The second trip of 2015 was a long awaited trip to the Nelson Lakes National Park. We had three days for a trip so pondered a number of different possibilities.
We decided on a pleasant round trip from St Arnaud: Day 1 - St Arnaud to Coldwater Hut, Day 2: Coldwater Hut to Hopeless Hut, up the Hopeless Creek, over Sunset Saddle and down to the tarns before Lake Angelus. Day 3: Tarns to Lake Angelus, then down Roberts Ridge and back to St Arnaud.
Day 1: We plod along the very easy track on the Eastern side of Lake Rotoiti. It's a gentle and pleasant 2hrs walk to Lakehead Hut. Lakehead is a big, ugly hut. There's only a few people in the hut (it sleeps 27), but it's set back away from the lake and the nearby Coldwater Hut is right beside the lake, so we decide to head there instead.
The track to Coldwater from Lakehead actually goes South, away from the hut, and DoC estimates a time of 50 minutes to get there. We decide instead to venture across the Travers Valley and river directly to the hut and manage to cross the river without any trouble and arrive at Coldwater 20 minutes later.
Coldwater has much more character, with a beautiful stone open fireplace inside and stone work on the outside. It sleeps 10 and has plenty of room inside. There's four people already at the hut, but they're all very friendly and make great conversation.
My mates Matt and Jude were keen for a swim, but it's clouded over and the wind's picked up, so I don't feel a pressing urge for a swim. Just as well, because soon after Matt and Jude jump in, there's a yell and commotion coming from the water. Jude's been bitten by an eel! It's large enough for it to bleed and we can see the bit marks on the back of his legs.
The eels hover around the jetty in front of the hut and hold their ground even when prodded with a stick. They're pretty big! They provide great entertainment for half an hour, until the incessant sandflies prove to be too much, and we all venture inside for the hut.
The hut very thoughtfully has bug screens on the windows, so you can ventilate the hut while cooking, without letting a whole horde of sandflies in.
Day 2: The next morning, we get cracking early, as we have a big day ahead of us.
We walk an easy two hours up the Travers Valley to the Hopeless Hut turnoff. Here, the track gradually climbs for an hour and a half to the fantastic Hopeless Hut.
Hopeless oozes with character, with big windows showing off fantastic views of the range, wood paneling all around and even two double mattresses on the bottom rows of the bunks. Also, there's a bonus room downstairs with no mattresses, which could be used as an overflow space if the hut is full.
After lunch here, we begin the grunt up to Sunset Saddle, 1000m up! There is a track leading out of the bush from Hopeless and then a cairned route begins. It's hot work in the January sun. At the end of the valley is a big bluffed cliff and waterfall, and the route scrambles up a big scree face, before heading over the waterfall to a beautiful tarn. The route carries on above the tarn before flattening out alongside another tarn and then climbing steadily again to Sunset Saddle.
Unfortunately, it's clouded in a fair bit, so the views from the saddle aren't that great. We head up nearby Mt Angelus (2,075m) anyway, as we can't be bothered climbing all the way back up to it the next day. It's an easy, if steep, scree scramble.
From the saddle, we descend to the first tarn and find the one campsite that's not soggy and wet! Matt very bravely goes for a swim in the tarn. After a cramped night of 3 guys in a 2 man tent, we awake to a clear sunny day and descend for an hour past Hinapouri Tarn to Lake Angelus. It's a awesome spot, with great views and a very pleasant setting. Angelus is a large, modern and popular hut, but we were glad to be able to camp away from the all the people the previous night.
The track back out past Angelus is pretty simple, following gently along Roberts Ridge for 3 hours, before steeply descending to the carpark. The views are just awesome, and we can see most of the peaks of Nelson Lakes, plus the Richmond Ranges and Kahurangi Ranges further North. Being up on the tops for so long on such a clear, sunny day is a magical experience.
I decide to take the slightly longer track past Bushline Hut, so I can add to the hut talley, while Matt and Jude go directly down Roberts Ridge. From the carpark, it's about a 45 minute walk to St Arnaud. A better way to do the loop would be to park at Roberts Ridge carpark and follow the track on the Western side of the lake to Coldwater Hut, which is slightly shorter than the Eastern track and this way would avoid the hot slog along the road back to St Arnaud.
Another great summer trip!
