St Arnaud - Mount Robert

Good morning everyone,

I'm currently sitting in a cute little cafe and stopped off at the beach on the way to Mount Taranaki. I've had a few phone calls over the last few days about accommodation near Hobbiton and I think I found something suitable on my second call.

Today my post is about another hike. I made this one as a short detour on my way from the west coast to Nelson, as I didn't want to drive the 5/6 hours in one go. So I made a short stop at Lake Rotoiti. One of the DOC campsites is particularly noteworthy here, as it has both a kitchen with a gas stove and warm showers, which can be used with a token. When I arrived in New Zealand, I bought a DOC annual pass relatively early on, which allows me to camp for free at all DOC sites (especially in the low season). This costs around 160 NZD and is valid for a whole year. The better DOC sites cost up to 20 NZD per night and the "normal" ones are 10 NZD. And I have to say that I've now recouped the cost of the pass.

The DOC site is located directly on Lake Rotoiti and I could look out onto the lake and the surrounding mountains directly from the kitchen window.

In the photo you can see a mountain on the right - that's Mount Robert and that was my goal for the day. The plan was actually to do a circular route that would take about 4 hours. But since I first had to check in and secure my spot, this route was a bit tight on time. After everything was done at the campsite, I sped off with Fridolin Christopher to get to the Wadner parking lot. This was already a few meters above the campsite. The route there was very adventurous and - how could it be otherwise - a gravel road with a few holes and bumps. It all took longer than expected and so I walked quickly to the start of the circular route.

After the first 400 meters of elevation, I noticed that I was walking a little too fast and my mood was getting worse with every step. For the first time on any of my hikes, I really asked myself why I was even walking up a mountain. I was also pretty out of breath and somehow it didn't feel as great as it normally does. But since I'm a stubborn person, I wanted to at least walk to the top and enjoy the view.

No sooner said than done, and questioning my life decisions, I made it to the summit and the view at least made up for the agony of the last 200 meters. But I definitely didn't want to continue on the circular route and so after 10 minutes of looking at the summit I went back the same way.

Back at the campsite, I took a warm shower after abandoning my original idea of swimming in the lake after realising that there are so many freshwater eels living there. I warmed up my food and ate with a really great view. It might be worth mentioning that I had previously struggled with the gas stove for about half an hour because it didn't want to play by my rules and none of the flames would stay on after I let go of the switch. Eventually, with a lot of persuasion, it worked and I was able to add a new item to my list of "How do things work around the world?"

At this table I chatted with a Scottish woman and we had a really fun evening. We also exchanged numbers and I met up with her again in Golden Bay. Another aspect of traveling is the unexpected acquaintances and I have to say that I can't imagine how traveling and "staying in touch" worked in the past - without the Internet, WhatsApp or Instagram. In this sense, I am very happy that I can use all these technologies and that they make my travel life easier. I also have the greatest respect for all travelers who arrived at their destination before the days of Google Maps. :D

Well, so much for this day at the lake and on the mountain. The next day, after a breakfast with a view, I continued on to Nelson.

Greetings,
Your Britta