Giveaways
THE Nelson Lakes, Rotoroa and Rotoiti, and the associated Travers-Sabine Circuit are really one of the gems of the New Zealand outdoors, with their own Nelson Lakes National Park. The scenery is magnificent, there are plenty of huts to stay in, and good tracks.
The lakes are very historic as Lake Rotoiti has a large population of eels, which Māori travelling overland to the sources of pounamu on the West Coast used to dry and smoke for sustenance on the way.
Reaching in behind the lakes, the Travers-Sabine Circuit is about eighty kilometres (fifty miles) long. It reaches deep into the mountainous country behind Lakes Rotoiti and Rotoroa and involves one significant alpine saddle, the Poukiriri orTravers Saddle, which has its summit at 1787 metres or nearly 6,000 feet above sea level and can be icy even in summer.
The usual route passes around the Travers Range, of which the northern half is called the Robert Ridge, in a clockwise direction. This direction is recommended because it's easier to get up the Travers Saddle if you ascend from the Travers River side.
There's also an alternative route up the Robert Ridge, which is very scenic in fine weather and has the added advantage of bringing you to Rotomaninitua (‘isolated pleasant lake’) or Lake Angelus, a small alpine lake at an altitude of 1650 metres in the middle of the Travers Range.
The poled route up the Robert Ridge eventually climbs to a maximum elevation of 1794 metres at the Julius Summit. It then descends slightly to the Angelus Hut and Campsite, beside the lake of the same name.
The last time I did the Travers-Sabine we took the Roberts Ridge Route. Rotomaninitua / Lake Angelus was mesmerising: its shiny waters were surrounded by snow. By the way we were tramping in summer, in December to be precise. That’s what I mean about totally alpine.
It’s said that European alpinists first traversed the Robert Ridge Route in 1860. These colonial climbers, or the ones who soon followed, bestowed the name of Lake Angelus upon the little lake they found and also, curiously enough, the made-up, non-traditional Māori name of Rangimārie (‘peaceful’) Tarn.
You have to pre-book the Angelus Hut in order to be sure of a place as, in spite of its remoteness, altitude and difficulty of access, this little beauty spot is quite popular.
To continue the Circuit from the Angelus Hut, you go down the Cascade Track to the Travers River and spend a night at the John Tait Hut. There are a couple of side trips you can do along this stretch into scenic chasms beside the track: one of them to the Hopeless Hut at the end of the Hopeless Track (what wonderful names!), and another up the Cupola Track to Cupola Hut.
At John Tait Hut the viewswere just spot on: a beautiful subalpine environment. I camped out here underneath Mt Travers and the following morning followed the track up over the Poukiriri/ Travers Saddle, a long walk normally taking about nine to twelve hours. Past the Cupola Creek chasm, the track climbs steeply up a gorge and then eases off into forest and tussock land before reaching Upper Travers Hut. From there the track steepens considerably towards the alpine pass of the saddle, before dropping sharply through tussock, scree and beech forests to West Sabine Hut,which is 1107m below the saddle.
From West Sabine Hut I made it to Rotomairewhenua ('lake of peaceful lands') or Blue Lake, a small lake with incredibly pristine waters at an elevation of 1200m above sea level. This requires heading southward along the Blue Lake Track, off the topographical map above, and then back-tracking to the West Sabine Hut before carrying on. But it's worth the detour, as you can see!
From the West Sabine Hut, it’s a further five-hour walk or so through the valley following the river to the Sabine Hut and its wide views of Lake Rotoroa, and then another five hours up towards Speargrass Hut through a series of small valleys and wetlands.
As a final note, the spectacular water quality of Rotomairewhenua or Blue Lake is actually fairly typical of water bodies in this region, including the rivers which have plenty of blue pools, and even the two big lakes.
Since the introduction of trout in colonial times, the Travers and Sabine rivers have also become popular with fly fishers. An American article describes this part of the South Island, including nearby Kahurangi National Park, as the 'Mount Everest of Trout Fishing', a place to make a once-in-a-lifetime expedition to; by implication the best trout-fishing spot in the world (move over, Scotland).
Yet on the other hand, as us Kiwis well know, there are loads of people in the North Island who can't be bothered visiting the other island and sampling any of its attractions, whether they are into catching fish or not (probably not really into anything, I suspect).
If you liked the post above, check out my new book about the South Island! It's available for purchase from this website.
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