Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
from $169 per person; and
Helicopter Charter Karamea
( 03-782 6111;
www.karameahelicharter.co.nz
)
, which will take up to three people for $750.
Tours
Bush & Beyond
GUIDED HIKE
( 03-528 9054;
www.bushandbeyond.co.nz
)
Offers various tramping trips, ranging from
Mt Arthur or Cobb Valley day walks ($220) through to a guided six-day Heaphy Track
package ($1749).
Kahurangi Guided Walks
GUIDED HIKE
( 03-525 7177;
www.kahurangiwalks.co.nz
)
Small-group adventures such as five-day
Heaphy tramps ($1500) and various one-day trips, including Abel Tasman and the Cobb
(from $170).
TOP OF CHAPTER
Nelson Lakes
National Park
Nelson Lakes National Park surrounds two lakes - Rotoiti and Rotoroa - fringed by
sweet-smelling beech forest with a backdrop of greywacke mountains. Located at the
northern end of the Southern Alps, and with a dramatic glacier-carved landscape, it's an
awe-inspiring place to get up on high.
Part of the park, east of Lake Rotoiti, is classed as a 'mainland island' where a conser-
vation scheme aims to eradicate introduced pests (possums, stoats) and regenerate native
flora and fauna. It offers excellent tramping, including short walks, lake scenery and one
or two sandflies… The park is flush with bird life, and is famous for brown-trout fishing.
Activities
Many spectacular walks allow you to appreciate this rugged landscape, but before you
tackle them, stop by the DOC Visitor Centre (
Click here
) for maps, track/weather up-
dates and to pay your hut or camping fees.
The five-hour
Mt Robert Circuit Track
starts south of St Arnaud and circumnavigates
the mountain. The optional side trip along Robert Ridge offers staggering views into the
heart of the national park. Alternatively, the
St Arnaud Range Track
(five hours return),
