It was a beautiful warm Autumn day last Sunday so we decided  to head to the Sutton Salt Lake near  Middlemarch. The hour long easy walk around the Sutton Salt Lake is a great way to enjoy the tranquility and natural history of this stunning landscape.

Sutton Salt Lake is New Zealand’s only inland salt lake, with water about half as salty as seawater. With no outlet, The lake has concentrated salts from surrounding soils as it is repeatedly filled, evaporated and refilled. Nestled amongst the spectacular parallel rock tor ridges of Sutton, with a backdrop of the Rock and Pillar Range, the lake (approximately 8 ha) occupies an enclosed shallow basin in the schist rock landscape.

The area was once part of Gladbrook Station which covered 14,000 hectares. It extended over the Rock and Pillar Range to Patearoa and down the southern side of the Taieri River almost as far as Outram. The station was established in 1872. On seasonal journeys Maori  used the high ground of  this area as a route to Central Otago, avoiding  swamps on the plains.

  These aren’t our footprints heading into the lake but they looked like people foot prints. The cloud formation in the background over the Rock and Pillar range is called the Taieri Pet caused when a westerly wind is forced up over the range. The Rock and Pillar range in the background and beyond that the Maniototo.

  As you can see the lake isn’t very deep. The path back down to the car park. From here we had lunch at Quench cafe in Middlemarch then drove to Hindon Station in the Taieri Groge – see post

Getting there