Routeburn Track

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Journal: December 18 - 20

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Routeburn Track

The Routeburn Track is just a short distance from the Milford Track, but has a completely different character. The track is on the border between the Mt. Aspiring and Fjordland National Parks, and crosses Harris Saddle. This area gets much less rain than the Milford Sound, and the forests are very different, especially on the eastern side of the saddle, where there are a lot of large pines and other trees, and relatively few ferns. The track spends a long time on the high ridges around Harris Saddle, for spectacular mountain scenery, if you are lucky with the weather. I was pretty lucky, and had two days of perfectly clear weather, followed by a partly cloudy third day.

Access to the Routeburn Track is not as tightly controlled as the Milford. Camping is allowed, though both huts and camping spaces must now be booked in advance. You can get a space while on the track, if available, but there is a surcharge for this. There is also a choice of which direction you go, and which huts to stay in. On the western side, everyone stays at the MacKenzie Hut, which is enormous, but on the eastern side, you can stay at the Falls Hut or Flats Hut. The Falls Hut is more popular, since staying there breaks up the climb to the saddle better, especially coming from the east. Camping is not allowed at Falls Hut, however.

Much of the Routeburn Track is also accessible to day hikers, especially Key Summit on the western end, the site of a popular viewpoint and nature walk not far from the roadway. In fact, on a long summer day, the Harris Saddle itself would not be out of reach of a strong day-hiker starting from the eastern end. I made it there myself the first day, not convinced the perfect weather would hold for another day (it did). In good weather, climbing Conical Hill next to Harris Saddle gives astonishing views of the surroundings, extending to the Tasman Sea.

The usual base for the Routeburn Track is Queenstown. This requires a rather long shuttle, since the Divide end of the track is an expensive five hour bus ride from Queenstown. Some people avoid this by taking the Greenstone Track back to the Glenorchy side, which takes a few more days but makes the shuttle much easier. The necessary bus rides can be easily arranged in Queenstown, either way.

The New Zealand DOC has a Milford Walk web page where you can find more information. There is also an official web site for the Routeburn Guided Walk.

Each small picture is linked to a larger version with a caption.


Queenstown	Routeburn River	Routeburn Flats	Harris Saddle


Conical Hill View	Hollyford Valley	MacKenzie Lake

Next: Abel Tasman Coastal Track Up: Tramping in New Zealand Previous: Milford Track

Journal: December 18 - 20

Map