Seaward Bush
Walking Track
Distance: 2805m
Duration: 40 minutes return
From the sheltered picnic area two walking tracks form a figure eight through the bush. The forest remnant is home to a range of native trees and shrubs with graceful tree ferns scattered among the thickets of kāmahi. Although logged before 1920 it is a good example of the bush cover that would have cloaked much of the area prior to human occupation.
Facilities
- A fully accessible toilet is located at the entrance to the reserve.
- Car parking
- Picnic table
Access
Seaward Bush is located 9km from the centre of Invercargill.
Visitors can access Seaward Bush off Mason Road. There is roadside parking for vehicles on Mason Road.
Dogs
Seward Bush is a dog on-lead area. See the ICC Dog Control Policy.
History
Detail of an 1865 map of Southland showing the former extent of Seaward Bush. Image: Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections Map 3817.
Seaward Bush, formerly known as Otarewa Bush, comprised of a large tract of native forest lying to the south of Invercargill.
Its northernmost limit extended almost to Tweed Street, and to the west it stopped at the swamplands bordering the estuary. The eastern extent of the bush appears to have been as far as the settlement of Rimu and Kapuka. South of Seaward Bush was the Awarua Plains wetland area, which was known as Seaward Moss.
A large portion of the Seaward Bush area was let for saw milling and extensive felling was in progress by the 1880s.
Following the clear felling of the bush, the remaining bush was left to revert to second growth scrub and regenerate. Otarewa Bush was renamed Seaward Bush following the logging.
In the 1920s and 30s, the regenerating Seaward Bush was fenced off and the first walking tracks were formed, although the area had no formal recognition as a reserve.
In 1973, the land was classified as a Recreation Reserve and was later reclassified as a Scenic Reserve in 2004.
Since that time, there have been numerous improvements and modifications to the Seaward Bush Reserve, including the creation of the picnic area and development of the walking tracks.
195 Mason Rd, Seaward Bush, Invercargill 9871, New Zealand