Angelus Hut via Mt Cedric Track/Route

This is a one-way 6.8 km (4.2 mi) point-to-point traverse from Sabine Hut to Angelus Hut, usually about six hours. It climbs steeply through forest, crosses a high exposed ridge, then drops into the Angelus basin. It is a demanding link in the multi-day Travers–Sabine Circuit, not a road-accessed day hike. For a road-access approach to Angelus Hut, use the separate Robert Ridge route.

Start behind Sabine Hut at about 480 m. The track climbs very steeply and steadily through the bush to the bush edge. The route is described as natural and rough, with muddy sections possible; expect a sustained climb before the open ridge.

Above the bush edge, poles and cairns mark the way across exposed high country. Mt Cedric is marked at 1,532 m, but the route profile keeps climbing beyond it to nearly 1,800 m before the descent. Wind and poor visibility can make navigation serious work, so this suits fit trampers with strong backcountry route-finding skills. There is no water along the route. Carry what you need for the full crossing.

The route drops off the eastern side of the ridge into the basin and reaches Rotomaninitua/Lake Angelus at about 1,650 m. The hut sits beside the alpine lake beneath steep, glacier-shaped slopes. The ridge near the bushline also opens views over Lake Rotoroa and up Sabine Valley on the way back toward Sabine Hut.

Snow and ice are common in winter and spring, and DOC says ice can persist into December. In heavy snow, allow up to nine hours. Avalanche danger, sudden whiteouts and intense cold make this a route for people with the right alpine skills and equipment; choose another Angelus approach if those conditions are beyond your experience.

Angelus Hut has 28 bunks and non-flush toilets. Bookings are required year-round. Its tap water is untreated and should be boiled; winter plumbing may be disconnected, so do not count on water at the hut. Pack your own food. Dogs and other domestic animals are not allowed in the park.

Rotomaninitua/Lake Angelus is an alpine tarn left by recent ice advances. Glaciers and permanent snowfields carved the steep valley walls, sharp ridges and lake-filled basins around it; the major advances ended about 10,000 years ago.