Boulder Lake (New Zealand) facts for kids
Boulder Lake is a beautiful lake in the Tasman District of New Zealand. It sits high up, about 985 meters (3,232 feet) above sea level, inside Kahurangi National Park. Long ago, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, people used water from Boulder Lake to find gold. They even built a small dam to make the lake bigger for this purpose. Today, Boulder Lake is a popular spot for tramping (hiking). The Department of Conservation (DOC) looks after a hut and a walking track there.
About Boulder Lake
Boulder Lake gets its water from several small streams, many of which flow down from a place called Colosseum Ridge. The water then flows out of the lake and forms the beginning of the Boulder River.
Gold Mining Days
Around 1899, a company called the Collingwood Goldfields Company built a dam at Boulder Lake. Even though the dam was only about 3 meters (10 feet) high, it made the lake twice as big! The company wanted to use the lake's water for a type of gold mining called sluicing. Sluicing involves using powerful jets of water to wash away dirt and rocks, revealing any gold hidden underneath.
To get the water to the mining areas, the company built a long wooden channel, called a flume, that stretched for about 8 kilometers (5 miles). Since there were no trees near the lake, they bought land in the Aorere Valley, set up a sawmill, and built a small railway about 6.4 kilometers (4 miles) long. They used this railway to bring timber (wood) to build the flume.
Gold mining started on August 28, 1899. However, they found much less gold than they hoped. The company faced financial problems and eventually sold its assets in 1901. In 1905, a big flood damaged part of the flume, and the mining operations stopped completely.
Later, in the 1930s, the dam was removed. This happened because a local farmer was upset about people taking his sheep during tough economic times.
Exploring Boulder Lake Today
If you love hiking, Boulder Lake is a great place to visit! The Golden Bay Alpine and Tramping Club was formed in 1961. In 1962, its members built the first Boulder Lake Hut. The Department of Conservation (DOC) built a second hut during the summer of 1994/95. The older hut is now used to store wood.
DOC maintains a tramping track that leads from the road end near Bainham all the way to Boulder Lake Hut. The walk to the hut usually takes between eight and ten hours one way. It requires a moderate level of fitness and some hiking experience. From a good viewpoint near where the old dam used to be, you can see a 65-meter (213-foot) waterfall. This waterfall marks the very beginning of the Boulder River.
