park, near St Arnaud. The trail begins at the western side of Kerr Bay, just below the DOC Visitor Centre, and winds around the peninsula to West Bay. It then cuts inland and connects with the end of Cotterill Street in St Arnaud. Walk along the street, then View Road to the signposted entrance to the DOC Visitor Centre. Walk around the visitor centre to return to Kerr Bay. It takes about 90 minutes at a dawdling pace.
You can also do the walk from Kerr Bay to the jetty and beach at West Bay. Allow about an hour or so. Another variation is to take a short deviation to the top of Black Hill, or walk into the town centre.
The Nature Walk is mostly through regrowth beech forest but with plenty of native tree and shrub variations. In Autumn and Winter, the forest sports an enormous array of fungi. There are several easy access points to the lakeshore that enhance the experience. As you round the point of the peninsula, you directly face the steep, rugged, scarred face of Mount Robert, with its rounded top. The water tends to be especially calm as you enter West Bay, making for some great reflection shots.
You will also find panels along the route that provide insights into the area’s history. One describes the destruction of the beech forests on the face of Mount Robert following fires in the late 1800s, which led to the scarring of the face. In 1965, George Lyon, the then Park Ranger, accelerated reforestation by planting beech seedlings on the mountainside.
Another panel explains the many European names that dominate the landscape. Various European explorers traversed the area. They must have suffered from magical thinking as they expected to find an enormous, grassy plain perfect for grazing livestock. Instead, they scattered names from the Crimean War, their families and leaders of the New Zealand Company across the rugged mountainous landscape! Our personal favourite is the Mangles. At least Rotoiti survived attempts to call it Lake Arthur, while Pourangahau, the Māori name for Mount Robert, has been more recently restored to form the double name.
To access the Brunner Peninsula Walk, drive to Saint Arnaud and take Kerr Bay Road to Kerr Bay. There is plentiful parking in the bay, and the trail is signposted at the west end of the gravel beach.
