Goodbye Wellington, Hello South Island

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Well, we said goodbye to Wellington, and now we're down on the South Island for the remainder of the trip. Our first stop was to Nelson Lakes National Park, the first park you come to on the South Island when coming from the North Island. This place was deserted since it was still Spring conditions, and there was quite a bit of snow on most of the slopes(we found out the hard way). We came over on the ferry last Sunday and stayed the night in the village of St. Arnaud, got up early the next morning and started the 1,000 metre ascent of Mt. Robert. Mt. Robert used to be a ski field, but was closed due to it "remoteness." It's a two hour hike from the base of the mountain to get to where the skifield used to be located. It was then another 4 hour hike across ridges and some traversing of steep, snow covered slopes. It took us a little longer than we thought, but that turned out to be a good thing because we were at the highest part of the trip when it got dark and it was a full moon. So, we got to see the full moon come up over the peaks with an unobstructed view. Too bad I didn't get a picture of that; that's a memory I'll keep for myself. We went down the final slope to arrive at Angelus Hut around 8:30 that evening. Now, here in New Zealand the Department of Conservation(equivalent to the National Forestry Service in USA) has lots of gov't funding and put up all these backcountry huts in the middle of nowhere for trampers(hikers) to use at their disposal. They even fly in wood and coal so you can have a fire. There was still lots of snow up here at 1800 metres, and the lake that the hut is situated on is still completely frozen over. We liked it so much that we decided to stay here a couple extra days. We met a really nice couple, Rob & Kathryn, who were from Auckland on a week vacation, and they were good to talk to you and enjoy the mountains with. Rob & kathryn, if you're reading this, best of luck with the "little one." Maybe see you again sometime back at Angelus. Over the few days were stayed at Angelus Hut we day hiked to a few areas, saw some waterfalls, and did some bum sliding. That's where you hike up a steep snow covered slope and then sit down and just slide all the way back down. Rob and Kathryn gave us the idea as we saw them come flying down a really long, steep section one day. We left Angelus Hut after a few days and hiked over the ranged and down 1000 metres to Lake Rotoroa where Sabine Hut is located. This was a completely different atmosphere than Angelus Hut. No more snow, and when we walked in the door we were greeted by 8 guys from Christchurch on a fishing trip. They had about eight coolers of beer and food; they had come in on boat. It was an enjoyable time though. They fed us crayfish and whitebait, which is a delicacy here in New Zealand. Clint tried to fish for trout, but never caught anything. He says that he had hooked two but right when he had reeled them to shore they shook off line. Likely story from a fisherman. Anyways, we stayed a few days there because our thighs were killing after coming straight down the mountain at 1500 metres to 450 metres, plus the hut was right on the lake edge so it had a good view of the water and mountains. We hiked all the way out after leaving Sabine Hut, skipping Speargrass hut because it was more or less a toolshed with sunken in floors. I think we tramped about 25 km the last day. We were quite tired arriving back in St. Arnaud, but had enough energy to stop at Elaine's diner and get a porterhouse and a beer, then hit the sack. We are now in Greymouth, which is on the West Coast. We plan on staying here for a couple days to rest and get re-supplied with food. Then, we will catch the TranzAlpine train back up to Arthur's Pass.

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Photos

Welly
Last night in Wellington. A very pretty city that I will miss.

Ferry
Goodbye to Wellington.

St. Arnaud
Headed out. Mt. Robert covered in clouds.

Robert Ridge
At the top of Mt. Robert. Still a long way to go.

Robert Skifield
Part of the used-to-be ski mountain.

Dayhike
Dayhike down to Hanipouri Tarn

Angelus Hut
Not a very good picture of the hut, but it was a nice place.

Angelus Basin
Frozen Lake Angelus and the surrounding mountains.

Clint
Clint expressing his need for food after a long day.

Bum Sliding
Kathryn and Rob bum sliding.

Slow moving
Hiking out of Angelus Basin the snow was a little deep, and the terrain steep.

More snow
Our last peak before the big descent down to Lake Rotoroa.

Lake Rotoroa
Looking down at our destination, near where the river flows into the lake. It was a looooong way down.

Sabine Hut
Arriving at the hut. Keep in mind this place is in the middle of nowhere.

The View
The view from the deck of Sabine Hut....as the sun goes down.

Going Fishin'
Hiking to the Sabine River to try out luck catching a brown trout.

Swingbridge
On the track to Speargrass Hut.

Speargrass Hut
Yes, this is the hut, not the storage shed for the hut. We kept moving down the valley back to St. Arnaud after we saw this because we had no water.

Greymouth
Arriving in Greymouth right at sunset on Sunday, October 23.