Lake Angelus Hut

#62 – 7th November 2015

This hut sits in one of the most insanely spectacular locations of all the huts I’ve visited yet! Located in the Nelson Lakes National Park it sits high up on the Travers Range at 1650m between Lake Rotoiti and Lake Rotoroa, in a beautiful alpine basin.

You can reach this hut on one of four tracks; Cedric Track, Speargrass Track, Cascade Track, and via the Robert Ridge Route. It is easiest to visit during summer conditions but can equally be visited in winter with the right skills and experience. In my opinion, of the two tracks I have used (Speargrass and Robert Ridge), Robert Ridge is the most spectacular. Robert Ridge is however the most exposed, so conditions are likely to dictate whether using this route is possible.

You will need to book to stay at this hut and pay between late November and April, but at all other times it is first in first served and covered by the annual hut pass.

The hut holds 28 people more than comfortably (an entry in the Speargrass Hut book told of 70 at Labour weekend – although possible this would certainly be cosy!), with a large kitchen and dining area. There is a cracker deck surrounding the lake side of the hut where you can soak in the incredible scenery. There is also a fire with firewood provided, although its encouraged not to be used without need for warmth.

You can also camp up at Lake Angelus if you prefer, and on our trip there was one couple doing just that 🙂

When I visited we took the Robert Ridge route and shared the hut with a comfortable 20 people from an array of places all over NZ, and overseas of course. There was some snow about the hut and enroute, but nothing that caused us too much problems. The smaller lake (there is actually two lakes at the hut) was partially iced over when we arrived but had largely melted by the time we departed.