Sutton Salt Lake

The Sutton Salt Lake is an unexpected feature of the rough and rocky landscape near the town of Middlemarch. This is a scenic and interesting outing to New Zealand's only salt lake.

From the carpark, the marked trail heads towards the rocky hills, where it quickly forks to form a loop. Traveled in either direction, the route crosses through bizarre rock outcrops which are fun to explore and climb on. Winding in and out of small valleys formed by the rocks, the trail eventually leads to Sutton Salt Lake, which fills a small basin. The lake level depends much on the amount of recent rainfall and can be dry in warm summers. The path heads around the lake and winds back to the carpark through more rocky terrain.