It's been two years since we did a Great Walk so I was both nervous and excited as our shuttle made its way to the start of the Routeburn Track. The awkward parts about this track are transport and accommodation. As it's not a loop track, paying for transport or vehicle relocation is almost unavoidable unless you wanna walk one more day (and stay one more night in the wilderness) and take the Greenstone or Caples track back to your car. There are two nights to be spent on the track but camping is only allowed on the last night. We didn't want to carry our tent all the way just for that one night so we held our breaths, paid DOC the money and told ourselves to take it easy this time and enjoy the walk. This turned out to be quite an expensive walk but I must say it was all very worth it.


The shuttle stopped at Glenorchy for 30mins and arrived at the start of track at 10am. The first day was mostly ascending through the beech forest.


D1 Routeburn Shelter to Routeburn Falls Hut



What are these silky strands of ... water?


 

Out from the bush and found ourselves in an open field 

Stopped for lunch at Routeburn Flats which had a nice view with a waterfall on the left and there was snow on the mountain in the middle.


My vegetarian roll from Queenstown Bakery was surprisingly tasty; consisting of cheese, olives, lettuce and sun dried tomato.


Continuing on



We reached the Routeburn Falls Hut at around 2pm. Judging by the number of guests who have checked in, we were considered relatively early. Lied down and rested for awhile and it started to get really cold as my body was losing heat rapidly. I couldn't stand it and decided to prepare dinner after a big group of teenagers walked in.



This was the first time we met Japanese people on a track in New Zealand. This group of seniors looked very fit and experienced. I watched how an old man prepared a hot cup of beverage and in the absence of a teaspoon, used the sachet he had teared open as a spoon to stir his drink. Genius hack. 


The private lodge with lights and hot showers


After having some noodles with canned chicken, we walked up towards the lodge and the falls were close and beautiful. It was nothing I had seen before.



Sat by the roaring falls under the warm sun for awhile and fiddled with the camera. He lost his temper at me because he found the photos I took of him were not to his liking.



Attended the hut talk at 7.30pm and went to bed at 8pm. The blue ear plugs from Daiso were so effective we slept through the night for 10 hours. It wasn't as cold as expected at night in the hut. I woke up naturally just after 6am and we left the hut at around 7.30am. We passed the falls quickly as we had taken photos yesterday.


D2 Routeburn Falls Hut to Lake Mackenzie Hut




After passing through a valley, a lake slowly came into view.


Lake Harris was sublime.


The sky was clear, the water was calm and flowing gently downstream. I could easily sit here for a few hours taking in this view.



Approaching Harris Saddle, the highest point on the track.


Arrived at Harris Saddle at around 9.30am, dropped our packs and made our way up Conical Hill. It was a steep climb up rocky terrain and there were two sections covered in snow. The view on top was dramatic, surrounded by snow capped mountains all around with Hollyford Track in the far distant.


How do we get past?


Trudged up the snow on all fours



Breathtaking


Phenomenal views


Making our way back down to the saddle


By the time we made it back down, I was quite tired and hungry. This side trip was hard. It took us about 2 hours return.


Lunch was croissant, small cookie and nuts. It was 12 noon when we left the saddle, just behind the two Chinese girls from Canberra.

Alpine flowers are always worth stopping for a photo

The track descends steadily from the saddle to the next hut. There are still impressive views of the mountains all along the way. But my head was starting to hurt and water was running low. For the next 1.5 hours or so, I was stopping more often and losing concentration. After passing a few groups of people, I became more motivated and picked up speed when Lake Mackenzie came into view.


Lake Mackenzie Hut way down there


I was tail gating the Canberra girl all the way to the hut lol and missed the last two bottom bunk beds, damn.


Lake Mackenzie Hut


Finished the last two packs of noodle and a can of tuna at around 3.30pm.


We usually prepare our meals early to avoid the crowds in the hut



Washed up at the lake after that and went to bed before 7pm.


Snuggling into my sleeping bag on the top bunk


These are the non bunk beds with lesser privacy as you sleep right next to a stranger. Went to the toilet at night and saw a small Christmas tree lit up by the ranger's window. I woke up at 5.30am the next morning; didn't sleep well. Felt stuffy, sticky and stomach pain. Left hut at 6.58am and the last day from Lake Mackenzie Hut to The Divide started with a tedious climb uphill.


Approaching Earland Falls


Merry Christmas at Earland Falls!



Caught up with the Japanese couple at Lake Howden Hut and pressed on as there were too many sandflies at the hut to stop for a break. A group of tourists wandered up to the intersection of Key Summit and couldn't decide whether to go up or not. There were young and old people in the group and they were dressed for sightseeing rather than walking. The sky was overcast and threatening to drizzle and so we helped them along in their decision making process by saying even if you make it up there, you might not see much. We never saw them at the top afterwards lol.


Key Summit


It was cloudy when we were up there. By the time we got down, a group of day walkers started streaming up. The sky cleared after we left and the last stretch was easy and flat.



I had booked the 3.15pm shuttle back to Queenstown but we reached the end of the track at 12.45pm, earlier than expected. Managed to hop on to the 1.30pm bus but it goes to Te Anau first and we had to wait for another shuttle at Te Anau to go back to Queenstown. That was fine by us as we could have something proper to eat at Te Anau first rather than wait aimlessly for 2.5 hours.


The Divide carpark looking full on Christmas Day


Pizza & pasta lunch at Te Anau

The rest of the journey back to Queenstown was just stoning tired but couldn't sleep. We were looking at the photos we had taken on the track and realised the Germans sitting near us on the bus were in our photos. We showed them the photo and the German gal responded with a totally unexpected and witty comment "paparazzi". Checked back in to YHA, dropped our packs and wandered off searching for dinner. Had Korean food again, it was shiok but there wasn't a lot of meat though. By the time we finished, it was nearly 9pm.