Travers-Sabine Circuit
An 80 km alpine circuit in Nelson Lakes National Park, up the Travers valley, over Travers Saddle and back down the Sabine to Lake Rotoiti.
At a glance
- Loop from and back to
- St Arnaud, Lake Rotoiti
- Length
- 80 km
- On foot
- 4–7 days
- Countries
New Zealand- Best months
- October–May
About the trail
Nelson Lakes National Park lies at the northern end of the Southern Alps, around the glacial lakes Rotoiti and Rotoroa. The Travers-Sabine Circuit begins at Lake Rotoiti near St Arnaud, follows the Travers valley to its head, crosses the alpine Travers Saddle, Poukirikiri, and returns down the Sabine valley.
From West Sabine a side trip leads to Rotomairewhenua, or Blue Lake, thought to be the clearest natural freshwater lake in the world, where visitors are asked not to wash or swim. Huts along the circuit include Lakehead, Coldwater, John Tait, Upper Travers, West Sabine, Sabine and Speargrass.
Tourism New Zealand gives 80 km and four to seven days, and the Department of Conservation advises that conditions are best from October to May. Snow can linger on the passes into late November, ice axes and crampons are needed on the saddle in winter and well into spring, and the circuit has more than 20 recognised avalanche paths.