Nelson Lakes National Park
This national park contains two beautiful glacial lakes surrounded by beach forest with forested mountains on the background. There are some excellent tramping opportunities in the park, short and long, easy and difficult; something for everyone. In wintertime it is possible to ski. Finally: many birds can be watched.
Outdoor
Bird watching
Because this area has many birds, Bird Watching in Nelson Lakes National Park is a popular activity.
Tramping and mountaineering
There is an excellent three day tramp starting from St. Arnoud which takes you along lakes. There are also many tramps, short ones, starting from camping area Kerr Bay.
Travers-Sabine Circuit is a 6 days during tramping track for (very) experienced trampers; the track is categorized as moderate to demanding. The track takes you to river flats, beech forests (of a lake) and two alpine saddles. Best time to tramp this track is from February till March.
D’Urville valley Track is another moderate till demanding rated tramping track in Nelson Lakes National Park. The best time to undertake this tramp is February and March. This tramp will take you through the wilderness and offers you a challenging alpine pass while having a beautiful scenery; the Blue Lake.
For more detailed information about the tramps in this area please visit a DOC or go to their website: http://www.doc.govt.nz.
There are also Mountaineering opportunities in this area.
Skiing
There are two ski areas in this national park: Mt. Roberts and Rainbow. These aren’t the biggest and best known areas in New Zealand to ski, but the opportunity is there.