Lodging · Nelson Lakes National Park
A six-bunk hut with a Sir Edmund Hillary opening story.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Nelson Lakes Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Nelson Lakes National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Hopeless Hut is a six-bunk Department of Conservation hut at 1,030 metres in Nelson Lakes National Park. It is a backcountry overnight stop on the Travers–Sabine circuit, reached from Hopeless Creek by a marked 4 km side track that climbs about 300 metres. DOC estimates an hour and a half; one trip account took close to two hours with a break. I'd save it for trampers already on the route rather than build a short outing around a remote hut.
The hut has a fireplace and pit toilet, but no drinking-water supply is mapped. Plan to treat any water you collect. The approach and hut are reported to have views along Angelus Ridge across the valley.
The hut sits below an avalanche path. DOC warns against staying here during winter storms or when snow reaches the valley floor, because avalanche debris can reach the hut. Treat that as a firm limit on winter plans.
Members of the New Zealand Alpine Club built the hut, and Sir Edmund Hillary opened it on 23 December 1967.
Wildlife
20 sightingsNew Zealand FalconMost seen around 9 AMSighting map
39 sightingsWekaMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
11 sightingsKererūMost seen around 9 AMSighting map
55 sightingsBlack SwanMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
23 sightingsParadise ShelduckMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
17 sightingsTūīMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Nelson Lakes. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ModerateHopeless Track to Hopeless Hut7.9 km · 3.5 hr · 3.4 km awayA creek-side climb to a remote six-bunk hut.
ChallengingSunset Saddle Route6 km · 3.5 hr · 4.7 km awayA remote saddle crossing links two alpine huts.
ChallengingCupola Track8.4 km · 5 hr · 5 km awayA steep backcountry climb to a high hut and Mount Hopeless views.
ChallengingAngelus Hut via Mt Cedric Track/Route6.8 km · 6 hr · 7 km awayAn exposed ridge links two remote huts above an alpine basin.
ChallengingSabine–Speargrass Track11.5 km · 5 hr · 7 km awayA remote hut crossing, with a boardwalk through mountain wetlands.Lodging · 4.7 km awayAngelus HutA 28-bunk alpine stay beside Lake Angelus, reached on foot.
Sight · 4.8 km awayRotomaninitua / Lake AngelusA remote glacial tarn with Angelus Hut on its shore.
Lodging · 5 km awayCupola HutA remote alpine hut above the Travers Valley after a steep climb.
Lodging · 5 km awayJohn Tait HutA riverside refuge on a classic multi-day alpine circuit.
Sight · 6.5 km awayTravers FallsA 20-metre cascade on a demanding multi-day route.
Lodging · 7 km awaySabine HutA warm, roomy hut with a broad view over Lake Rotoroa.
Lodging · 7.1 km awayMount Misery HutA three-bunk hut high on the ridge, with wide range views.Parkwolf’s Nelson Lakes ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
