**** WARNING**** The photos you are about to witness does not give justice to the fun we are having nor the incredible backdrop of nature we experienced…..for full disclosure…come visit New Zealand!
OMG…this was the most amazing trip with the most exquisite landscapes and super fun friends to share it with, not to mention all the exercise I need for at least another year!
Frankly, Trevor and I were dying to get around someone else besides each other and this trip really came at a good time for us. Personally, I was not in a real positive place but being in Auckland for a few days and then into nature and with really good friends, it was exactly what the Dr. ordered! SV Me Too (Clay, Jill, and Briley) and SV Te Poe Rava (Dan and Kristy) and Slow Flight all picked up where we left off…. it was so good to be around our cruising community again…we dearly missed this community while in Whangamata.
The Routeburn Track is one of the most visited hikes of the 9 “Great Walks” in New Zealand with as many as 10,000 visitors each summer. As many of you know, Trevor and I hiked over half of the Appalachian Trail almost a decade ago so this trip really stretched our memories of backpacking. We needed to get a few essential, lightweight gear to accomplish this but well worth the cost. The track is located in Fiordland National Park and Mount Aspiring National Park in the Otago and Fiordland regions and weaves through meadows, reflective tarns and alpine gardens. We were rewarded with spectacular vistas over vast mountain ranges and valleys.
Map of NZ south island, the red circle is the Routeburn trail locationMap of the Routeburn trail. We started at the Routeburn hut and hiked to the Divide
Total miles: 19.8 miles (32 km)
Total days: 4 days (can be done in less)
Feet, buses, planes, and automobiles – Leaving Slow Flight at 7 am on March 14th to walk 45 minutes to the bus terminal downtown Auckland, we then boarded a Sky Bus to the airport to catch a 10:30 am flight to Queenstown where we were picked up by SV Me Too in their van to head to a camping spot for the night.
Trevor and I walked through downtown Auckland with fully loaded backpacks…we probably looked pretty crazyAuckland has these great Sky Buses that takes you from downtown Auckland to the airport for $18 nzd per person. It has multiple stops in adjacent neighborhoods but was about an hour ride. All in all it was a great convenient way to get to the airport for everyone.It’s been a while for both of us to be at an airport, let alone in an airplane…we were kind of excited to fly again. Trevor got the window seatView from above….no idea what the name of this alpine plane is called but it was gorgeous…getting us in the right mind frame for what is to come!
The calm before the storm…Glenarchy – We purposely planned for a few nights at a camp site before we started to hike so we could asses everything we needed for last-minute purchases like fuel and other such groceries and supplies. Glenarchy is only about 45 minutes from Queenstown and 30 minutes away from the start of the Routeburn trail. It’s a small town, a few pubs, a motel, a camping area, and a few small shops and no real grocery store so we loaded up on groceries in Queenstown before heading to Glenarchy.
Glenarchy was a cute town and we enjoyed relaxing before the hike. It’s also very near the place where on scene of Isengard, in the Lord of the Rings was filmed. The location (Dart Valley) is about a 40 minute drive from the town of Glenarchy and was used to create the Wizard’s Vale claimed by Samuran, he dwelt in the impressive Tower of Orthanc where he had a great vantage point to plot his twisted plans. It WAS pretty majestic to be at the base of these mountain ranges…snow not included at this time of year..thank goodness!
A small “museum” like shedOur “home” for a few nightsCamp set up…now to the good stuff (Trevor sharing some good cheer)The camp site had a communal kitchen and eating/sitting area. Since we were such a large group, we mainly eat outside at the large picnic style tables. We all split up meals and Trevor and I were in charge of dinner one night.SV Me Too took care of breakfast….we contributed the Baileys ; )A walk to “town” was about 3 minutes….but we found a gem…. a dumpling restaurant! I couldn’t resist…had to get some…and to find authentic chinese dumplings in the small town in the middle of the south island in NZ…what a treat….We all needed a change of scenery so we headed to the local pub for a beer/cider. Loved this sign though…The Glenacrhy wharf….looking out onto Lake Wakatipu.These are the mountain ranges of Isengard was filmed….just 40 minutes drive away…you can see snow/glacier too!
