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New Zealand
> National Parks > Nelson Lakes National Park
By Jessica Lloyd
This is a special recreation region in the north west of the South Island of
New Zealand which includes two ski areas, two
spectacular lakes, expansive forests, exciting river adventures,
gold-panning, nature tours, caving, hiking and mountain biking.
Over 100,000 hectares of Pure New Zealand
Nelson Lakes is New Zealand’s ninth national park, and consists of 1,020 km²
long ranges separated by deep valleys. It covers forests, lakes, and
mountains. The beech-covered landscape is broken and split by rugged
mountains, some with peaks rising to 2,200m. With many lakes, including
Lakes Rotoiti and Rotoroa, within its borders, Nelson Lakes is a wilderness
escape typical of the South Island of New Zealand: stunning scenery with
good facilities, providing many ‘experiences of a lifetime’ for its many
visitors. The small village of St Arnaud is just an hour and a half away,
and although small, has everything to prepare for your adventure into the
dense beech bush and the high craggy mountains, and to comfort you and your
aching limbs when you stagger out.
Things to do in Nelson Lakes National Park
Mountaineering and hiking are the favourites, though it is not ideal in
winter if you are inexperienced. New Zealand bush can be rather unforgiving
if not entered fully prepared. Brown trout fishing is a popular pastime
here, and many of the waterways are accessible by road. There are rainbow
trout, but only in Lake Rotoroa and the Sabine River; they are much harder
to find than brown trout. There is an upmarket trout lodge near Lake Rotoroa
just to top the experience off with great accommodation, food, and service.
The Rainbow Ski field caters to all talents of skiers and boarders, with
fresh snow made artificially every night. There are walks around the lakes
on good quality tracks, and the DOC centre has a lot of great information
about the critters which live in the forests and lakes. There is an array of
birdlife, with tomtits, robins, and New Zealand’s smallest bird, the
rifleman, if bird-watching is your thing.
Hiking
This is the main reason people visit Nelson Lakes National Park. The scenery
is spectacular, and the atmosphere created by the beech forest and honeydew
scent thickening the air is pure magic. Visit the DOC headquarters in St
Arnaud first to get information about track conditions, maps, and hut
passes. Lake Rotoiti and Rotoroa both have water taxi services if you want
to go to distant walking tracks. There is a network of short tracks for day
walkers, but if you’re really serious, you can head out for Lake Angelus on
a loop that takes about three days. The Travers-Sabine circuit takes about
five days and takes you past huge mountains, remote lakes, and an alpine
pass. If you want to go wild and trackless, there is certainly enough
untracked land here to find your own way without bumping into anyone. The
milder climate (compared to other areas of the Southern Alps) means stomping
around the bush is slightly less harsh. A high level of fitness is required,
and only experienced bush people should attempt tracks in winter.
Climbing
Nelson Lakes National Park is not really recognised as a major climbing spot
in New Zealand, though it has a good range of peaks with all sorts of
interesting buttresses, ridges, couloirs and steep pitches. They vary in
difficulty, and most of them have recognised routes.
Hunting
There are chamois and red deer in the park, and hunting them is encouraged.
Note hunting permits may be required.
Accommodation and Services in the Park
DOC provides hikers with accommodation in the park, ranging from heated huts
with running water, to more basic shelters. There are three types of hut;
serviced, standard and basic. Serviced has bunks/sleeping platforms with
mattresses, water supply, heating, toilet and hand washing facilities, where
as the basic huts simply provide shelter with limited facilities and
services. There are also a range of sleeps and eats options in St Arnaud’s,
which is by far the most comfortable option. If you want to be near
civilisation but still want to feel the chill of the earth on your toes,
there are two camping grounds. Lake Rotoroa has the trout fishing lodge.
St Arnaud
St Arnaud is right on Lake Rotoiti, and was the first place where land was
sold to private owners in this park. There is a small (but quality)
selection of cafés, bars and restaurants here, as well as accommodation
options. This small village has postal facilities, and food and drink. There
is even a chapel with services every Sunday.
Natural History
The landscape was gouged out by massive glaciers during the latest ice ages.
Quite a few glacial landforms still exist, the two main lakes being the most
obvious, though there are no glaciers here at present. One of the tasty
aspects of this place is the honeydew, which from January to April hangs off
tiny tubes attached to the beech trees. This honeydew is created by scale
insects, which take the sap from the tree and turn it into pure sugar in one
of their feeding processes. The scent in the air is delicious, and the
honeydew is a high octane fuel for most of the birds and insects that live
here. The birds are mostly insectivorous, because there is very little in
the way of nectar producing flowers and plants. DOC is trying to turn the
park into a ‘mainland island’ refuge for the wildlife, eradicating pests and
promoting the growth of kaka, kakariki and bush robins, as well as giant
carnivorous snails and native bats.
European History
The first European explorer here was John Silvanus Cotterell, who delved
deeper into the bush in 1842 with a Maori guide. In 1846 a more thorough
investigation was carried out by Thomas Brunner, his Maori guide Kehu, and
William Fox. This park was established in 1956. The lakes Rotoroa and
Rotoiti are the sources of the Buller River. The original park was half the
size, and was expanded in the 1980’s.
The Maori Legend
Mythology has it that Chief Rakaihaitu dug the two lakes – Lake Rotoiti
(small waters) and Lake Rotoroa (large waters) – with his ko, which is a
digging stick.
Accommodation
 Alpine
Lodge St Arnaud is an
architecturally styled lodge in a natural setting at the very edge of Nelson
Lakes National Park. It is a superb accommodation for couples, families and groups.
63 State Highway
St. Arnaud,
Nelson Lakes
There are also camp sites available.
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