Weekend Tramping Trip

Hi everyone!! 

This past weekend I traveled with a group of 10 people to Nelson Lakes National Park, located about 5 1/2 hours north of Christchurch. It was a very large group of us, but we all had a great time tramping around the park. We arrived mid-afternoon on Friday, just in time to start our hike in the dead heat of the day. We hiked up to Angelus Hut via the ridge line on Friday, which was a very difficult hike for the first two hours, but the we were rewarded with beautiful views from the ridge. 

Pictures from our hike on Friday

Friday night, I stayed in Angelus Hut because all of the campsites had already been booked. This hut was about 3-4x larger than the hut we stayed in last weekend at Arthur’s Pass. It had two large bunkrooms that fit about 20 people each and a large kitchen and dining area. The hut was also situated next to two lakes, making for a beautiful surrounding view. 

On Saturday, I woke up really early and ventured outside to read until everyone else woke up. As I walked outside, the other hikers in the hut were racing outside with their cameras. I decided something exciting must be happening, so I ran out with them, only to see the most breath-taking sunrise I have ever seen. 

Picture of the Sunrise

The group decided to take it easy for the most part on Saturday. I read my book while soaking in the views of mountains and lakes. About mid-morning we decided to take an “easy” hike up to Angelus Peak. My legs were pretty tired from the day before, so I didn’t make it all the way to the peak. A group of us stopped about 1/3 of the way from the top and decided to eat our lunch there instead of making the rest of the journey to the top. 

We left Angelus Hut early Sunday morning, taking an alternative route back to the car park. Instead of hiking back over the ridge, we hiked down through the valley. We walked through the trees, along the river, and more importantly, in the shade most of the day. This was a much easier hike than the other two days and thankfully my pack was lighter due to most of my food being gone. Needless to say, I have definitely been pushed myself physically the past two weekends.

This upcoming weekend I have a field-trip to Castle Hill with my rock-climbing class. I plan on taking it easy the rest of the weekend, hopefully going to the farmer’s market or heading to the beach if it’s nice.

That’s it for now! 

Erin