Bottle Lake Forest is a production forest and recreational park located in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, approximately north-east of the city centre. It makes up the vast majority of the area of the suburb Bottle Lake. The visitor centre at the Forest's entry from Waitikiri Drive provides visitors with information about the different roles of Bottle Lake Forest. It also provides fresh water access, toilet facilities and parking.

Production forest

The forest consists of ''

Pinus radiata ''Pinus radiata'' ( syn. ''Pinus insignis''), the Monterey pine, insignis pine or radiata pine, is a species of pine native to the Central Coast of California and Mexico ( Guadalupe Island and Cedros island). It is an evergreen conifer in the ...

'' (pine) trees. It was planted in the early 1900s and covers 800 hectares of land, stretching from Burwood to Spencerville, and to

Pegasus Bay Pegasus Bay, earlier known as Cook's Mistake, is a bay on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand, to the north of Banks Peninsula. Toponymy Pegasus Bay takes its name from the brig ''Pegasus'', a sealing ship that was sailing fro ...

on the east coast. Trees are felled and logged in a 30-year rotation by the Selwyn Plantation Board.

Forest and wildlife

Bottle Lake Forest also includes a number of native understory plants. Throughout the forest lies a carpet of indigenous moss,

lichens A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.bracken Bracken (''Pteridium'') is a genus of large, coarse ferns in the family Dennstaedtiaceae. Ferns (Pteridophyta) are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produce sex cells (eggs ...

, pigfern, chain fern, and

water fern Water fern is a common name for several plants and may refer to: * Salviniales, an order of aquatic ferns * '' Austroblechnum lanceolatum'', syn. ''Blechnum chambersii'', lance water fern * '' Austroblechnum patersonii'', syn. ''Blechnum patersonii' ...

. Nearer the coast

marram grass ''Ammophila'' (synonymous with ''Psamma'' P. Beauv.) is a genus of flowering plants consisting of two or three very similar species of grasses. The common names for these grasses include marram grass, bent grass, and beachgrass. These grasses ar ...

and tree lupin grow. During the autumn wood mulch and pine needles provide a habitat for several species of

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

. Different species of bird can be found. Different stages of forest production provide different habitats, so bird life varies accordingly. There is currently a trapping programme to reduce numbers of

cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

s, ferrets, and

possums Possum may refer to: Animals * Phalangeriformes, or possums, any of a number of arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi ** Common brushtail possum (''Trichosurus vulpecula''), a common possum in Australian urban a ...

, as well as other pests, such as

stoat The stoat (''Mustela erminea''), also known as the Eurasian ermine, Beringian ermine and ermine, is a mustelid native to Eurasia and the northern portions of North America. Because of its wide circumpolar distribution, it is listed as Least Conc ...

s, rabbits,

feral cat A feral cat or a stray cat is an unowned domestic cat (''Felis catus'') that lives outdoors and avoids human contact: it does not allow itself to be handled or touched, and usually remains hidden from humans. Feral cats may breed over dozens ...

s, rats, hares, and stray

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

Recreational Park

Bottle Lake Forest Park is also a popular free recreational park, with more than 400,000 visitors each year. Many tracks are provided throughout the forest right up to a coastal track with ocean views and beach access. The tracks connect with those at Spencer Park directly north of Bottle Lake Forest Park. The tracks consist of logging roads, which may be shared by all visitors, and dedicated tracks and trails for either hiking and walking, horse trekking or mountain biking. Directly at the visitor centre there is a BMX course as well as a trials setup. The MTB track system is quite dense and provides diversity. Some of the tracks are oneway only to reduce the risk of collisions. The singletracks are typically narrow and seemed by trees of varying age. The track surfaces range from hard packed soil and gravel to loose sandy sections and may change due to the weather and usage. As Bottle Lake Forest is a production forest, it is not unusual that tracks get changed considerably or are closed during logging operations. Although the tracks do not feature serious ascents or descents, the narrow tracks, high speeds and curvy layout through tree plantations make it a popular and rather distinctive riding area. Racing series are held at the Park, too, with the "Twilight Series" being especially well-known.

References

External links

Bottle Lake Forest
at the Christchurch City Council {{coord, -43.4524, 172.6950, region:NZ-CAN_type:forest, display=title Forests of New Zealand Geography of Christchurch Mountain biking in New Zealand Parks in Canterbury, New Zealand