Tramping in Nelson Lakes National Park, 19-21/1

We got up to an early morning Tuesday 19^th and drove from Motueka to St. Arnaud where we hired a water taxi to take us down Lake Rotoiti to Travers Track. As usually, we were split into two groups, and the group I tramped with set off for Upper Travers Hut on day one, a tramp estimated to take eight hours. We started tramping at noon, spent five and a half hours to get to John Tait Hut, before continuing for another three hours to get to Upper Travers Hut where we arrived at 8.30PM, exhausted but thrilled that we made it. The surroundings were absolutely spectacular, through untouched forests where dead trees were left to rot, down by the river with magnificent views of the mountains, and when we finally got to Upper Travers Hut we had just reached the tree line. In the hut we prepared diner, ate and went straight to bed. In the hut were two Israelis and a Czech, who might have been a bit annoyed by us, scrambling around until 11PM, but they never complained.

Wednesday morning we got up and headed to Travers Saddle, a climb of 450 meters. This day we had plenty of time, and at the saddle we chose to climb one of the summits in close proximity, and had a spectacular view of the valley we were about to descend into.

Onto the track again, we had lunch above the tree line and had time for a nap or a game of cards. We then continued down, and before reaching West Sabine Hut we had descended about 1000 meters. A rough day on the knees, but we had plenty of time and good weather conditions and a nice and easy day. In wet conditions though, it must be a pretty demanding day, since everything is very exposed and there are many meters to climb and descend. West Sabine Hut was welcoming us with the Sabine River just next to it, and most of us jumped into the river to get washed after a warm day of tramping and sweating. After the dip, we all took shelter in the hut before the sand flies got the best of us. The day was estimated to a 6-9 hours walk depending on the conditions, and we cruised through in what I recall as being around 7 hours, taking quite a few breaks.

Thursday started out in rain, but we had to meet a water taxi at Lake Rotoroa at 2PM, which left us with no choice, but to put on our waterproofs and get going. It had been raining during the night, so the trees gave little shelter since they were already soaked. Fortunately, the rain stopped at lunchtime, and about one hour before Lake Rotoroa we found a neat spot by the bank of Sabine River where we had our lunch, all hidden away behind our mosquito nets to avoid the sand flies. We got out alive though, and when we reached Lake Rotoroa at 1.30PM, we surprised two guys who had gone for a swim in the lake, not expecting 11 Danes to show up while all their clothes was hung in a bush on dry land!

In all, the tramp was a fantastic tour through forests and mountains, offering great views and the feeling of being all on your own, even though the path was clearly marked by DOC. On the last day I had a bit of an off-day, but in the middle of everything a small bird flew down and sat about a meter away from me on the path. It jumped around me in a semi-circle, being patient and calm enough to let me get my camera and take a picture of it, and the mere presence of this curious little being lifted my spirits back up. This is exactly why I enjoy the outdoors as much as I do!