Tall podocarp forest backs onto the beach, and arcs gracefully into the distance toward the town of Moana, which sits across the lake. The track is very smooth, boardwalked most of the way.
Access
Drive to Mitchells by turning off SH73 at Kumara or Lake Poerua, or by driving around the lake from Moana. A brief road drops to the water's edge opposite the Lake Brunner Lodge. The track starts here.
Bain Bay: 1hr, Very easy
A boardwalk sets off across the flax and kahikatea swampland of Carew Bay. Across the Eel Creek bridge, the track drops onto a sandy beach before winding into the rich lakeside forest. The thick forest hangs with epiphytes — tangled supplejack vines, orchids, rata, Freycinetia and Astelia. On the ground, the brilliant sky-blue Entoloma hochstetterii toadstool has been spotted just beside the track.