And we’re OFF!!!! – From the Routeburn shelter to the Routeburn Flats campsites. You won’t see Trevor in a lot of these photos as he hiked faster than I and even though he had a Go Pro..he didn’t use it (lol)
Elevation profile for each day of our hike
Miles to complete: 4 miles (6.5 km)
Time it took to Kimi to complete miles: 4 hours (lots of photos to take)
Here is the gang all packed up and ready to go. A nice couple took our photo.Courtesy of Jill: Kimi on the suspension bridgeThe trail was through forests and we were under cover for most of the way.Break time….mostly it was the girls hiking togetherThese Robins were so cute….they were super curious and would come really close to us…one would peck at Jill’s shoeCourtesy of the internet: We would see these little guys…..called Riffleman….they looked like little tennis balls….they are only a about 3-5 inches tall and round like a ball.Things are starting to get steep…at least the mountains were…the trail was surprisingly flatter than expected this day.We arrived at the Routeburn Flats campsite early afternoon. It was incredible to see the mountains rise straight up from the ground. We see a glacier and a waterfall in the background.Camp setThe common shelter for cooking and hanging out. There were nails to hang our packs, thank goodness, as there was no room in our tent to keep them.Chillaxing!
The big day!!! – Routeburn flats up to Harris Saddle then back down to Lake McKenzie campsites. Seriously I was afraid I wouldn’t make it all the way through the track and this was going to be the biggest mile and elevation gain day. My legs were wobbly by the time I reached camp. Everyone at the shelter clapped when the girls finally waddled in at 8 pm (lol). When I reached the saddle, I knew it was farther to go BACK than forward so I felt at least I could finish with everyone….a relief for me!
Miles to complete: 8.5 miles (13.6 km) PLUS – 1 mile up to the summit!
Time it took to Kimi to complete miles: 11 hours!!!!!
Hiking from Routeburn Flats to the Harris saddle…but wait…there was a side trail to hike up to the summit?!
I left Routeburn Flats campsite at the break of dawn, about 8 am knowing it would take me longer than everyone else to hike all the miles that day. Still at lower elevations, the trail was still full of forests and birds.Looking back at the Routeburn Flats… so strange how the mountains protrude out of the earth like that.A ton of waterfalls everywhere…the sound could calm anyones nerves.Trevor caught up with me at the Routeburn Huts (no camping allowed here) where there was a huge water fall (wide not so much tall). We had a short snack together and then he was off…After our snack at the Routeburn Huts, we hit a totally different terrain…it was like an alpine bog. no trees but short bushes….but a vast gap between mountain tops….here is some perspective: The red arrow is about where the Routeburn Huts were….the yellow arrow is the trail….a tiny carved out line….hope you can see itAnd then……I see Harris Saddle huts!!!! I have made it to the top…well almost….At the Harris Saddle huts….we could see people hiking up the side of the mountain…not knowing what we were in for…a few of us decided, since we are here, might as well go to the top… Trevor took a nap instead…in fact a better decision in hindsight….This was the side trail to the summit…it was literally a rock scramble. Here you can see Clay and Briley below…no sign of a trail…just rocks…I hiked with my poles thinking it would help me…they just got in the way.But…Totally worth it!!!! The panoramic view of all the mountain tops were just breathtaking…You could actually see waves breaking of the Tasman sea from the summit….totally awesome!Oh and by the way…HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY! Briley even packed a little leprechaun hat.
What goes up…must come down…. to Lake Mckenzie it is – After adding a mile straight up to the summit…my legs were not feeling great…even Trevor’s knees were a bit sore and we wondered if he should have rented hiking poles like I did. We thought…it should be down hill from here….NOT!!!!
