Pelorus Bridge is a tiny locality in

Marlborough Marlborough or the Marlborough may refer to: Places Australia * Marlborough, Queensland * Principality of Marlborough, a short-lived micronation in 1993 * Marlborough Highway, Tasmania; Malborough was an historic name for the place at the sou ...

, in New Zealand's

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

, where the Rai River meets

Pelorus River Te Hoiere / Pelorus River is a river at the northern end of South Island of New Zealand in the region of Marlborough. It flows from the Richmond Range into Pelorus Sound / Te Hoiere. This area is fantastic for camping and is renowned for its ma ...

. crosses the Pelorus River at Pelorus Bridge Scenic Reserve, which was used as one of the film locations for '' The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug''. You can take
guided kayak tour
to experience this Hobbit filming location. Rai River and Pelorus River from swing bridge

Rai River and Pelorus River from swing bridge

The scenic reserve contains one of the last stands of original river flat forest in the area. The forest contains a mixture of

beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

and other broadleaf species, as well as mature

podocarps Podocarpaceae is a large family of mainly southern hemisphere conifers, known in English as podocarps, comprising about 156 species of evergreen trees and shrubs.James E. Eckenwalder. 2009. ''Conifers of the World''. Portland, Oregon: Timber Pres ...

such as

rimu ''Dacrydium cupressinum'', commonly known as rimu, is a species of tree in the family Podocarpaceae. It is a dioecious evergreen conifer, reaching heights of up to , and can have a stout trunk (botany), trunk up to in diameter. It is endemis ...

kahikatea ''Dacrycarpus dacrydioides'', commonly known as kahikatea (from Māori language, Māori) and white pine, is a Pinophyta, coniferous tree endemism, endemic to New Zealand. A Podocarpaceae, podocarp, it is New Zealand's tallest tree, gaining hei ...

and

tōtara ''Podocarpus totara'' (), commonly known as the , is a species of Podocarpus, podocarp tree endemism, endemic to New Zealand. It grows throughout the North Island, South Island and rarely on Stewart Island, Stewart Island / Rakiura in lowland, ...

towering over the canopy. Several easy walking tracks connect the camping ground, picnic site, river, and the carparks. A circular walk leads over a pedestrian suspension bridge on the Rai River. The closest small towns are Rai Valley 7 km to the north, and

Canvastown Canvastown is a locality at the point where the Wakamarina River joins the Pelorus River, in Marlborough, New Zealand. runs through the area. Rai Valley is 17 km to the northwest. Havelock is 10 km to the east. The town was found ...

8 km to the east. A cafe is situated at the Pelorus Bridge Scenic Reserve.

History

The first Pelorus Bridge was built in 1863. Since 1885, when a second bridge was built, the route between Nelson and the Wairau Valley followed the course of the present road. The Pelorus Valley was forested until the early 1880s. From 1881 until the early 20th century, most of the lowland forest was milled. In 1865, a township was planned for the area at Pelorus Bridge, however, the plans were delayed in 1912 and the area eventually became a scenic reserve.

Vegetation and Wildlife

The lowland forest at Pelorus Bridge consists of mature podocarps like rimu, kahikatea, miro, mataī and tōtara and black, hard, red and silver beech trees. Birds present include korimako,

tūī The tūī (''Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae'') is a medium-sized bird native to New Zealand. It is blue, green, and bronze coloured with a distinctive white throat tuft (poi). It is an endemism, endemic passerine bird of New Zealand, and the on ...

pīwakawaka The New Zealand fantail (''Rhipidura fuliginosa'') is a small insectivorous bird, the only species of fantail in New Zealand. It has four subspecies: ''R. f. fuliginosa'' in the South Island, ''R. f. placabilis'' in the North Island, ''R. f. p ...

and

kererū The kererū (''Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae''), also known as kūkupa (Māori language#Northern dialects, northern Māori dialects), New Zealand pigeon or wood pigeon, is a species of pigeon native to New Zealand. Johann Friedrich Gmelin describ ...

. A population of long-tailed bats live in the forest. A rare and primitive beetle, ''

Horelophus walkeri ''Horelophus walkeri'' is a small water scavenger beetle that is endemic to New Zealand. It is found in the South Island in the West Coast, Nelson, Buller and Marlborough regions. The preferred habitat of this species are the moss and crevices w ...

'' lives in the splash zone of waterfalls in the area.

References

External links

Pelorus Bridge Scenic Reserve (DoC website)
{{Marlborough Region, state=collapsed Populated places in the Marlborough District