“On a Mish” #443 The Rewards of an Unknown Track (Part One). North Mavora Lake. Mavora Lakes Reserve. 10.10.2025. Not knowing where you are going or what’s around the next corner makes a hike much more fascinating. If you don’t know you are approaching a viewpoint then the view will be more striking when it appears in front of your eyes. It was while I was doing some last-minute training for Nepal that Georgie, my mate Rob and I stumbled across a mystery trail in the forest above North Mavora Lake. Little did we know that we (our eyes) were going to thanks us for the rewards this unknown track would produce…
My mish to Nepal with www.activeheartsfoundation.org was just a couple of days away and I needed some last-minute training, both in a tent and on my feet. Our forecast was a little iffy to stay the least, but this didn’t dull Georgie’s enthusiasm to get out and about. Also, like anytime you go on a mish, we just hoped for the best and headed east from Te Anau to the gravel of the Mavora Lakes Road.
The campsite was slightly fuller than what we had seen while visiting during winter, and this was the first sign that summer (more favourable camping weather) was just a stones throw away. We had a couple of locations in mind. However, the wind had other ideas, and we were forced into a corner, literally. This was no issue as our spot had an excellent view of Mt Cerberus, and more importantly we were out of the strong wind that was powering its way down North Mavora Lake.
After setting up camp we tucked into a Dhal that Rob had prepared earlier. It was awesome to sample food that I will soon be enjoying in Nepal. We also needed the fuel for a hike up and along a mysterious track that we didn’t realise we were going to hike at this stage. After dinner we watched the evening turn to night, and with that came cooler temperatures (not good for my hip and back) and the need to retreat to our tents.
Early-ish the next morning I was woken by the sound of rain tapping the top of my tent. Rain is never a nice noise while in a tent, especially when it wasn’t in the forecast! Without another thought, Georgie was out of the tent and running around, she had no problem with the rain that was falling at the time. Luckily the wet stuff didn’t come too much, and we even got to experience an early morning rainbow which looked very cool in the low morning light. It was a wild way to start our day in the wilderness, and it set the scene for what was to come.
Thanks to the weather, we were in no rush. We hoped that it would improve, and to our luck as the sun came up the clouds went away. It was still a little windy, but the signs of rain disappeared, and it looked like we would have a dry day to enjoy. Due to this we decided to hike up to the top of the forest which is located east of North Mavora Lake, as it would be excellent training for my Nepal trip.
As we began our walk, we could tell that the lake was much higher than the last time we were here. At first this wasn’t an issue; however, it became a big problem when we got to a point where the track seemed to disappear into the lake itself. A short scramble along the shoreline showed that this way wasn’t possible without swimming (Georgie had no issue with this plan!), so another plan was going to have to be made if we were going to get to the top of the forest.
We were a little disappointed at first and thought that our quest north was over. At this stage we had no idea that right beside us (to our right) was a way around the watery barrier and that this unknown track would have many rewards waiting for us if we were brave enough to follow it…
