LAKE ANGELUS TRAMP

Our objective was to climb up to Lake Angelus mainly as all three of us had never managed

the tramp before. We had walked the icy path to Julius and then down to Speargrass but

Lake Angelus had remained the one tramp in the Nelson Lakes National Park that had

eluded us. ‘Us' being three ladies of an undisclosed age who had tramped together for many

a year. We stayed the night in the village of St Arnaud before being driven to Mount Robert

Carpark ready to start our tramp at 9.00am. The day was calm and slightly overcast and as

The path then went into bush before emerging above the snowline and we enjoyed a

relaxing break in the Bushedge Shelter before continuing along a well marked track to the

basin of Mount Robert Skifield. We skirted the basin admiring the vegetable sheep plants

and the remnants of last summer's alpine daisies. As we following the ridge even higher, the

wind grew stronger. Imagine our surprise as we came to the top of a ridge to hear the call of

Kea and look down to see two scantily clad guys running up towards us accompanied by

two Kea who must have been very interested in these strange humans! (Just a Nelson Vet

We continued along the ridge. The weather by this time was definitely getting cooler and we

were glad we had the foresight to pack hats & gloves. We were aware of sudden weather

changes that could catch you by surprise even in midsummer. (Encouraging readers to pack

for the unexpected.) On one particular ridge a silent monster of a bird flew over us making

us jump. Just a glider making the most of the airlift up the mountain sides! A cold stop for

lunch, sheltering under a rock and then onwards past Julius Summit, path full of loose rubble,

but well marked with cairns. The cloud and mist was filling up our view to the west by now

but to the south we could still see the mountain ranges and beautiful little tarns tucked into

glaciated valleys. We followed the ridge up and down with the wind blowing quite strongly.

We seemed to be the only ones up on the tops and we had to make it to Angelus Hut before

darkness fell. Shale slips meant we had to take our time. A chocolate stop gave us renewed

energy. Surely we will soon see the hut! Up and over yet another peak, down the other side

At 6.00pm we finally looked to our right and far down in the basin below lay Lake Angelus

and Angelus Hut. The final climb down over the scree took longer than expected and we

reached the hut at 6.30 pm tired but happy. Lake Angelus hut is a new hut that can sleep

36. It was full to overflowing with several trampers deciding to sleep in tents rather than the

hut.We still managed to find a bunk though and the sound of the wind whistling round the hut

lulled us to sleep. Unfortunately we found when we arrived that the hut didn't have a gas

stove for cooking. We hadn't made provision for this and were caught out. The only cooking

facilities in the hut were a log burner and old pot. So remember to take your gas stove with

you! The weather hadn't improved by morning. Misty rain was falling and cloud covered the

tops. We decided to take the quickest way down from the top, via the Cascade Track.

Leaving the hut at 8.30am we started down a wet track full of rubble which was part of an

We could see this spread out before us, so took our time going down the zigzag path. Over

to our right we watched a wonderful waterfall leap from the tops and fall 50 metres or more

before huge rocks broke its fall. We realised later that this waterfall was the start of the river

that we followed for most of the day. At the end of the scree we met the bush and the track

continued through a 'meadow' clearing and then followed the every growing river. At one

stage the river seems to go underground, reappearing later. Huge boulders showed that

an enormous slip had at one stage crashed down the mountainside, coming to a halt just the

other side of the river. The bush had grown but the boulders remained At 4.00pm we

We hoped to contact Bill Butters and get a water taxi out but unfortunately this didn't

eventuate. We decided that the eastern Lakehead Track of Lake Rotoiti was the best way to

walk out but first we had to cross the Travers River, the delta of the river has many channels!

Eventually cold, wet, tired we started out on the track for Kerr Bay. It was getting dark and

we realised we still had three hours walking before us. Imagine our surprise and delight when

up the track towards us came a guy (Allan Poll) with a lifejacket on . Two guys in a boat had seen us

trying to cross the estuary and had decided to tie up at the jetty, and one come to meet us to

see if we would like a ride out to Kerr Bay. All three of us felt like hugging him and we

accepted his kind offer. Fifteen minutes in the boat and we were back to Kerr Bay. Tired but


Ann Crozier	Ann At Lake Rotoiti

For More Information Please Email Us

Email info@nelsonlakesshuttles.co.nz

#Note if you have a Xtra mail address and you don't receive a return email from us. We always return your emails as soon as possible. Check your deleted or spam box. It is a Xtra problem stemming from their "Bubble Upgrade" and they assure us they hope to have it sorted soon.

Peter & Trish Kemp
Nelson Lakes Shuttles
P.O. Box 75
St Arnaud 7053
Nelson Lakes
New Zealand
Phone: +64 (3) 521-1900
Mobile 021 490095

*LAKE ANGELUS TRAMP*

	"Run By Trampers For Trampers"	Updated 1st September 2010