St Arnaud is a small alpine village in the Tasman district, and situated at the northern end of Lake Rotoiti. Our accommodation is at the Alpine Lodge, which has an in house restaurant. This proves handy as there are very few other dining options!
The area has an abundance of mountain biking and walking trails, so we decided to do the Mt Robert circuit. This involves driving to a car parking area, walking up the Pinchgut Track to the top, then down Paddy’s Track. A round trip of around four hours. The walk up is long and steep, through bush and open country. The views make it worth it. At the top we are at 1400 metres.
A most rewarding walk. We made it a little harder for ourselves than needed, by taking a wrong turning. The Lakeside walk was pleasant, but meant a long uphill walk on the road, to get back to our car.
After two very comfortable nights at Alpine Lodge, it was time for the Pharts to move on. Destination .. Mapua (near Motueka). On the way, a stop at the 9 hole Golden Downs golf course. Its claim to fame is the longest hole in NZ, at 659 metres! A nice course, which we had to ourselves.
