Lakehead Track

Lakehead Track runs 10.4 km one way from Kerr Bay at St Arnaud to Lakehead Hut along the eastern shore of Lake Rotoiti. Allow about three hours to the hut. It suits walkers who want a long walk through forest beside the lake, with a backcountry hut at the end rather than a summit climb. Walking back the same way makes a 20.8 km return, about six hours of walking before stops. A water taxi to the hut lets you walk back to Kerr Bay instead; book the hut if you plan to stay overnight. This is the hut approach, not the much longer Lake Rotoiti Circuit.

Start at Kerr Bay’s lake-edge parking beside the DOC campground and follow the track from the eastern end of the bay. The path stays close to the water, dipping over the toes of spurs below the St Arnaud Range. Expect a gently undulating forest track rather than a level lakeside promenade. The route passes small beaches and shingle screes, with short openings to the lake between stretches beneath beech trees.

Several shallow streams cross the route without bridges. They are usually manageable, but can rise after heavy rain, so check the water before crossing and turn back if it is too high. Scree and rocky streambeds make footing uneven in places. Freezing conditions are possible in this alpine area at any time of year; sandflies are a familiar summer nuisance, and wasps are especially common from December through April.

A small shingle beach around halfway is a good place to pause and look across the lake toward Mt Robert. Farther on, the head of Lake Rotoiti opens into the grassy flats of the lower Travers Valley. The jetty is just before the lake head; Lakehead Hut sits about 15 minutes beyond it on slightly raised ground at the edge of the river plain. From the jetty, look toward the Travers River outlet and Coldwater Hut across the water.

Most of the walk passes through beech forest over moss and ferns. About two-thirds of the way to the hut, the route passes a rare stand of rimu; red rātā flowers add a bright contrast in summer. Tūī and bellbirds are conspicuous, while fantails, tomtits and bush robins feed through the trees. Kākā are sometimes heard or seen.

The lake basin records successive glacial advances. The Travers Glacier last occupied this valley roughly 20,000 to 12,000 years ago, carving the depression that now holds Lake Rotoiti. Streams still carry sediment down the surrounding slopes toward the lake.

Lakehead Hut is a serviced, bookable hut with mattresses, heating, toilets and tap water that must be boiled before drinking. Bring meals, a portable cooker and fuel for an overnight trip; huts have no cooking facilities. Dogs are not allowed on this route.