Helen and Tim: Golden Bay and Nelson Lakes

Wednesday 17 December 2008

Golden Bay and Nelson Lakes

Due to the brooding weather, we didn't stay long to explore the Sounds, somewhere to head back to sometime. We drove through Nelson and up and over Tarkaka hill to Golden Bay and the main climbing destination of the northern South Island; Paynes Ford. It continued to rain all through the night and it took most of the next day for the crag to dry so instead we went off to explore Farewell Spit and the rugged beaches of the West Coast. For the next few days we ticked off some classics at the Ford and the nearby Cathedral Rock near the Abel Tasman National Park before heading back up Tarkaka hill for some views across the rugged Kuaruanga National Park and Golden Bay and to visit Harwood's Hole, the biggest sink hole in the southern hemisphere, and the surrounding beech forest, used for scenes in Lord of the Rings.

The next stop was the fantastic alpine scenery of the Nelson Lakes National Park. We spent a sunny afternoon resting by the shore of one of the eponymous lakes (an activity severely hampered by the incessant sand flies) and preparing for the following day's tramp. The morning's cloud was slow to lift as we climbed the north flank of Mount Robert and set out on the fantastic journey along the Robert Ridge. The wide ridge eventually narrowed and we picked our way up, down and around rocky spurs and negotiated plenty of scree, but were rewarded with spectacular views of the adjacent ridges and the northern peaks of Southern Alps to the south. By mid afternoon we were descending to the Angelus Hut, nestled within the senic backdrop of the Angelus Basin. The next morning dawned crystal clear and we watched the sun rise over the St Arnaud range to the east, cloud pooling in valley beneath. We descended down Spearcrass Creek, having to cross back and forth over the stream more times than we can remember with a final stint back to the car park though the beech forest.