Frasers Beach is the 3 km-long beach on the east side of Lake Manapouri, below the town. You can park on the main road near the Church cafe and then walk down to Pearl Harbour in a few minutes. The track starts at the western end of the Pearl Harbour boat facilities. It goes through an attractive section of beech trees, with emerald green moss paths and red/brown/gold carpets of fallen beech leaves. You will barely notice the few houses at the edge of the trees.
It was also fungi season, so many red-capped, white-flecked agarics (Amanita muscaria) existed. These stunning agarics contain hallucinatory compounds and potentially fatal toxins.
Once you reach the end of Pearl Harbour, the track turns right past a “Frasers Beach” sign and peters out near a small car park. However, you can continue along a short access road to the track re-entrance. It then heads through a mix of trees, shrubs and grassed reserve to an easy beach access point. In one section, before you get to the beach, there are many native orchids. During March, search among the trees between the path and the lake before you get to the beach to see them flowering.
