South Kaipara - access to various lakes

[Brendan T]

I've been wanting to explore the South Kaipara (near Auckland) for a while now - primarily the lakes, such as Kereta, Karaka, Kereta North, Tupare, maybe the Omokoiti shrimp ponds, and any other site with likely grebes (I'll save Waionui Inlet for some other time, as I found an existing forum post on here detailing how specific you have to be with your timing).

How many of these are on private land, versus how many can you access publicly? Are some possible to scope from further away, while others can be explored closer-up? Cheers

[Brendan T]

A friend and I did a scouting trip to Lake Kereta yesterday and found that most of the shore lies on private property, so you cannot access Lake Kereta Wharf for example, although there is a public trail beginning at the southern end of the lake that wraps around the western shore for about half the length before veering west, as it is a beach-access trail. This allows you to scope most of Lake Kereta, but unfortunately prevents access to Lake Kereta North, which is where the most recent grebe sightings were that I was trying to follow up on.

For those curious, I have highlighted that trail in yellow. I'd been hoping to head north at the end of the yellow line and access the highlighted Lake Kereta North by taking a massive dog's leg, but as it is all military land, it turns out that they allow public access along the yellow trail (at your own risk), whereas you are striclty forbidden access along the nonhighlighted trail.

Another friend has since let me know that Lake Kereta North is only accessible via private land for annual surveys.

I hope this follow-up helps anyone else wishing to access either lake.

[Nick Allen]

Looking at the Herenga ā Nuku access map https://maps.herengaanuku.govt.nz/Gallery/ There is a paper road up the eastern and western shores of the southern lake that turns into a DOC moveable margin strip that completes the circuit around the lake, and where there is probably legal public access. Whether it is feasible (or safe) to follow the paper road and marginal strip may be another story but there is probably a strip that allows public access round the southern lake whether the adjacent landowners like it or not. There is no access to the northern lake - the property information on the website says it is on Crown Forest Land (Woodhill Forest). That suggests that taxpayers own it, but can't access it - unless they are in the dunes or on the beach that are also within the area of the same title.

Best not to upset the adjacent landowners (especially the ones east of the unmade public road and public conservation land marginal strip that they don't own) though lest it affects access for bird counts, but there seems a mismatch between what you have been told and what the legal situation re access to the southern lake is.

The issue of public access is such a mess in NZ, but it probably won't change any time soon.

[Brendan T]

Hi Nick, really handy link there, appreciate it - even if I do need to sit down with a non-colour-blind person to make sense of all those various shades of green/brown/blue/purple!

Regardless of legal access, you make a really good point about keeping the local landowners on-side, as there were signs even right down at the edge of the lake forbidding access (rightly or wrongly) along the north-eastern shore.

I understand the annual survey is on ANZAC day, which I've unfortunately just missed, but I'm more than happy to wait until next year and explore the place more through those channels, which keeps everyone happy.