St Anne's Lagoon

This picturesque lagoon a few kilometres north of Cheviot is a great place to stop for a picnic or to stretch your legs.

The gravel roads runs along the lake and leads to an area you can park under mature trees.

The area had had a lot of rain recently so we stuck to the harder road and parked.

Another car wasn't so lucky and had gone onto a dirt road and got stuck. A guy in a Toyota happened to come along and tried unsuccessfully to tow the Ranger out. Eventually a winch was used and the owners of the Ranger were freed.

As per normal, Bernie boiled the jug and I went walking with Oakly and Boo. Yes - it's dog friendly.

It's hard to believe this lagoon can dry up. When we were there the lake was so full, the trees were surrounded in water.

In 2017, after three years of drought conditions, the lagoon completely dried up, which threatened the lives of thousands of eels. The local community, DOC, ECan (Environment Canterbury) and some school kids collected eels and transported them in drums, to be released in the Waiau River.

St Anne's Lagoon (Mata Kopae) is set in 40 hectares of beautiful parkland. The day we visited we didn't see any bird life, however it's known as a popular spot for bird watching. This wetland is home to many geese, swans and pukeko.

Opposite the lagoon is smaller pond smothered in weed. Luckily Boo managed to stay dry ... a few years ago as a pup Boo had seen weed similar to this in Blenheim and had mistaken it for grass. She started to bound across it and disappeared! Fortunately we were close by so Bernie reached in and scooped her out!