December 18

Begin Routeburn Track

I got up at 6 AM, finished packing, and had breakfast. The dining room in the hostel had a long row of windows overlooking the lake through the trees. I checked some bags with the hostel and waited for the 8:00 van. It stopped once at a viewpoint overlooking the lake on the way to Glenorchy. There, we waited until other vans came at 9 AM to take people to the Routeburn, Greenstone, and Rees-Dart tracks. We waited outside a camp store. Some people had come here to ride horses also. Broad, grassy fields were all around.

It was a beautiful, clear morning when we arrived at the trailhead. An impressive view of mountains and a waterfall could be seen ahead. I took a number of pictures, and got started a while after the others had departed. I began walking at 10:45, crossing a swinging bridge over the clear, blue Routeburn River. The trail followed the river for a while, and began climbing through the forest. I thought the forest was in some ways similar to the Smokies, with large trees, and very lush, but not as dense and mossy as the Milford rainforest. There were a lot of conifers, and in a way, I was reminded of the forests in the western US. I eventually passed a few of the other walkers, and followed the clear, turquoise river past some nice rapids to a broad, flat grassy field, Routeburn Flats, where some people were fishing.

I was the first to arrive at Routeburn Flats Hut, apparently, and I had lunch there. The day was too beautiful to stay there, so I packed a day sack (the top of my pack converts into a fanny pack) and headed up toward Harris Saddle, the high point of the track. I didn't expect weather this beautiful to last long in New Zealand. I set out at 1:30 PM, with plenty of daylight left, and began a fairly steep climb, arriving at Routeburn Falls hut at 2:15, in half the time the sign said. On the way, I saw a small mammal I didn't recognize. Mammals are rare in New Zealand, so I made note of this. The only land mammals in New Zealand before people were bats.

Routeburn Falls Hut wasn't open yet when I made my reservations, due to snow damage. Otherwise, it would be the preferred place to stay, being closer to Harris Saddle, and having a fine view of Routeburn Flats below. Those who made reservations later were able to stay here, however, so the hut would be full tonight. A hut for the guided walkers, who pay a lot of money to have meals prepared for them, and hot showers and other amenities, was just up the hill from Falls Hut.

Routeburn Falls was a long one, with many separate parts going on up the hill. The most interesting section poured into a long, narrow canyon. I climbed down into it and took some pictures, and then headed on up the trail, leaving the forest behind. Now the trail passed through open brush, going around a wide, wet tussock valley and climbing up toward the saddle. It looked a lot like the American West Now, in the high mountain valleys. After climbing a bit, a big, clear green lake became visible. The trail followed a narrow ledge above the lake, coming now to some snow patches. The view out over the lake was incredible, back down the valley, beyond Routeburn Flats (now looking very far away), and out to distant mountain ranges.

Around the corner was Harris Saddle, with a small, low A-frame shelter for day use, and spectacular views of the mountains on the other side, across the Hollyford Valley. There were numerous small tarns on the saddle. A small peak, Conical Hill, rose next to the saddle, and a sign said it was an hour to the top. It was an extremely steep trail, and avoiding snow was not easy. I went off to the side for a while, and climbed up the tussock slopes, which was itself rather difficult, because the grass can be slippery, and this was not a place where you would want to slip. I rejoined the trail above the snow patch. Now the trail became steeper, and following the orange and white posts to the top was challenging.

The view on top was definitely worth the climb. To the west, at the end of the Hollyford Valley, the Tasman Sea could be seen in the distance. Mountains could be seen in all directions. Another person came up shortly afterward. I got him to take a picture, and I took some of him with his video camera. Then I headed down around 6 PM, stopping to take some pictures of a kea, and leaving the saddle at 6:30 as shadows began to fill the valleys. No one else was around now. There would still be over three hours of daylight, so getting back was no problem, though it was a shame to have to leave this spot on such a beautiful day. I walked back down quickly, arriving at the lodge at 8:15.

I found three Germans at the lodge, but no one else. Crowding would not be a problem tonight. I fixed dinner, and the hut warden came in to check our hut tickets. She warned us that mice were around, and we should hang our food tonight. I asked her about the animal I had seen earlier, and she said it was a stoat, a small carnivore. I had seen it not far above the hut, and she was surprised there was one so close, since she had not seen any nearby. Mammals are generally considered to be a nuisance here, since they were introduced by people, and eat the native birds. The warden was impressed that I had walked all the way to the saddle and back this afternoon. Actually, I think that with an early start in the summertime, Harris Saddle would not be unreasonable to do as a dayhike from the Glenorchy side.

Copyright Scott A. Yost, 1996. All rights reserved.