Tramping times:
St Arnaud to Coldwater Hut via the Eastern side of Lake Rotoiti: 2.5hrs
Coldwater Hut to Hopeless Hut: 4hrs
Hopeless Hut to Sunset Saddle: 4hrs
Sunset Saddle to Mt Angelus summit: 15 minutes
Sunset Saddle to Lake Angelus: 1hr
Lake Angelus to Roberts Ridge carpark (direct): 4hrs
We decided on a pleasant round trip from St Arnaud: Day 1 - St Arnaud to Coldwater Hut, Day 2: Coldwater Hut to Hopeless Hut, up the Hopeless Creek, over Sunset Saddle and down to the tarns before Lake Angelus. Day 3: Tarns to Lake Angelus, then down Roberts Ridge and back to St Arnaud.
Day 1: We plod along the very easy track on the Eastern side of Lake Rotoiti. It's a gentle and pleasant 2hrs walk to Lakehead Hut. Lakehead is a big, ugly hut. There's only a few people in the hut (it sleeps 27), but it's set back away from the lake and the nearby Coldwater Hut is right beside the lake, so we decide to head there instead.
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| The very serene Lake Rotoiti from St Arnaud |
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| UGLY....Lakehead Hut |
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| Coldwater Hut |
My mates Matt and Jude were keen for a swim, but it's clouded over and the wind's picked up, so I don't feel a pressing urge for a swim. Just as well, because soon after Matt and Jude jump in, there's a yell and commotion coming from the water. Jude's been bitten by an eel! It's large enough for it to bleed and we can see the bit marks on the back of his legs.
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| Jude's eel bite! |
The hut very thoughtfully has bug screens on the windows, so you can ventilate the hut while cooking, without letting a whole horde of sandflies in.
Day 2: The next morning, we get cracking early, as we have a big day ahead of us.
We walk an easy two hours up the Travers Valley to the Hopeless Hut turnoff. Here, the track gradually climbs for an hour and a half to the fantastic Hopeless Hut.
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| Walking up the Travers Valley |
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| Hopeless Hut |
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| Hopeless Hut interior |
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| We have to somehow get to the top of that waterfall! |
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| Looking down the Hopeless Valley |
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| Scree slope ready for srambling |
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| Tarn above the waterfall |
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| Matt climbing up to the first tarn |
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| View of tarns from Sunset Saddle |
From the saddle, we descend to the first tarn and find the one campsite that's not soggy and wet! Matt very bravely goes for a swim in the tarn. After a cramped night of 3 guys in a 2 man tent, we awake to a clear sunny day and descend for an hour past Hinapouri Tarn to Lake Angelus. It's a awesome spot, with great views and a very pleasant setting. Angelus is a large, modern and popular hut, but we were glad to be able to camp away from the all the people the previous night.
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| Angelus Hut and Lake Angelus |
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| Lake Angelus |
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| Lake Angelus and Angelus Hut |
The track back out past Angelus is pretty simple, following gently along Roberts Ridge for 3 hours, before steeply descending to the carpark. The views are just awesome, and we can see most of the peaks of Nelson Lakes, plus the Richmond Ranges and Kahurangi Ranges further North. Being up on the tops for so long on such a clear, sunny day is a magical experience.
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| Views from Roberts Ridge |
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| Kea Hut |
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| Bushline Hut |
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| St Arnaud and Lake Rotoiti from Roberts Ridge |
I decide to take the slightly longer track past Bushline Hut, so I can add to the hut talley, while Matt and Jude go directly down Roberts Ridge. From the carpark, it's about a 45 minute walk to St Arnaud. A better way to do the loop would be to park at Roberts Ridge carpark and follow the track on the Western side of the lake to Coldwater Hut, which is slightly shorter than the Eastern track and this way would avoid the hot slog along the road back to St Arnaud.
Another great summer trip!
Tramping times:
St Arnaud to Coldwater Hut via the Eastern side of Lake Rotoiti: 2.5hrs
Coldwater Hut to Hopeless Hut: 4hrs
Hopeless Hut to Sunset Saddle: 4hrs
Sunset Saddle to Mt Angelus summit: 15 minutes
Sunset Saddle to Lake Angelus: 1hr
Lake Angelus to Roberts Ridge carpark (direct): 4hrs
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