Relax Shelter

Relax Shelter is a small shelter on Mount Robert’s open ridge, just above the bushline in Nelson Lakes National Park. It’s a useful lunch and weather stop after the Pinchgut climb. Treat it as a day shelter, not an overnight destination; Bushline Hut is a separate stop farther along the track.

Nelson Ski Club built the shelter when people skied in the basin. A 2021 description of the interior notes benches along both sides and one window, though its present condition hasn’t been confirmed. A water tank and toilet have also been reported behind the building, but their current condition and the tank’s water treatment aren’t established; don’t count on it for drinking water.

Fire changed these slopes: beech forest burned on Pourangahau in 1887, and erosion later left scarps and scree. Sheep grazing and occasional controlled burns kept the northern face open for years afterward. Higher on the ridge, snow tussock, subalpine shrubs and alpine herbs replace the forest; red tussock here is habitat for native tussock butterflies.