As Routeburn As

The Fiordland National Park is truly a special place. One that is best experienced in person. Photos will never capture the true beauty that this place holds, nor words do it justice.

One of the wettest places on Earth. Many meters of rain a year. Large places are left untouched by humans. Inhospitable. But ravishingly beautiful. This is the beauty of this park. Sheer rock cliffs that dwarf you as you walk below, never ending waterfalls that multiply in the rain, moss covered forests that come alive after the rain, and the sound of foreign birds singing every step you take.

Why would you ever want to leave this place?


The Routeburn Track


Day 1 - Monday, October 13, 2008

A beautiful day. The forecast is not looking the best for us at this point, but today is a fine day. "Fine" is the best forecast you will ever get in NZ. That's considered a good day. Today was our first taste of the Milford Hwy. We still have yet to make it all the way to Milford Sound (that will be in a few days from actually posting this blog post), but on this day we drove about 80some odd kms of the highway. What starts off as a normal road with nothing more then the already impressive views of the Kepler mountains and the Sounds across from Luxmore winds into a tree covered highway that is quite delightful and spectacular. The trees come right up to the highway side and shelter you for long periods of time before opening up like curtains to divine valleys exposing the bluest rivers, turquoise lakes and the grandest mountains. Sheer cliffs plunge all around you, and the best part is that the closer you get to Milford, the closer the cliffs get to the road. I'll talk more about them once we get passed the Lower Hollyford Road, which will be soon enough.

Beautiful none the less, a great start to the day was our drive to the Divide, which is the main stop and car park for the Routeburn track and the Greenstone/Caples circuit. We took our time today. Our first hut would be Lake Howden Hut, which is roughly 1.5 hours from the Divide. An hour up the track is a popular day walk to Key Summit, which we decided to do today, as the sky was clear and the views must be spectacular.

A simple day. That's what we expected. But the first hour of the track to the Key Summit junction - is all up hill. Pretty much a dead on steady climb. I got to tell you, I feel like I'm 80 years old taking on the world sometimes. At first I thought having knee and hip injuries was bad. Both of us are slowed down periodically with our knee troubles, but man, add a back injury into the mix and you feel like you are falling apart. We were huffing up this hill at probably the slowest rate in the world. All the day walkers zipping by us (mind you they aren't carrying 1/3 of their weight on their backs). But you feel terribly out of shape. Our goal now is to keep a nice slow steady pace to do the least amount of aggravation to my back as we walk. The nicer we are to it, the longer it lasts on the trails. But yeah, 80 years old. This is not what we signed up for.

Once we hit the junction, we were facing a zig zagging climb to the top of Key Summit. They love the zig zags here. They can make you feel a little dizzy after a while, but it helps keep the climb steady and less steep, opening up the trails to more people I would imagine.

We met a strange little creature that fascinated us like we were 5 years old all over again on this part of the trail.

Grasshoppers.

I'm telling you, it's like we didn't have them back home or something. But we were actually quite surprised to see them in New Zealand. We knew they had Wetas, which look like Grasshoppers only freakishly larger, but had no idea they had the real deal. And these ones were like super grasshoppers. These things could jump higher and farther than any other grasshopper I've ever seen. And they were quite large. So these little critters kept us entertained as we winded our way up through the sub alpine scrub into the tussock clearing on Key Summit.

What spectacular views!!!

Unfortunately, we don't know the names of all the mountain chains we look at, so we don't do the area as much justice as it deserves. From the top of the mountain, you can take a one hour nature walk circuit, which we did, that leads you around the mountain's ridge and opens up unobstructed views of all the surrounding mountains.

Snow covered beautiful mountains.

Without snow these mountains are still incredibly impressive, but there is nothing more beautiful then seeing these peaks with snow cover. I truly believe it allows you to capture a better impression of their grandeur. And the snow makes the sheer rock faces more striking, and accents the deep blue alpine lakes that sit above the world. Beautiful Lake Marian. Probably as blue as other glacial lakes would be. Sitting high above the Milford Hwy, as you drive by it might be nothing more then another majestic waterfall trickling down the mountain face, but from across the highway on Key Summit, an untouched waterway that is so pure.

Any struggle you experience on any climb on a tramp is worth every huffing breath the moment the world opens up such a view. An untouched world that was created for us to discover. A masterpiece hidden in the carved mountains. I could never spend enough time on a mountain top appreciating the perspective and the views all around me. I look forward to so many more in this country, but you could never grow tired of these moments.

After a leisurely stroll around the summit, we decided to make our return to the junction before a nice downhill climb to the hut.

We always wondered what it would be like to share a hut with a lot of people. With peak season around the corner, our days of nights alone in huts was coming to an end. Which is nice, cause it can be pretty freaky to be the only two people in a 45 bunk hut. And then again, after spending so many nights with so many people, it can be a real treat to have a one night break with only the two of you. The Kepler track was a nice taste of sharing huts. Lake Howden Hut would be the extended experience, and pretty full on. The hut felt almost full with 14 or 15 of us. It houses 28, but would probably feel terribly crowded with that number. Especially if everyone decided to cook at the exact same time or try to nestle around the small stove/fireplace.

