The lady at DOC looked at us blankly and said …
“it is winter…., there are few people in the park”.
Nick enjoying the mid morning sun. Coldwater Hut Lake Rotoiti.
I am a late convert to tramping, only really taking it up after I left Uni. for the first time. The isolation of the back country is a place where I put credits into my mental cheque book. Neil, Jenny and I flew to Nelson on Thursday evening, and were whisked into town by our good friend Nick (from Tasman Bay Navigation), to enjoy local ales and delicious pizza.
Friday, we headed to Wakefield (for coffee) and then to St Arnard, gateway to the Nelson Lakes National Park. Tramping in winter has two big advantages, fewer bugs, less people. The one disadvantage is fewer daylight hours, which means either tramping in the dark, which can be average at best or choosing shorter tracks to ensure they are completed before sunset. We chose the latter.
We left DOC at noon, after being reminded it was winter by the friendly staff and headed to Lakehead Hut, about 3 hours from the visitors centre. The track to the Hut leads along the eastern shores of the Lake Rotoiti. This was Jenny’s first South Island tramping experience and she instantly was happy with the well benched and marked tracks.
Lunch on the beach Lake Rotoiti
We were lucky enough to have a visitor at afternoon tea,
a Robin came to check us out.
Lakehead Hut is a serviced hut meaning, an indoor tap for water and some supplied firewood. We shared the hut with a young chap who was spending a couple of weeks in the bush, and two rather chatty American students.
On Saturday morning we were greeted with frost which lingered in the shady valleys all day. We continued up the eastern side of the river, then crossed at Travers Swing Bridge. The frost was spectacular, for the remaining 3 hours up the valley to John Tait Hut.
3pm and the frost it still on the ground. John Tait Hut in the background.
After a very brisk evening, we rose when the sun finally brought light to the hut, about 8:30am, packed up and headed back down the valley, to the Coldwater Hut, on the shore of Lake Rotoiti. 5 hours of of great walking, in and out of the sunlight, a great way to spend my birthday.
Navigating a wash out
Coldwater Hut is described as basic… no indoor tap! The hut is nestled on the southern shore of Lake Rotoiti and unlike the other huts we stayed in, is in it’s original location. We stoked the fire, drank ginger wine and whiskey and soaked in the views.
Nick starting the fire with a meths soaked toilet roll.
Monday we left the hut early by our standards (09:00), and raced along the western side of Lake Rotoiti, across the Buller River and back to the car. Then it was off the General Store for a well earned pie.
Thanks to Nick for a great weekend. I feel fully recharged and ready for the SIMRAD starting on July 16th, I am pretty sure it won’t be as cold !
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