🎵What a way to start a medium tramp on a Thursday, cruiiiiising on the Interislander (okay it was the Bluebridge), sailing to the other side. After the ferry dropped our crew of 13 (including James’ MF group) in Picton, we grabbed a bite to eat from one of the many fine dining establishments in town. Then it was off to St Arnaud where we set up our tents and went to sleep.
As Friday morning broke, Garmin sleep scores were compared, with the author taking home the Oscar for “best sleeper” with a humble 100. After that snooze of a competition, we bid adieu to James and Megan (one of three Megan’s on the trip) who were off to do a bit of bush bashing, and the remaining 11 headed towards the start of the Robert Ridge Track. Our goal was simple: make our way to Angelus Hut for a night via Paddy’s Track and Robert Ridge, march on to Speargrass Hut on Saturday, and loop back to the road-end via the Speargrass Track on the Sunday.
As we ambled our way up Roberts Ridge, we were greeted with a sea of white. Visibility was terrible with a capital T. We pressed on through the clouds and soon breached the bushline. I’m sure we would have been stunned by the natural beauty of Nelson Lakes National Park at that point, had we been able to see it. Our first stop was Bushline Hut, a cozy 14 bunker where we grabbed a bite to eat. The clag stuck around as we continued on to a junction where we made a brief sidetrack to Relax Shelter for the hut-baggers amongst us. They were subsequently disappointed when the group decided to press on and skip a few private ski club huts.
The next section required a bit of finesse, clambering and jumping up rocks (particularly around Julius Summit), whilst continuing our ascent. As we reached the top of a ridge, the clag began to clear and we saw it, nestled amongst two tarns, Angelus Hut (1,650m). It is clear to see why this hut is often seen as one of the more beautiful ones in the country. It’s surrounded by hills making a U-shape on three sides, while the tarns that wrap around it make a beautiful reflection of the surroundings. Some brave souls decided to make the evening exciting and go for a dip, while others relaxed.
The Hut Warden gave us a briefing that evening and provided advice for some adventures around the area that we could complete tomorrow. The 28 bunks in the Hut were nearly full as we headed off to bed for an early night.
In the morning, a much clearer day meant that a group of four decided that summiting Angelus Peak (2,075m) was on the menu. We were accompanied by our Hut Warden, Giles, who was also keen to make the trip via the northern side of Hinapouri Tarn. The remainder of the group were not to miss out, as they stayed at Angelus Hut to enjoy the views a bit longer. Those who decided to make the trip up were treated to several more gorgeous tarns, and as the tussock turned to rock, and the summit approached, scenes approaching Mordor greeted them. The summit itself was gorgeous, while it had clagged in on the eastern side, the views out to the west were spectacular. A special thanks must go to Daniel and our Hut Warden Giles who made the trip up the peak safe and fun. Some scree running back down to Angelus Hut closed out this mini-adventure.
Once back at Angelus Hut, the group was reunited and we began our trek to Speargrass Hut. We first had to head back up the ridge from whence we came and backtrack to a junction, and it was all downhill from there (only literally, of course). There were some achy knees as we made our way down the valley, jumping over the stream that sat at the bottom a few times. The much clearer day made it clear just how beautiful Nelson Lakes could be, with mountains in all directions. We then descended into the bush and soon arrived at Speargrass Hut.
Our arrival at the hut made the three teenagers that were holed out inside (and hadn’t booked) bolt away into the bush, where they said they would sleep. Oh, the joys of bookable huts. The hotter day meant that a swim was a much more welcoming prospect than at Angelus Hut, although our late arrival made it a bit nippy in the shade. The short walking day meant that there was plenty of time for relaxing, and many took advantage and read a book. We spent the rest of the evening eating, struggling to remember some outrageous rules in Irish snap, and even at one point, a bit of dancing (but only from the experts in the group). A beautiful sunset signalled the end of the day.
Sunday dawning meant it was time for our final trek, and we descended back down to the carpark through some beautiful beech forest. There truly was some fantastic variation in scenery across this trip, with alpine tussock, scree, valleys, and bush all having their time to shine. We played a couple of games of whispers and were amused to see how messages would change when relayed from one end of our train of 11 trampers to the other end, and back again. Soon we were back at the van (where we checked the news and saw that USA had attacked Iran!), and after some scrambling to tear off the gross clothes we had worn for the past three days, we headed back to Picton to catch the late ferry. On the way, we simply had to stop at the alpine lodge for a burger and a flat white, yum! Oh, and we rescued the other group from Wairau Valley as James’ car decided to break down.
Trip stats
Day 1: Roberts Ridge car park to Angelus Hut via Paddys Track, Pinchgut Track and Robert Ridge Track
14.84km, 5hrs 13mins moving time, 6hrs 38mins elapsed time, 1,110m ascent, 355m descent
Day 2: Summiting Angelus Peak
6.03km, 2hrs 54mins moving time, 4hrs 16mins elapsed time, 530m ascent, 585m descent
Day 2: Angelus Hut to Speargrass Hut
5.5km, 2hrs 21mins moving time, 2hrs 39mins elapsed time, 136m ascent, 703m descent
Day 3: Speargrass Hut to Roberts Ridge car park
6.72km, 2hrs 16mins moving time, 2hrs 44mins elapsed time, 197m ascent, 360m descent