Nelson Lakes - the best jetlag antidote

Last Friday I jumped out of work into a car with Rich and Lucy. We crossed the Cook Straight by ferry, whilst I slept under a chair after a tiring week. The cabin Rich had booked in Picton was therefore much appreciated, if spider-filled.

A moment's break from Mountain Biking

Come morning we headed over to Nelson, fuelled by coffee and petrol. Renting bikes, we headed up the route of the oldest railway in New Zealand, which came several years before steam power reached the Land of the Long White Cloud (the carriages were horse-drawn).

Dora's plane landing in Nelson

After some long up hill slogs and hair-raising downhill adventures we settled down on Nelson’s beach to drink iced coffee and watch Dora’s flight land.  She arrived slightly jetlagged after 30 hours of travel, so I gave her some frozen yoghurt and encouraged her to jump in the sea. Jetlag treatment complete (for now…) we drove over to St Arnaud, gateway to Nelson Lakes, for some pinot noir, pizza and packing.

Sunday morning dawned, and we were up and climbing Robert Ridge quicker than you could shake a stick, if you were fairly sedate in your twig twitching. Deep forest gave way to rugged shrubs, which were eventually buried beneath scree and sheer cliffs as we traversed rocky slopes to Angelus Hut.

[Right] View back down the valley from Robert Ridge.

One of the many aqua lakes we passed on the other side of RR

The hut is, unsurprisingly, one of the jewels in the crown of New Zealand’s Department of Conservation. It is situated at 1400m beside two almost-connecting clear blue lakes, which we jumped in to then jumped out of pretty sharpish. It has a sun deck which we were tempted to lie on all afternoon...

View from hut bunkroom

However, feeling refreshed, and in Dora’s case a little less jetlagged, we clambered up Mount Angelus, which is 2000+ metres of shattered cliffs and grassy turfs clinging on for dear life. The peak, however, was worth the effort. Dora’s tiredness, Lucy’s burgeoning chest infection, Rich’s dodgy ankles and my poor navigation skills were all forgotten as we wondered at the sight of Angelus Hut in the distance, the long Lake Rotoroa splitting the land in half, and the surrounding peaks goading the clouds above to come down and meet them (which they did the next day).

Dora, Rich and Lucy make their way up Mt Angelus

Lake Angelus in the distance on the way down Mt Angelus

We slipped and slid our way down, picking up some camouflaged binoculars ‘off piste’ that had managed to hide from their original owner. A further dip in the arctic lake roused us for a final energetic cooking session. We sat back and devoured chilli con carne, a birthday chocolate cheesecake and cheese and crackers, sharing them with our fellow hutters.

Monday was Waitangi Day, so we weren’t missed at work as we hobbled down steep Cascade Track into the valley and then along the shores of Lake Rotoiti. Several waterfalls, a (erratic) boulder-strewn mossy forest and pernicious sand flies were the high and lowlights of our day’s tramping.

Once we’d regained the comfortable back seats of Rich and Lucy’s car we were whisked back to Picton, picking up some molten lava pies en route to the ferry. As the waves of the Cook Straight lapped the boat we napped and I ate a yoghurt.

Back at work this week, we’ve kept ourselves entertained with dragon boat training.