WTF!!! Still going up?! We had to round up this mountain top all the way around….the sun was piercing…but because we were still so high up, it was a bit chilly when you stopped to take a break. Here is perspective: Jill about an hour 45 minutes ahead of me.Finally after rounding up the mountain side…we saw Lake McKenzie…and finally we are headed down hill. However, after all that my legs were super wobbly and it took me way longer to go down than it did going up!!! And to boot….you would think we were pretty close to our campsite at this vantage point..however it took us hours + to get down…it was a little such a tease to think we were so close when we saw the lake…silly us.All the girls caught up to one another and we basically hiked down together. We were in the shadows of the mountain and it was getting pretty chilly. We took our time so we didn’t hurt ourselves and to enjoy the new terrain we were seeing. Still no trees but lush green plants, succulents of such and little bushes. Here Kristy caught me on film doing a “face PLANT”…literally!Courtesy of Jill or Kristy: We soon got to an elevation level with trees…but it looked like half forest, half swamp!We chatted about all kinds of stuff…thankfully they were there…I am not sure I would have made it without them…Thank you Jill and Kristy!And then…all of a sudden, something swoops by Kristy’s (leading) head and lands in a tree right besides us….It was a Morepork…yes I said “MORE PORK”….it’s an owl… Kristy really wanted to see one of these and because they generally come out early evening we got to see one. It probably was about 7pm when this happened. In Māori tradition the morepork was seen as a watchful guardian. It belonged to the spirit world as it is a bird of the night. Although the more-pork or ruru call was thought to be a good sign, the high-pitched, piercing, ‘yelp’ call was thought to be an ominous forewarning of bad news or events.OMG….finally down from the mountain…now where do we camp?
and on the 3rd day…they rest! – We had to make reservations many months in advance to reserve our tent sites as there are only so many “designated” sites. And the rangers do come and ask for your tickets for the amount of people you have in your group. So when we made reservations…we decided to stay at Lake Mackenzie for an extra night to rest up rather than hike out the last 7.5 miles immediately after 8.5 miles. Good foresight!
Miles to complete: 0
Time it took to complete miles: all day
Lake Mckenzie early morning…looking up the valleyWe all took a side hike to “Split Rock”…I see why now. You could walk/climb though it…here is Kristy and Dan coming throughwe strolled around the lake a bit…..… and saw crazy coloured rocksTrevor hiding behind some of them….I decided to make a camping style mimosa…vodka mixed with Emergen-C drink powder…..Trevor said he wanted some but wouldn’t give it backA few games of UNO….the wind kicked up and all the new hikers were coming in for the night…..it was time for dinner and bed.
Soggy Paws…. the final walk to “The Divide” – Overnight the wind howled and rained….we lucked out with weather so far but if it was going to be a shitty weather day, our last day was the best case scenario! That morning while everyone was packing up to go…Briley had unstaked the tent and it blew away! We all searched for it…it was just over the hill but you had to bushwack to get to it. It’s going to be one of those days….
Miles to complete: 7.5 miles (12 km)
Time it took Kimi to complete miles: 5 hours
I left shortly after Jill at the crack of dawn…mostly because it was cold and moving was the best to keep warm. Plus the wind had gotten to be bad it could take longer to hike down…trail depending…if there were any ridges to traverse. I didn’t want to whole group waiting on me…as my legs were already super sore (the second day is always worse than the first), I anticipated I needed more time to get down the mountain. Here is the sun rising while I walk out of camp.There were waterfalls everywhere!!!!! Rivers and streams were RAGING….The clouds were swirling around us with the wind so strong. Here we were at the “Orchard” and the fog/rain would come in and out of the area…like it was breathing!Speaking of waterfalls…another hiker told us about this large waterfall that you had a choice to walk the high road or the low road….He said the high road was flooded….Trevor forgot this titbit of information and he practically hiked underneath this waterfall.Courtesy of Kristy: Jill and I hiking the low road around the flooded high road…another rock scramble…with streams of water everywhere…..Courtesy of Kristy: Jill and I at the other side of the waterfall…..I can’t believe Trevor walked through THAT!We arrived at the last hut (no camping here) and saw this weather warning…..Gale force winds? No wonder Clay and Briley lost their tent this morning….We knew we were close or at least lower in elevation as the landscape changed into forest again with lush ferns and such.Water dripping from everywhere…little streams to cross moving across the trailDespite the weather…the girls had a great time hiking together… I think Jill was almost skipping down the trail….. Thank you Jill and Kristy for being my hiking buddies…couldn’t of done it without you both!