This hut sits alongside a small lake (guess what its name is?) with a bench set up with the best view across the water.

A group of 7 kiwi trampers took a liking to us and through the evening we got to know them a bit better and spent the evening playing euchre with four of them. 6 person euchre - possible because they play with cards as low as 7!! (I thought a hand of just 9s & 10s was bad, but you think that's golden when you've experienced a hand of 7s & 8s!) It was a lot of fun to play cards with PEOPLE! Brent and I are always playing together in the evening, but you really grow tired of the same games with just two people. This was a nice change. And we taught them the rule of 'screw the dealer', which they had never heard of before but thought it was the funniest term you could ever use. These are middle-aged men we're talking about here. They didn't wear that term down all night.

A highlight of the evening was also a Viggo Mortensen look alike in the hut. You couldn't stop looking at him, he really was a spitting image of Viggo in his LOTR days. Craziness. A down side to the evening was experiencing the back country meal that I thought was going to rock - the Pad Thai. It was the most disgusting thing in the world!!! I literally stopped eating it, I just couldn't continue. Brent tried, but also pushed it aside in the end. How unfortunate. It's really hit or miss with the back country foods - but we truly are lucky that the brand in NZ is really good, otherwise we would always be eating 2 minute noodles. :)


Day 2 - Tuesday, October 14

And the rain moves in. The view across the lake was wiped clean this morning as clouds rolled in the middle of the night and the rain started. The face of the mountains change in the rain, but they are no less spectacular. Clouds roll in and out so quickly, allowing glimpses of what might stand above you. It's a different kind of beautiful. In Fiordland NP, you have to expect rain all the time. It's just how things work here.

Heavy rain. We were not in a hurry to cross to Lake Mackenzie Hut today. Especially with so many people around, we try so hard to be quiet for others while they sleep in, which just means that it takes longer to pack up.

After wishing our new kiwi friends safe travels to Milford, we were on our way. Today, a 3-4 hour hike around a mountain chain into a valley. We are scheduled to cross two of the 32 avalanche paths on the Routeburn track. We are only hiking in two days on this track due to the risks over the saddle further down the track. We'll revisit the Routeburn from the Glenorchy side (a town that is near the other end of the track - near Queenstown) in a few weeks once the weather has settled down. But today, we pass two paths, one which is at the Earland waterfall and the site of freak avalanche a few weeks ago, and the other a known path that had fallen just after we arrived in Te Anau. We didn't feel there was a concern on this part of the track so we opted to move ahead.

One thing to note on great walk tracks is the drainage system that is put in place. These tracks are smooth and easy to walk. They are made wider to accommodate a lot of different types of trampers (from the expert to the beginner), and they are really well groomed for the most part. But the drainage system helps so much in the wet weather. None of those hollow box type steps that collect water and are more of a hassle to use then a help. The track runs over a lot of pipes and tubes that let the known waterfall paths run down the side of the mountain without washing away the trails. I guess this is more to protect the track then anything else, because it could easily slip away if it were not protected by the drainage. But it is a big difference you notice on the great walks that you don't really see on the other trails.

Purple rocks. They kept jumping out at us on today's walk. Strikingly purple and everywhere. On the Kepler track we were running into really blue rocks, I guess each great walk has a different colour. :) Naturally occurring rocks, but none the less, it's odd to see both walks had very different yet predominant colours.

Although the fog robbed us of many views, the rolling clouds hugging the hillsides was beautiful to watch. The moss glows in the rain. Moss - something I would never take notice of back home, fascinates the living day lights out of me in this country. This incredible moss that offers life to these mountains. These sheer rock faces that defy all possibilities with these lush forests growing on their cliff sides. All because of these mosses. There are hundreds of different types in NZ. They take over the rock faces and flourish. Spreading everywhere. From these moss beds, life begins to grow. Shallow rooted trees cling on for dear life to the moss bed that has thrived on the rock face. Tree after tree after tree. It's quite incredible when you think about the harsh environment. Then, every once and a while, it all comes crashing down in a land slip. With so much rain, and no real substance below these ever growing forests, the rock face comes crumbling down. The clay. The limestone. The rocks. The trees are gutted and as they fall, they take down everything in their path, scarring the mountain side for years.

Until, the moss starts to find its way back onto the surface, and the cycle begins once again.

This really makes you appreciate what the moss does in this country. But its also so beautiful. So many different varieties. The colours and the textures are stunning. And in the rain, it's almost like its been raining this fluorescent green moss in some of the trees. Glowing green. The forest just shines. I've tried countless times to capture this beautiful glow in pictures, but you have to see it to truly appreciate it. Beaming green mosses. Pinks and reds, browns and oranges. Yellow hues up and down the hills. Just glowing.

So much life. Even in the pouring rain, you can appreciate these forests.

