Nelson Lakes National Park

After a quick visit to Nelson Lakes on our way to Abel Tasman earlier in the year I really wanted to come back and see more. It was only an hour and a half drive from Blenheim so we were able to go on our days off. We stayed by Lake Rotoiti which was beautiful with snow capped mountain ranges behind and all around. It was absolutely freezing-it was the beginning of April and we had noticed how cold New Zealand was getting..mainly because we still lived in a van! It was especially cold at Nelson Lakes though..we had to wear a lot of clothing to sleep in and even got the sleeping bags out!

There were a few good tracks to walk around the national park and we chose the St Arnaud track, a moderately steep climb to about 1,700 metres. For about 2 hours the walk up was in forest so when we came out at the top of the tree line the views were amazing over the lake below and the mountains surrounding us! There was a huge amount of snow at the top and it was freezing! We walked another hour or so to get to the summit. The views at the top were some of the best views I have ever seen...I was not expecting it at all-it was simply stunning! We could see for miles each way and had the most beautiful 360 view!

The photos don´t do it justice..it was so good to be up there..we loved it! But it was far too cold up there to hang around sadly so we made our way back down to the lake. I´m so glad we returned to Nelson Lakes..the walk was one if the best day walks we´ve done!