Te Paua-a little town on a huge lake – after putting on the only dry clothes we owned….we headed for the town of Te Paua, about an hour drive away. We rented an AirBnB, one equipped with a washer and dryer, to soak up the experience we just had and get ready to move on our separate ways.
I love this photo…Clay sporting his dry clothes…we headed to a restaurant for lunch and a well deserved beer!Chillin, everyone already unpacked and equipment was drying in the garage (should have taken a photo of that…it was crazy). It was time to get to get some screen time : )I never really did puzzle but this puzzle seemed appropriate…. I needed lots of helpa day later….completeDan and Jill went fishing on our last full day here….and Dan caught dinner!It was great to spread out and cook in a real kitchen…we split up meals and this is Trevor’s baked spaghetti with caesar salad…and wine of course!
Truly, this is was the highlight of our stay here in NZ….The memories of the Routeburn track with these amazing people will stay with us for life. It took a team to coordinate and execute this amazing trip and I think we all worked well as a team to make this amazing journey through the south islands alpine country!
The gang at Split rock at Lake Mackenzie campsite, Routeburn track, March 18th, 2018
Note that Mrs Woolly’s Camp ground had just finished an expansion that was the first in the area “Green net Zero” complex of Cabins, Bathrooms, communal Kitchens and Meeting areas for the Travelers to the South Island area. There were Municipal hook ups for power and Water but they had the infrastructure of water catchment and Solar power to supply the newly developed area at maximum capacity and did not plan on using any of the power or water from the towns supply. Many of the construction materials were locally sourced and the interior finishes included recycled materials much like what My construction company was doing before Kimi and I left Seattle. It was not much of a surprise to find that the developer owners were from Pacific North West but to find they Developed a Store that I loved and visited as a child on Bainbridge island growing up called Bay Hay and Feed was amazing. Its a small world after all (thanks Walt Disney now I have that song stuck in my head).
So glad that you both have the energy and stamina to go on such strenuous treks. We are sure that the rewards are well worth your time and effort–beautiful scenery, exciting new experiences, physical challenges to keep you strong and fit, and lasting friendships, among others. We will look forward to your sharing many more of your adventures, as you continue your travels. Stay safe, as you enjoy life to the fullest. We will convey your greetings to our Hawaii and Colorado relatives and friends, when we visit them soon.
Note that Mrs Woolly’s Camp ground had just finished an expansion that was the first in the area “Green net Zero” complex of Cabins, Bathrooms, communal Kitchens and Meeting areas for the Travelers to the South Island area. There were Municipal hook ups for power and Water but they had the infrastructure of water catchment and Solar power to supply the newly developed area at maximum capacity and did not plan on using any of the power or water from the towns supply. Many of the construction materials were locally sourced and the interior finishes included recycled materials much like what My construction company was doing before Kimi and I left Seattle. It was not much of a surprise to find that the developer owners were from Pacific North West but to find they Developed a Store that I loved and visited as a child on Bainbridge island growing up called Bay Hay and Feed was amazing. Its a small world after all (thanks Walt Disney now I have that song stuck in my head).
So glad that you both have the energy and stamina to go on such strenuous treks. We are sure that the rewards are well worth your time and effort–beautiful scenery, exciting new experiences, physical challenges to keep you strong and fit, and lasting friendships, among others. We will look forward to your sharing many more of your adventures, as you continue your travels. Stay safe, as you enjoy life to the fullest. We will convey your greetings to our Hawaii and Colorado relatives and friends, when we visit them soon.