Some advice for tramping in New Zealand

Hi Pierre, Sounds like a great trip that you have planned! The classic tramps from St Arnaud are Lake Angelus or the Travers Sabine. I have not done the Travers Sabine but have been to Lake Angelus and it is really beautiful and highly recommended. Although I hear it is quite busy these days and you need to book for the hut. The well known two day option goes up the Mt Robert Ridge and down the Cascade Track. I haven't done this but did a three day trip that went up Robert Ridge, to Hinapouri tarn, over sunset saddle and down Hopeless creek. That is a good way to get away from the crowds but you would need more off track and navigation skills for this as there is no track in some places, and the weather is very changeable in NZ! For more information I would suggest looking at the Department of Conservation website http://doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/tracks-and-walks/nelson-tasman/nelson-lakes/angelus-hut-tracks-and-routes/ which shows you all the maintained tracks and hut information. You can also look at www.topomap.co.nz to see the tramping maps we use in NZ which has tracks and huts on them. As for the Coromandel, I dont have much experience up North (lived in Christchurch all my life until January this year!). I have been to the Pinnacles and Pinnacles Hut which is a really nice 3 hour walk in and then out again. Once again it gets pretty busy but has some spectacular rock formations and views. Someone else might be able to comment on other ideas here too. The DOC website has information for this too - http://doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/tracks-and-walks/coromandel/coromandel/kauaeranga-kauri-trail/ Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any further questions :)

Thank you very much HannahN for your help !! Your advices will be very helpful. The website topomap.co.nz is awesome for my trip planning. We have the same kind of website in France but I didn't find it for NZ...With this kind of card, I am able to plan a hike now ! In the DOC, can we buy the cards with this scale ? Or is there a website when I can buy it ? Thanks

No worries :) Yes you can buy the maps at any DOC center (there will be a list of these on their website). You can also buy the maps from lots of outdoor stores and information centers. You can see a list of retailers here http://www.linz.govt.nz/topography/topo-maps/map-retailers. As for the huts - I think you need to book both the Angelus and Pinnacles Hut which can be done on the DOC website. Most huts you don't need to book for, you just need to buy hut tickets from DOC. Only huts on 'great walks' and major tracks have a booking system! Have fun!! Out of interest - what is the French map website?

online topomaps www.nztopomaps.com http://www.topomap.co.nz/ coromandel try crosbies hut , it's new and less busy than pinnacles, you could still go the the pinnalces and go to crosbies on a diferent day http://doc.org.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-stay/backcountry-huts-by-region/coromandel/coromandel/crosbies-hut/

Thank you for these precisions. For France, I use : http://www.visugpx.com/editgpx/ On this website, you can see every hiking track and you can draw yours. When you have created the track you wanna do, you click on the "VisuGPX" button on the right panel and you obtain the distance and the hill walking. Then you can print it or load it on your GPS. I will check it the tramp you advice me HannahN and waynowski and I will keep you inform if I have more questions.