It was another sunny morning in Nelson and the mist was clearing about the tops as we approached St Arnaud. We decided to do the full circuit, rather than a car shuttle across Kerr and West Bays. So off we set, taking about an hour for the road walk to the track start on the Mt Robert Road. The walk along the west side was very pleasant in the cool, calm conditions with pretty views through the beech forest to the sparkling water of the lake. The track was in excellent condition and there were very few wasps although Corrina and Kelvin still managed to get stung.

With lots of chatter, it did not seem long until we were at Whisky Falls. There was still a reasonable flow of water in the creek despite the dry conditions over the past three months. And so, on to Coldwater Hut where there were swans at the jetty and much lounging about in the sun during lunch time.

The Travers River was just a trickle although the crossing still involved wet boots. We had a quick stop at Lakehead Hut and then proceeded back along the east side of the lake. It was pretty much head-down along the forest track as some tiredness was creeping in although the pace was very steady. We stopped at a pebble beach where our intrepid leader had a swim and disturbed a family of pretty, dark-feathered ducks. These were probably Black Teal (scaup) as the ducklings were doing deep dives.

We returned to the vehicles at Kerr Bay in late afternoon, where it was quite crowded with visitors in the delightful weather. Time: 8.5 hours including stops.

Walkers were:

Pat Holland (scribe), Corrina Kagaya, Chris Louth, Kelvin Drew, with visitors Maaike van Hoeflaken, Karen Wardell and Julie Hayward.