Overlooking Blue Lake from the trail to Waiau Pass and Lake Constance. Photo credit: Kate Ross
The Travers-Sabine circuit is a 4-7 day, loop track located in Nelson Lakes National Park, near St. Arnaud, on New Zealand’s South Island. It traverses the Travers Valley, crosses the Travers Saddle, and weaves through the Sabine Valley, passing Lake Rotoroa and Lake Rotoiti on the way.
I completed this track in February 2025 over five days, after almost five years of eagerly waiting to come back to New Zealand. I had originally planned to complete this track in April 2020 … but the global pandemic had other plans.
Here is some beta for you to use while planning your hike on the Travers-Sabine circuit.
Trail Stats
Distance: 80km
Elevation: 3,105m (from AllTrails)
Route Type: Loop
Difficulty: Moderate to hard
Hiking season: December – April
Planning Resources
The Department of Conservation website has lots of useful information and topographic maps to help you plan your trip.
Preparing for the Trip
Itinerary
The Travers-Sabine circuit can be walked in a clockwise or a counter-clockwise direction. I decided to walk in a clockwise direction.
There are six huts along the trail so lots of different options to break up your days. I decided to do the base Travers-Sabine circuit over four days, but added a fifth day as I wanted to do a side trip to Blue Lake and Lake Constance.
Transportation to Trailhead
I parked at the Kerr Bay campsite, at the head of Lake Rotoiti. The road is sealed and in generally good condition. It is a short walk from St. Arnaud to this trailhead.
The trail technically ends back at Kerr Bay, but the last 7km or so involves road walking from the Robert Ridge carpark. I was able to find a hitchhike back to my vehicle from Robert Ridge, so I skipped walking this final section.
Sleeping Options
There are six different huts along the Travers-Sabine circuit, but many other huts in Nelson Lakes National Park that you could combine to the base circuit or add as side trips. Some people also add Angelus Hut as a side trip to the circuit. At the time of writing all huts had to be booked in advance. Camping is permitted outside all huts but tickets should be purchased at the Nelson Lakes DoC visitor centre prior to embarking on the trail.
On the Trail
Day 1: Kerr Bay to Upper Travers Hut
Prior to starting the trail, I camped at the Teetotal DoC campsite just outside of St. Arnaud. It was a ten minute drive to the Kerr Bay trailhead from this site, so I was able to get on the trail by 8am.
The first section of the hike to Lakehead Hut traverses the side of Lake Rotoiti, with little elevation gain. The wasps were bad in this section – I was stung by two wasps about 30 minutes into the hike! After about 2.5 hours I arrived at Lakehead Hut. I stopped here for water and a quick snack before continuing onwards.
The trail generally follows the river up the Travers Valley. There is a swing bridge that crosses the river about 1.5 hours past Lakehead Hut, where I stopped for lunch before continuing onwards. The trail continues at a very flat grade all the way until you reach John Tait Hut.
My original plan was to stay overnight here; however, my body was still feeling good after all the relatively flat walking, and Upper Travers hut was only another 7km away. After another snack break, I decided to press onwards, hoping there would be space for me at the next hut.
The trail starts to steepen here. One hour after leaving this hut, I passed a stunning waterfall – this is a worthwhile side trip if you are looking for a shower! Continue climbing through several avalanche paths (which are all named and very well demarcated) and eventually, you will break through the treeline and get your first glimpse of the Upper Travers Hut.
The Upper Travers Hut – definitely one of the most scenic views I’ve seen so far! Photo credit: Kate Ross
Once I reached the hut, I rested on the front porch, stretching and taking in the panoramic views.
Today ended up being a very long day on my feet – over 30km and almost 1,000m of elevation gain. I was happy that I pushed on to Upper Travers given the awesome views. In hindsight, it would have been smart to walk into Lakehead Hut the previous evening to save myself some flat walking on this day.
Day 2: Upper Travers Hut to West Sabine Hut
From Upper Travers Hut, the trail continues to climb through the sub-alpine. Although I started early, I was immediately dripping with sweat. Thankfully, the climb up to the Travers Saddle is short and sweet. From the hut it took 1.5 hours to reach the saddle. I shared my celebratory summit sour candy with a few Te Araroa hikers who arrived at the saddle shortly after me. The views back into the Travers Valley and across into the Sabine Valley were epic.
