Lake Rotoiti Jetty- St Arnaud — Attraction in Tasman

A great place to visit all year round.

If you have a boat then it's about a 10 to 15 min trip down the lake to Lake Head Hut jetty (on the left) or Cold Water Hut jetty (on the right). There's also a 3rd jetty about 1/2 way down on the right that's a good place to park up and walk up to the Whiskey Falls waterfall.

Both huts can be reached on foot, but it takes several hours and (for Lake Head Hut) there are several streams to cross - so not the type of thing to be attempted casually.

In summer the lake is great for swimming - and there are spectacular views of snow covered mountains in winter (including snow down to lake level on occasions). Water skiing is permitted but personal watercraft (ie "jet skis") are...

Nelson Lakes are a definite must-see for travellers to New Zealand, they’re absolutely postcard picturesque.

Lake Rotoiti was the first place we had encountered the notorious sandfly, also known as Namu in Māori.

I would suggest to get there early for a quieter setting as it can get quite busy when everyone’s trying to get “that bridge photo”

You may also find a few walking tracks on the right end of the beach, no dogs allowed as it is a Kiwi zone.

Quite a few ducks reside here, as well as eels who may be seen...

Standing at the jetty looking across the lake towards the tall mountains, it feels like I'm in a painting. The weather was grey and sunlight was fading, but that didn't diminish its beauty a single bit.

I hadn't realized that there was a camping site here. There's an ablution block and even laundry machines. Electricity is available for motorhomes to hook up as well. My sole criticism is the smell of sewage lingering in the air.

But with an awesome view to wake up to, I wouldn't mind spending a night...