You much prefer the tree cover in the rain too. Even with great rain gear, it's hard to tramp in the rain. At the end of the day your pack is soaked, and the rain cover on your pack only does so much, which in our case can be very little (hence why everything in our bags are in dry sacks!!). Today we were in and out of the tree cover, and a great deal of time we were being pelted by strong winds in the open areas beating the rain harder on our faces.

As we passed through the avalanche paths, we were happy to see that there was no danger today. We could see above the sheer cliffs we would walk under, and only speckles of snow were found from the track up. There was not enough snow to warrant any danger today. And no snow in the near forecast, so our return would be just as safe. The rain hadn't flooded the upper trail, so we were able to walk alongside the Earland Waterfall (there is a lower track for bad weather). Spectacular. One of the permanent waterfalls on this mountain chain.

I don't know what is more beautiful. The permanent waterfalls or the ones that just spring up during a heavy rain storm to drain the water off the mountains. They are both amazing to watch. The permanent ones are usually a lot bigger. And louder. The second waterfall we passed sounded torrential. We were concerned we would have to cross an unbridged section for a moment (I have no idea why we forgot we were on a great walk track - cause you're usually pretty set up on these tracks, and protected from water crossings that are known to flood). This second waterfall was so much smaller, but because of the rock hollow it pounded against, it created such a loud sound. Giant slick rocks that have been chewed away by a massive amount of water over years. The sound running circles inside a cave like area, trapping itself and echoing around the mountain chain.

After another hour or so, and a walk through an orchard (a sign indicated we had entered an orchard - but we don't know what type of orchard it was), we found ourselves on the valley floor that led us to Lake Mackenzie Hut. A hut with an already roaring fire (thank you God!). Two Kiwis, a Scotsman and 1 Bavarian were already at the hut. The first three had crossed the saddle this morning (in the pouring rain, with avalanche concerns), and the Bavarian was sitting out the bad weather waiting for a fine day to cross over the saddle (smart man!). We all sat by the roaring fire for hours drying off and warming up.

I guess we all decided to have dinner at the same time and spread out in the main hut, and for 10 minutes, we left the fire alone and what does it go to? Die on us. Go figure. Never to be revived. Even with our fire lighters. Nothing.

It's nights like these (the damp cold ones) that you really appreciate your -12 sleeping bag. Non stop rain can really be a damper.

As the night fell, we all sat around talking, and the kiwis were teaching us non kiwis a bunch of kiwi sayings. :) Our favorites: 'flash' - something snazzy, 'sweet as' - something you see EVERYWHERE in NZ...meaning sweet as something something, you're supposed to just imagine its as sweet as the sweetest thing - it's like 'as kiwi as' - just means its pretty kiwi - and you see it even on chocolate bar wrappers! 'good as gold', 'cheap as chips', 'reckon', 'far out', 'heaps', 'chur', 'ta' - thank you. We are boosting our vocabulary. We'll be sounding kiwi in no time. Unfortunately, without the accent.

Oh, and one of the kiwis, looked exactly like Heath Ledger. It's like the movie star track!

There was a one hour lake walk we also could have done at the hut, however with the weather the way it was, we didn't feel a need to continue tramping in it. Also, we would be devoid of any views, sadly.


Day 3 - Wednesday, October 15

We woke up to heavier rain. yay!

With no signs of it letting up, we set out with everyone but the Bavarian, who decided to sit out yet another day.

The walk was even more beautiful today with the water levels higher today after steady rain for over 24hrs. The sheer cliffs were flowing with waterfalls. The track was covered in waterfalls that had appeared over night. You were literally walking through several waterfalls through the day.

It was a quick day. A simple return to the car with a pit stop at Lake Howden Hut for a dry snack before the final walk back to the car. 15mins uphill and this time around 45mins downhill. :)

The others had overtaken us earlier in the day, but once we were at the car park, we found the two kiwis still trying to hitch a ride into Te Anau. We offered them a lift and dropped them off on the highway just outside of town, where they would try to get to Cromwell before nightfall.

To end a wonderful tramp, a traditional burger dinner. I ordered a Hawaiian burger, not thinking much about it, and was surprised when all I got was a ham patty and pineapple. Everywhere else, a Hawaiian burger is a beef patty, with ham and pineapple. Still delicious. And we are smartening up, we only ordered one serving of chips this time around, but they still give you about the same as you would get for two servings.

And for a treat, Rosie made home made scones. So good.

So this part of the Routeburn was great. Unfortunate about the weather, but what can you do. It's not the best time to cross the saddle anyway. Many people keep saying there is very little snow on the track, but are still reporting a good 6 inches in most parts over the saddle.

It's not what's under your feet that matters in an Avalanche zone, it's what's sitting over head. Alistair has been commissioned to blast the avalanche path in the near future, so we were basing our decision of not crossing the saddle on the reality of the amount of snow sitting above everyone's heads.

Hopefully the heaps of snow melt away slowly with trickling waterfalls. I would hate to hear that it all decided to come down and surprise a group of hikers on a rainy day.

That would suck.