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Travers
Saddle (1787 m/5863') and the south face of Mt Travers (2338
m/7670'). At
the southern end of Travers Valley, Travers Saddle provides
easy passage into the Sabine Valley, on one of the favourite
tramping circuits in the park.
The south face of Mt Travers is one of the sustained climbs
in Nelson Lakes National Park. Photo NC.
Tramping
Nelson Lakes National Park is especially well suited
for tramping. The park is well equipped with huts, tracks and
bridges, yet offers untracked and more remote valleys for those
seeking greater challenge or isolation. The climate is moderate
by comparison with other areas in the Southern Alps. And with
its long forested valleys, high passes, large areas above the
bush line, lakes and tarns, the landscape is both varied and
well adapted to tramping. The Travers-Sabine circuit offers
a good combination of these features and reaches deep into the
wilderness of the park. It is walked in a minimum of 4 days
but can be extended by a number of side trips to side valleys,
mountain cirques, lakes and tarns.
Short
walks
There are a variety of short and day walks available
from St Arnaud and from Lake Rotoroa. They offer the possibility
to quickly discover many interesting features of the park, including
the lakes, beech and podocarp forests, native birds and wildlife,
native plants, remnants of the ice ages such as moraines and
roches moutonnees, and some alpine areas above the bush line.
Native
plants and wildlife discovery
At St Arnaud on the edge of Lake Rotoiti the Department
of Conservation manages the Rotoiti Nature Recovery Project.
This is an area of 825 hectares (1700 acres) where introduced
predators are removed and native plants and animals can re-establish
themselves. Two short walks allow visitors to enjoy the forest
and see some of these native plant and animal species.
Mountaineering
While Nelson Lakes National Park does not count among
the major climbing areas in New Zealand, its many 2000 metre-plus
(6562') peaks offer many ridges, couloirs, buttresses and short
steep pitches with various degrees of difficulty. Most of them
have recognised routes.
Fishing
Both lakes Rotoiti and Rotoroa, as well as the major rivers
of the park, offer excellent opportunities for fishing brown
trout, more rarely rainbow trout (in Lake Rotoroa and the Sabine
River).
Hunting
The main game species in the park are chamois and
red deer, and hunting them is encouraged.
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