NZ Holiday - The Nelson Lakes - Lake Rotoiti

Up to Lake Rotoiti - 14th October

Lake Rotoiti - Duck on the dock

Driving up to the Lakes It is a good road up to Lake Rotoiti from Richmond and makes an easy day trip. Just take the main Highway 6 west to Belgrove and turn left. The signs are for St Arnaud and the sights are stunning. Not many cars or people en route but lots of forests with snow capped mountains as a backdrop. St Arnaud itself is pretty small, it has a shop with a filling station, a school and a couple of hotels. The National Park visitor centre was very interesting. Lots of info on wildlife in the area and on what they are doing to eradicate pests and encourage the natives like the Kiwi. Might have had some impact on 'someones' choice of  pie filling from the shop. Mine was Steak and Mushroom but TW opted for Vegetarian. She thought she might get poisoned possum! We ate them sitting by the Lake in the sunshine - lovely. We then went Kiwi hunting. We did not see any of the feathered variety of course but the walk around the peninsula was lovely and we did  meet some locals who told us about the area and the local ski fields at Rainbow and Mount Robert.  Lake Rotoiti  Oh, and in Summer the place is full of boats and tourists. Glad we came in October, we only spotted about a dozen people. Saw some nasty looking eels in the Lake though, not sure I will be dipping my feet in any-time soon! Heading home