Adventure

One of my all time favourite hikes with rewarding alpine views, challenging rocky terrain, a beautifully located hut, a stunning lake, and the best part of our two day trek... a cloud inversion sunrise!

DAY 1: St. Arnaud to Angelus Hut - Robert Ridge Route, 6hr 12.2km hike one way

Just before sunrise, we excitedly set off from St. Arnaud village to Mount Robert car park. We zig zagged up through the trees along the Pinchgut Track to the top of Mount Robert (1421m) with beautiful views of Lake Rotoiti.

We then hiked along Robert Ridge to Julius Summit (1794m) with stunning alpine views in every direction. The alpine plant life was also fascinating to see!

The Robert Ridge Route has a number of sections with steep sharp rocks to make your way across. We stopped a number of times to soak up the amazing views down into the valley below overlooking the Speargrass Creek Route.

Once we had carefully negotiated our way down the steep scree from Robert Ridge, we were welcomed with the most awesome views looking down to Angelus Hut (1650m) by Maniniaro, Angelus Peak (2075m) and Lake Angelus - previously known as Rangimārie, a Māori name meaning ‘peaceful’, and we can totally see why! We also arrived just as the cloud was making its way over the mountain range and the scenery was breathtaking!

It's amazing to think that tucked away high in these stunning mountains sits Angelus Hut, a lovely 28 bunk serviced hut - one of the best kept huts we've stayed in and we totally recommend it. And the views and hiking experience, wow, well I don't think photos will never do it justice... but what a great reminder of the memories!

We thoroughly enjoyed the rest of our day at Angelus Hut - we chilled out on the beautiful hut balcony, watched a helicopter drop off hut supplies, cooked up some yummy food, explored the misty lake during dusk, and then settled down in our bunks for the night with great anticipation for the following days sunrise, which exceeded expectations..!

DAY 2: Angelus Hut to St. Arnaud - Speargrass Creek Route, 6hr 11.2km hike one way

Breakfast before sunrise, then headed out to the ridge whilst still dark. As we looked down the valley, we were struck by the most magnificent cloud inversion we had ever seen and were in complete awe! WOW... that's pretty much what I kept saying for the next hour!

Looking back towards Angelus Lake was equally stunning as the red-orange golden hues lit up the mountain range behind.

After soaking up the full sunrise we enjoyed exploring the Angelus basin and taking in the scenery from every angle. Truly breathtaking!

We then headed over to the Speargrass Creek Route, which took us down into the mountain valley. We loved looking up to see the steep ridge we hiked along the day before.

Carefully, we made our way down the steep scree, over unbridged stream crossings, back into the bush forest, and eventually back to the Mount Robert car park. We felt very satisfied and pretty tired, and we happily accepted a lift back to St. Arnaud village from two very kind hikers! 

This was definitely a mountain hike we will always remember!