Looking onwards into the Sabine Valley. Photo credit: Kate Ross
The descent from the Travers Saddle is steep. By the time I reached the valley bottom, my feet and knees ached. I took another break to soak my sore feet in the glacial stream before continuing onwards. From here the trail continues along the river. I saw several wekas and passed over a neat chasm before arriving at West Sabine Hut in the early afternoon.
I spent the afternoon soaking my feet in the river and avoiding the sandflies. Note that they are quite bad at this hut, so bring your insect repellant!
Day 3: Day trip to Blue Lake / Lake Constance
In the morning I packed my small day pack and started walking to Blue Lake and Lake Constance. This is not technically part of the Travers-Sabine circuit, but if you can, I would highly recommend checking it out.
From West Sabine Hut you will cross a swing bridge and continue upstream, climbing steadily for almost 3 hours. The trail crosses several slips before breaking out of the treeline. The trail follows the river for a while, then crosses that river. From there it is a short and steep climb to Blue Lake Hut.
Surprisingly, there are no views of the lake from the hut. I dropped my bag and walked another 100m to check out the lake. The lake is sacred to the local Maori groups. In addition, it is thought to be the most optically clear lake in the world. Therefore, no swimming is allowed. Oh, how I wanted to swim. Instead, I admired the multitude of shades of blue contained in the water from afar.
After admiring Blue Lake, I decided to continue over the ridgeline and check out Lake Constance. On the way up the ridge, I was treated to some awesome views of Blue Lake.
Once you reach the saddle of the ridgeline, you can continue onwards to Waiau Pass, but if you are just looking for views of Lake Constance, there are some cairns marking a shorter access route to the lake. As you reach the flat saddle, look for these on your left.
A small pile of cairns on your left marks the access to Lake Constance. Photo credit: Kate Ross
Follow the cairns for another 5-10 minutes and you will be treated to sweeping views of Lake Constance.
Lake Constance – a stunning spot for lunch. Photo credit: Kate Ross
This was truly a magical moment. Completely alone, I savoured my lunch here, marvelling at the rugged cliffs encircling the lake. Lake Constance is the water source for Blue Lake, so unfortunately, you cannot swim here either. Regardless, I was grateful just to be able to witness this place.
After over an hour, I descended the way I came and arrived back at West Sabine Hut in time for dinner. All in all, this was a full 8 hour day.
Day 4: West Sabine Hut to Sabine Hut
The walk from West Sabine Hut to Sabine Hut is very flat, and makes for easy walking along the river. I left the hut around 8am and arrived at Sabine Hut by 12:30pm. The hut is located right on the shores of Lake Rotoroa.
I sat outside on the pier for a while reading, but the sandflies were out in droves. I ended up moving indoors to avoid getting eaten alive.
The pier at Lake Rotoroa. Photo credit: Kate Ross
Inside the hut, there is a radio to contact the local water taxi operators, so if you wanted to take a boat out instead of walking the last day to Kerr Bay, that is an option as well.
Day 5: Sabine Hut to Kerr Bay
From Sabine Hut, the trail follows the edge of Lake Rotoroa for a kilometer or so, before you begin to climb up into the forest. It was humid and I was sweating buckets on this leg of the journey.
After a few hours the trail does flatten out, and becomes a shaded walk through the woods. Note I did lose the trail a number of times in this section, so keep a close eye out for the orange triangles on trees to make sure you don’t get lost.
After a few hours, the trail descends to the tussocky flats at Speargrass Hut.
Speargrass Hut on a sunny day. Photo credit: Kate Ross
I enjoyed the last of my food for lunch on the patio at the hut before continuing the final stretch of the trail to the Robert Ridge parking lot. The trail continues to meander through the forest, and alongside a river, before climbing back up to the parking lot.
I took a short break at the parking lot before I started walking down the road. Pretty quickly, I was able to find a hitch with someone else driving down the road, who kindly drove me most of the way back to Kerr Bay. I walked the final 5-10 minutes down the road to Kerr Bay and was reunited with my car, five days after leaving.
I had a well-earned hot shower at Kerr Bay campsite before heading back to Teetotal campsite to sleep for the night.
Summary
The Travers-Sabine circuit walks through a huge diversity of landscapes – every day was totally different. I had been eagerly waiting to do this hike for almost five years, and it did not disappoint. For me the highlight was the side trip to Blue Lake and Lake Constance – the awe I felt upon seeing Lake Constance for the first time, in particular, is something I’ll come back to often.
Have you done the Travers-Sabine circuit?
