Nelson Lakes

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Mt Franklin—a prominent peak in Nelson Lakes National Park

1 March 2009 in Nelson Lakes, New Zealand wilderness, Photography | No comments

At 2340 m, Mt Franklin is not only the highest point along the Franklin Ridge, but also the highest mountain in Nelson Lakes National Park. Although I haven’t climbed it, I imagine the views from the top to be majestic.

Mt Franklin was named by Sir Julius von Haast (1822–1887) in honour of Sir John Franklin (1786–1847), a British Royal Navy officer. “Clad with eternal snow and rising grandly above the hills in front of it”, is how Haast described Mt Franklin in his diary.

Mt Franklin (centre)

Mt Franklin can be seen from near and far, as shown in the above photo taken on Hope Saddle on State Highway 6, some 50 kilometres north of the mountain.

At the northern end, the Franklin Ridge divides the Sabine River into an east and a west branch. At the southern end, the ridge splits southwest towards Waiau Pass, and south to the St James Range, making way for the scenic Waiau Valley.

Based on the Story in Nelson Lakes National Park (DOC 1984), Mt Franklin’s first recorded ascent was by W Bridge and party in 1947. Anyone who is considering to climb Mt Franklin will have a choice of at least five routes, according to the Climbing Guide for the Nelson Lakes Region (NZAC 1998):

  • East Sabine route
  • Southwest Ridge
  • West Sabine route
  • Sabine Forks route
  • Moraine Wall route

The quickest way to reach the Franklin Ridge is by water taxi from Rotoroa to the head of Lake Rotoroa (Sabine Hut). From there it’s a five-hour tramp to West Sabine Hut at the foot of the Franklin Ridge, and a further three-and-a-half hours to Blue Lake, which is one of the starting points to climb Mt Franklin.

Franklin Ridge with Mt Franklin

For other views of Mt Franklin please visit my Mt Franklin gallery.

Have you climbed Mt Franklin? If yes, I would be interested to hear about your experience.

Fungi—colourful characters in the New Zealand bush

22 February 2009 in Nelson Lakes, Photography | 2 comments

Like flowers on a meadow, fungi and mushrooms are the flowers in a forest—that’s how I see them, anyway. I am always amazed at the variety of colours the fungi come in, covering just about every colour in a rainbow.

Smurf

Their colour is usually what gives them away, and more often than not I find myself on my hands and knees to get a closer look at the fungus’ structure and intricate detail. I swear I once saw a smurf leap from underneath a mushroom into the woods—I must have got a bit too close to his home…

Since I’m more of a ’smurfologist’ than a mycologist, I cannot tell you the name of the fungus shown below. If you know your fungi and can identify any of the species in my fungi photo gallery, please leave a comment.

Fungi (Speargrass Track)

John Tait Hut—a man’s vision lives on

28 October 2008 in Backcountry huts, Nelson Lakes, New Zealand wilderness | 6 comments

Some of New Zealand’s 900-odd backcountry huts are named after a person. Usually it’s the surname that forms part of a hut name, but in some cases it’s a full name, as in John Tait Hut. I couldn’t help but wonder, who is John Tait?

As I looked into it, not only did I find out who John Tait was, but also the extraordinary way the first John Tait Hut came to be built.

John Tait & his vision

John Tait at his hut in 1952

A photo pinned to the wall at John Tait Hut with a handwritten caption: “This photo taken by R M Webber in 1952 is of John M Tait by the original hut, on a site ten minutes above the existing hut at the Cupola Track junction.”

John Tait (1901–1982) was born in Scotland and was a teenager when he and his family moved to New Zealand.

Back in 1948, John climbed Mt Travers at the head of Travers Valley, in what’s now known as Nelson Lakes National Park. It was during that trip that John came up with the idea of building a hut well up the valley to provide shelter for trampers and climbers.

At the time, John was the president of the Nelson Tramping Club and his idea gained wide support, including from the Rotoiti Scenic Board which granted permission to build the hut. Financial support, on the other hand was, in short supply but fortunately a Government subsidy came to the project’s rescue.

Planning & preparation

The plans for the hut were based on a prefabricated Public Works hut. They were drawn up by Dave MacMorland who was a draughtsman with Lands and Survey and Captain of the Nelson Tramping Club. The wooden hut was first assembled in a Nelson backyard, then dismantled and—except for the aluminium walls and roof—tied in bundles that were suitably sized for people to carry. Club members then hired a truck to transport the materials to Lake Rotoiti.

By water & on foot

Now the real work started and a huge family effort followed:

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Lake Angelus—peaceful waters

11 July 2008 in Backcountry huts, Nelson Lakes, New Zealand wilderness, Tramping/hiking trips | 3 comments

Lake Angelus is a pristine mountain lake in Nelson Lakes National Park. The lake lies in a basin dominated by tussock, and surrounded by rocky mountain ridges and peaks, such as Mt Angelus, towering majestically to the south of the lake.

Lake Angelus is a fairly popular destination and most trampers spend at least one to two nights at Angelus Hut which sits slightly elevated right by the edge of the lake offering a spectacular outlook. If you plan to visit Lake Angelus I recommend you allow for an extra day to explore the area and enjoy the peacefulness—and climb Mt Angelus perhaps (weather permitting, of course). On one of my visits, a very keen tramper (or mountain runner?) ran to Mt Angelus summit and back before breakfast!

Lake Angelus

Lake Angelus

There are four tracks/routes to Lake Angelus, each of them involves a climb of about 1000 m and takes roughly six hours to complete, depending on one’s level of fitness and the weather conditions. On DOC’s Approaches to Angelus: Tracks and walks publications page you can download a poster called ‘Approaches to Angelus track/route profiles’ (which I was commissioned to design) that contains a map showing the tracks as well as elevation profiles.

Quick links

More info

One thing to always keep in mind is weather! As is typical with most mountainous areas, the weather at Angelus can change very quickly. I’ve seen it myself when, literally out of the blue, a few clouds appear and within minutes: whiteout. I remember on one occasion during summer (February), there was a cold snap and within a couple of days a half metre of snow was dumped in the Angelus area. It was gone as quickly as it arrived, but snow dumps and other extreme weather can occur at any time of the year.

For a brief preview of the Angelus area take a look at my photos that show the lake in late summer as well as in spring when the ice and snow started to thaw.

How did the lake and mountain get their name? According to the book The Story of Nelson Lakes National Park (published by the Department of Conservation in 1988) this is how: “Angelus: Originally named Lake Rangimarie (which means ‘peaceful waters’) by L J Dumbleton. It was later named Angelus by some unknown party, probably after Dumbleton, Chittenden and Stanton climbed and named Mt Angelus on an Easter evening in 1947. Angelus is a devotional exercise commemorating the incarnation; repeated at morning, noon and sunset.”

When are you going to Lake Angelus? Or have you already been there? How did you get there and what did you think of it?