Nelson Lakes National Park


Nelson Lakes National Park is located in the South Island of New Zealand.
It was formed in 1956 and covers some. It is centered at two large lakes, Rotoiti and Rotoroa. The park also includes surrounding valleys and mountain ranges. The park is a popular area for camping, tramping and fishing.
The park is administered by the Department of Conservation who operate a Visitors Centre in Saint Arnaud that provides up to date and reliable information on all aspects of the National Park.

Access to the Park

The main access point to Nelson Lakes National Park is at Lake Rotoiti and the village of Saint Arnaud, on, about 100 kilometres from both Nelson and Blenheim. A secondary access point is at Lake Rotoroa, turning off at Gowanbridge. Shuttle services operate between St Arnaud, Nelson, Blenheim and Picton.

Activities

The main campgrounds are on the shores of Lake Rotoiti; there is a smaller campground at Lake Rotoroa.
There is a network of tramping tracks throughout the park. Tracks range from short nature walks at Lake Rotoiti and Lake Rotorua, to multi-day backcountry tramps. Day tramps include the Lake Rotoiti circuit, St. Arnaud Range and Mt. Robert. The most popular long-distance tramping routes are the Travers-Sabine Circuit and other loops through Lake Angelus. The Te Araroa trail also passes through the park over Waiau Pass.
Rainbow Ski Area is located on the eastern side of the St Arnaud range, just outside the park. The skifield on Mt. Robert is no longer operational.
Other activities include mountaineering, boating, fishing and mountain biking.

Huts

Nelson Lakes National Park contains 20 Department of Conservation huts, ranging in quality from 'basic hut/bivvy' to 'serviced hut'.
NameTypeCoordinates
Angelus HutServiced Hut172.748693 -41.888246
Blue Lake HutServiced Hut172.655727 -42.057953
Bobs HutStandard Hut172.486414 -42.224767
Burn Creek HutBasic Hut/bivvy172.449249 -42.156507
Bushline HutServiced Hut172.823098 -41.836731
Coldwater HutStandard Hut172.81704 -41.870353
Cupola HutStandard Hut172.732832 -41.971811
D'Urville HutStandard Hut172.645719 -41.905763
East Matakitaki HutStandard Hut172.556883 -42.194457
George Lyon HutStandard Hut172.605047 -42.046982
Hopeless HutStandard Hut172.756489 -41.930388
John Tait HutServiced Hut172.768776 -41.974654
Lakehead HutServiced Hut172.821978 -41.875648
Morgan HutStandard Hut172.630071 -41.982559
Mount Misery HutBasic Hut/bivvy172.669499 -41.933089
Nardoo HutBasic Hut/bivvy172.429207 -42.096966
Sabine HutServiced Hut172.680706 -41.901372
Upper D'Urville HutBasic Hut/bivvy172.605865 -42.108211
Upper Travers HutServiced Hut172.748747 -42.022114
West Sabine HutServiced Hut172.683954 -42.007795

Rotoiti Mainland Island

The Rotoiti Mainland Island consists of 5000 hectares of beech forest around Lake Rotoiti. There is a project which aims to eliminate introduced pests such as stoats, possums, wasps and rodents, and allow recovery of the forests and native wildlife populations.