Angelus Hut – Nelson Lakes National Park

The six of us met at the train station at 2.20pm, where Lisa kindly had the van ready and waiting for us. We drove onto the Interislander for a 4pm sailing, arriving in Picton shortly after 7pm. We then drove down to St Arnaud, arriving at West Bay campsite just after 9pm, ready to pitch … Read more

Hopelessly Cupola – Nelson Lakes National Park

An epic weekend spent picking off a few huts in the Travers valley in Nelson Lakes National Park. The trip began with us all meeting at Wellington Train Station to catch a 3.45pm sailing to the South Island. With Daniel and Mon in the group, we spent a lot of time talking about club policies! … Read more

A Sparkly September Trip to Maniniaro / Angelus Peak – Nelson Lakes National Park

ThursdayWith the weather forecast and avalanche advisory aligning, we met to check in for the Interislander mid-Thursday afternoon sailing from Wellington to Picton. When aboard the almost empty ferry, we quickly got stuck in to maximising our chances to win the on-board prize draws that the Interislander staff were putting on to farewell their Supervisor. … Read more

Thunderstorms and dehy meals: Travers-Sabine Easter adventures

We started our long weekend adventure on Thursday afternoon, catching the Interislander to Picton. Thankfully, the recent technical issues plaguing both the Interislander and Bluebridge ferries (and recent cyclones!) were not an issue, and it was a perfectly smooth sailing. We drove to St Arnaud and pitched our tents at the DOC campground at Kerr Bay ($20). Great … Read more

Dodging lazy trees on Waiau Pass

Summary Day 1: Boyle Village – Magdalen Hut Day 2: To Waiau Hut via Boyle Flat, Rokeby, Anne and Lake Guyon Huts (side trip) Day 3: To Blue Lake Hut Day 4: To Upper Travers Hut via West Sabine Hut Day 5: To Cupola Hut Day 6: To Coldwater Hut via John Tait & Hopeless … Read more

D’Urville Valley – Nelson Lakes National Park

Day 1: D’Urville Hut to George Lyon Hut – Weather: Sunny, no wind, 16 degrees CDOC travel time: 8 hrs/ Group travel time: 9.45 hrs /Pace: Slow – medium After arriving at Lake Rotoroa campsite at about 10pm Thursday night, we slept fitfully amid the roar of stags from the local deer farm. Prior to … Read more

Angelus Hut – Nelson Lakes National Park

photo of 6 WTMC trampers at DOC forest park entrance sign at Nelson Lakes

We arrived at 2.30pm at Wellington Railway Station, for a 2.45pm get away. We had a quick gear check and food item sound-off to make sure we had all brought our ingredients for a shared meal on Saturday Night.Mon kindly picked up the club van, and then us, and off we went to catch the … Read more

Moss Pass via Blue Lake

The following is a recollection of the trip from two perspectives – Lynsey and Tiffany. With two vans from WTMC heading down for the long weekend, the ferry ride was a social affair, especially with a group of TTC folks also heading down for an attempt of Mt Manakau. We shared a van with James’ … Read more

St Arnaud and The Camel

Eating breakfast on the St Arnaud Range

How long have you tramped for? I have tramped for about 13 years. Tony suggested that we head to The Camel, on the St Arnaud Range, a place where as teenagers he and his two brothers went for their first South Island tramping trip. The clincher for me was Tony’s story of a tin under … Read more

Blue Lake Hut

Blue Lake, Nelson Lakes

Our target for the weekend was Blue Lake Hut, nestled in the Nelson Lakes National Park next to reputedly the clearest water in the world – Blue Lake with 80 meters of visibility. Walking in and out on the same track, we conservatively estimated eight hours of tramping each day. Our weekend jaunt to the … Read more