pontoon jetty that stretches out into the lake.In February 2019 a major landslide blocked the northern access road to the Fox Glacier. As part of a $3.9 million government plan to offset this closure, the facilities at Lake Matheson were improved, linking it to the township with a cycling/walking trail from Cook Flat. A neglected track leading from the eastern side of the Lake Matheson Walk to a circuit around Lake Gault, an 8 km return trip, was upgraded to Easy status. Flora and fauna The lake and its small catchment are almost entirely surrounded by native podocarp forest. Around the edge of the lake the forest is mainly composed of Hall's tōtara (Podocarpus laetus), southern rātā (Metrosideros umbellata), kāmahi (Weinmannia racemosa), and rimu (Dacrydium cupressinum). Other forest trees include miro (Prumnopitys ferruginea), broadleaf (Griselinia littoralis), kahikatea (Dacrycarpus dacrydioides), mountain horopito (Pseudowintera colorata), and pate (Schefflera digitata). At the point where the walkway climbs higher tōtara becomes less common and rimu and Quintinia serrata more common. The lake contains the rare aquatic plant stout water milfoil (Myriophyllum robustum). Wetlands bordering the lake contain flax (Phormium tenax) and spike sedge (Eleocharis acuta). Ferns and mosses are common around the lake, and notable species include the Prince of Wales feathers fern (Leptopteris superba), shining spleenwort (Asplenium oblongifolium) and hanging spleenwort (Asplenium flaccidum). The giant moss Dawsonia can be seen at several points.Fernbirds or mātātā (Poodytes punctatus) can be found in the wetland around the lake, and the endangered species of Ōkārito brown kiwi known as rowi (Apteryx rowi) have been released in the neighbouring Omoeroa Ranges since December 2018. A local ecotourism operation began Project Early Bird in conjunction with the Department of Conservation in 2018 by setting 80 traps around Lake Matheson to catch introduced predatory mammals like stoats and rats. Photographs References External links Lake Matheson images Matheson Matheson, Lake