Milnthorpe Park |
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Scenic Reserve and Re-forestation Project |
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and Sculpture Trail |
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A multitude of tracks criss-cross their way around Milnthorpe Park.
Australians will feel right at home here as they walk amongst towering gum trees, although scattered throughout the park is plenty of native manukas and ferns.
Look amongst the forest, in the trees, on the ground, up and down, and you will find lots of fun surprises created by local artists, constructed mainly from natural materials found within the park. There is an ongoing program of symposiums which means new works continually replace the old. Nature has created plenty of her own surprises here too; bright red mushrooms, twisted tree trunks and hidden lakes.
Some tracks lead to beautiful Milnthorpe Beach, and at the end of another you can climb a tree for a view over the park.
Maps of Milnthorpe Park’s many well marked tracks can be picked up in boxes at the entrances.
Milnthorpe Park Scenic Reserve
A Brief History
This human assisted rainforest began in 1974 under the auspices of the Department of Lands and Survey as Milnthorpe Revegetation Project, with the aim of establishing a strictly indigenous forest which included natives from outside the region. By 1976 the true horror of the nature of the impoverished soils became apparent, tingeing the idealism with pragmatism and resulting in the trial planting of exotics, of which Australian species proved best adapted to the site. The rest is history, but not so the dream of an indigenous forest.
In 1999 this project was renamed Milnthorpe Park and administered by an incorporated society under agreement with the Department of Conservation. All work on site is completed with the supervision of Dick Nicholls, who founded Milnthorpe in 1974. Many others in the community have worked voluntarily to make Milnthorpe the place that you see today.
Donations have played a major part in the park’s development. Areas such as Baas Strait, Elise’s Way, Joe’s Bush, Matthew’s Walk and Brown’s Bush have all been established by donation and named in agreement with the donors.
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Click on the picture to the left or link above to visit Milnthorpe Park Society Incs' site, which is full of interesting information about Milnthorpe Park Scenic Reserve. On this site you will see maps of the walking tracks, learn about the history, read information about the plants, trees and birds and more. |
The map below is from the book "Art in the Park", by Grant Knowles and Clair Fones. The book tells the story of the park and its sculptures.
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Bellshill Walkway
A short distance up the state highway from the Scenic Reserve is Bellshill Walkway. Look for the sign on the left, where there is room to park a few cars.
This is a part of the Milnthorpe Park Scenic Reserve that links up with other tracksand and can be included as part of a larger walk, or you can enjoy this walkway as a short walk of its own on the left-side of the main road.
Set aside about an hour for the return walk which takes you on a good path through regenerating natural forest to several lookouts, where you will be rewarded with views of the Aerore Valley and over the waters of Golden Bay.
There are several seats placed along the way where you can rest and enjoy the views.
Approximately 200 rimu trees have been planted in this reserve in memorial to the Bell family. This is one of the few bush walks in the Bay where you are allowed to take your dog with you.
