Nelson Lakes

After the amazing tropical geography of Abel Taman, it was time to head inland. Our next destination was the Nelson Lakes National Park, about two hours south of the Golden Bay. The Nelson Lakes are actually two lakes: Lake Rotoroa and Lake Rotoiti. Lake Rotoiti is the bigger lake, and there is a small village nearby. The Rotoiti Lake is massive - there is a water taxi service on the lake to shuttle people to trailheads and access points. It was also very, very windy. So windy that in the center of the lake, the water had turned to whitecaps and was rolling into the shore like the ocean. But cold aside, it was still incredibly beautiful.

Lots of trails leave from the lake, and most of them are full-day or multi-day hikes. We weren't there for that, so we decided to just do a short walk alongside the water for a ways. We went through lots of thick green bush, and we could cut down to the water now and then. Even though we were back behind trees, the wind was still pretty cold.   

 

  Second stop was Rotoroa Lake. It was about a 45 minute drive away, and while Rotoiti had a village nearby, there was nothing at Rotoroa. Just a water taxi boat and a few toilets. Oh and sandflies. Millions and millions of sandflies. The tour books had warned us about the sandflies, but were mostly covered by clothes so we didn't bother with repellent. This was a mistake! Dad and I spent a few minutes on the dock, and we were viciously eaten where our skin was exposed. Days later, we're still enjoying the aftereffects.   Sandflies aside, though, Lake Rotoroa was lovely. It was definitely a bit smaller and less windy than Rotoiti.   

 

We did a short walk through a massive fern grove.   

  And then it was time for the surprise highlight of the day: watching the giant eels in the lake! When we first arrived, there was a man laying on the dock and playing in the water with his hands. We soon realized he was playing with eels! They must be fed often by humans because they weren't shy about letting him touch them or swimming right over his hands. And they were big, too: one big guy was around four feet long, although it could be hard to tell because they were pretty slithery.  I was not up for touching them, but Dad and I snapped on our waterproof GoPro cases and got a few shots. Proper video to come once I get home!