After I finished the walk to Pelorus bridge I went in search for some bigger mountains. I found them in Nelson lakes national park. When I arrived in the park, there was a strongwind warning which made it unsafe to start the hike that I liked to do. I was also told a bridge had been washed away. The water level seemed pretty high indeed…
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| A nice picknickspot in Lake Rotoiti |
So I went back to Nelson, to wait for better weather. I love Nelson for various reasons: it is a town surrounded by four(!) national parks, a skifield and beaches. It has the highest rate of sunshine hours in NZ. And if you ask me, the best and most comfortable library (in Richmond). I think I am not the only one who likes Nelson. Some people seem to arrive at the campsite and never leave again…
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| Campsite Matai valley Nelson |
I treated myself to a lazy day of reading. And I treated Summer (my car) to a carwash given by children who were raising funds for a bagpipes band. Two days later I drove to Nelson lakes again. The water level had dropped, and the wind had eased so I left for a three day hike.
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| The road from Nelson to St Arnaud |
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| Shore of Lake Rotoiti. The sun is back :)) |
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I was having lunch at the lakefront and wondering where all the peeping was coming from..
This is who I found under the table |
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| Lake Rotoiti, view from Mnt Robert |
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| Bush line hut |
The first night I spend at Bushline hut. There was a nice variety of people staying that night, from New Zealand, Israel, France, Holland, Australia… When I woke up in the morning I was too excited to go back to sleep. I sneaked out of the hut and packed my backpack outside. At 6:20 am I started walking. The trail climbed up and followed a high ridge. It was warm, and there was no wind at all. It was simply breathtaking. I did not see anyone for the first two hours.
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| Sunday morning 6:30 am .. |
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| On the way to Angeles hut |
Around 11 am I reached Angeles hut and lake Angeles. I took a long break and dipped in the lake (for about 3 seconds;). By coincedence I met a local family that I met before in Wanaka. It was interesting to talk with them. The three kids have been home-schooling since four years, and the parents take them in the meantime to lots of places where they go tramping, climbing and skiing.
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| Lake Angeles with Angeles hut on the shore |
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| Father and son on an iceberg |
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| I lost control at the market in Nelson on saturday morning, and bought soo many vegetables and fruit. I had to face the consequences: carry them for three days and eat as much as possible |
In the afternoon I continued walking to Speargrass hut. It was a long hike, and I got tired from crossing the river again,again and again. Eventually I arrived at the hut around 5 pm. There was no one. I felt very much at peace and enjoyed the silence and landscape.
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| Speargrass valley |
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| Alone but not lonely |
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| Speargrass hut (1050 m) |
Later at night two women from New Zealand arrived and I shared the hut with them. The next morning I walked for four hours, back to St Arnaud. It was a beautiful hike through beech forrest. In St Arnaud I picked up a french hitchhiker, Nico. We shared a our hiking stories. He told me about a night at the Kepler track where he camped on the trail. In the middle of the night he heard a big noise, and looked out of his tent (didn’t see much). The next morning, while getting out of his tent, he noticed a huge tree that had fallen down, 50 cm from his tent!! He showed me the picture. I couldn’t believe it!!
As most of you know, I will leave NZ at the 22nd of december. I am heading south now to spend another week in Otago.
