Angelus Hut

As I mentioned in the previous post, Mel and I went up into the mountains for a night while my parents could look after the kids.  This was actually a first for Mel:

• first overnight walk without kids, since having kids (Abel Tasman had been the first overnight walk of any sort since kids!)
• first NZ hut
• highest altitude walk ever (the track gets just above 1800m).  Mt Barney at 1359m was the previous record...

After our rushed packing job, we started at the Mt Robert carpark, at about 800m altitude (~200m above the level of the lake).  From there, we zig-zagged up the slopes of Mt Robert on the Pinchgut Track.  From the bushline, it gets slightly less steep as we followed the Robert Ridge route - gently climbing as we took in the stunning views.  The snow from the day before had mostly melted, but there was enough there to make the mountains look extra special and give me enough to make a snowman!  The ridge is reasonably long, and Mel said she'd had enough of the views!  We eventually got to the final saddle overlooking Lake Angelus, the hut perched next to it and Mt Angelus in the background - a magnificent view.  We dropped down to the hut for a rest before I had a look around, taking some more photos.

The evening was perfect - hardly a breath of wind and beautiful sunshine.  I was expecting it to be cold in the morning with those conditions, but it wasn't particularly cold when I got up for sunrise - certainly above zero anyway!  The dawn was superb, with cloud hanging in the valley below us and mist rolling over the gap next to Mt Angelus.

After our perfect day up on the ridge the day before, we decided to go down via the Cascade Track as an alternative.  It was another fantastic day, with beautiful mountains, streams and forest all around us.  We emerged at Coldwater Hut for lunch, expecting to have another 3 hours of walking to get round to the other side of the lake, but there was a family there with their boat having lunch who offered us a lift instead, so we got a 5 minute ride to the other side!

Most definitely one of the most spectacular places I've been to, helped by having absolutely perfect conditions!  Check out the full set of photos at flickr.