Five Tips to prepare you for hiking the Routeburn Track:
Tip 1: Book early!
Book early! The Great Walk booking system usually comes online in June for the following November-April season. Hut tickets book out VERY quickly so you'll probably need to book THE DAY it opens if you want to walk during the summer months like we did.
Tip 2: Consider walking the track from The Divide to the Routeburn Shelter
Most people start the Routeburn Track at the Routeburn Shelter end because it's closer to Queenstown. However before we walked we'd heard and read that the views are MUCH better if you walk the other way - and you'll also be walking against the crowds this way too. Plus it means when you finish at the other end it's not far too civilisation and a decent feed back in Queenstown.
Views on the last morning walking towards the Routeburn Shelter
Tip 3: use transport that suits your trip itinerary
You can catch buses that stop a few times of the day at either end of the track but because we wanted to spend a night in Milford the night before AND have some flexibility for when we started and finished we used a car relocation service called Trackhopper. They will relocate your car from where you start to where you finish and they were SO easy to deal with - I'd highly recommend this! You need to pick up a lockbox in either Te Anau or Glenorchy and then you leave your keys inside the lockbox padlocked to your car somewhere and it's as easy as that. Otherwise you can use the bus transport if the timetables work for your journey.Tip 4: train for walking on steep and uneven terrain and use walking poles
The Great Walks brochure for the Routeburn Track describes it as an Intermediate/Easier walking track. There are definitely parts of the walk where the path is reasonably wide and easy to walk on. HOWEVER, there are also a lot of areas where you are clambering over loose and slippery rock and the track is pretty narrow so I highly recommend using two walking poles for stability and to reduce the strain on your knees on the downhill.
I'll admit I didn't do the right kind of training for the walk - I focused on whether I could carry my 10kg pack the distance but didn't do enough training to prepare for the steep sections of downhill. If I did my training all over again I'd do a lot more stair work, squats and steep descents to try and strengthen my upper legs and butt. This meant I found the downhill on Days 2 and 3 incredibly painful as the ITB muscle in behind my knees became excruciating with every downhill step. It would also be worth strapping your knees or wearing a knee brace if you know your knees are likely to cause issues so I'll know that for next time!
Tip 5: be smart with packing your gear
Don't pack too much gear! We learnt this the hard way after we ended up with a lot more food than we needed and had to ditch some along the way at one of the huts (shhh don't tell anyone, I'm sure the warden has been having midnight feasts with all our expensive and yummy snacks - doh!). We also took 2 head torches and 2 microfibre towels when we could have gotten away with one. We took a cooker and gas bottle thinking we might need to use it if the huts were busy, and they were full both nights. However, we never ended up having to wait for a space so that was a weight we could have done without. I also took 2 camera lenses but really only used my 16-35mm lens for 90% of the time - so if you can get away with one camera and one lens I highly recommend it!So what did we pack smartly?
- dehydrated meals - these were invaluable for breakfast and dinner, Mark took Back Country Cuisine meals and I used Radix Nutrition (as I have food intolerances and these are gluten-free and dairy-free). They were super filling and just what we need to fuel us for the long hours of walking ahead and to refuel properly at the other end.
- scroggin - although we REALLY over-catered in the snack department - the one snack that proved a winner was good old scroggin. We made up snap-lock bags filled with roasted cashews, roasted almonds, sultanas and M&Ms. The M&Ms were a great treat and the perfect chocolate fix without having to worry about it melting in your pocket during the day
- a compact cooking set - depending on the size of your group you might be able to get away with a set like the X-Set 11 from Sea to Summit - a very smart cooking set which was light as a feather and packed down so small you barely noticed it in the pack - this was enough for 2 of us to heat up our dehydrated meals in minutes, and then make a hot drink with a second boil up.
- dry sacks and pack liners - we were pretty lucky it only ever drizzled on the hike but even so it was great to know that none of our gear was going to get wet even if it was torrential - which it was overnight! These Sea to Summit dry sacks were great for keeping all our electronics in including my camera and the Mountain Safety Council pack liners were added peace of mind that nothing would get wet - my advice is don't rely on a pack cover to keep your gear dry!
- a power bank - there's nowhere to charge electronics along the way so if you can charge your phone or camera using a USB connection then these are invaluable
- a water bladder - keeping hydrated while walking is super important and it is a pain having to stop and take your pack off to drink. Having a 2 litre bladder which you can integrate into your hiking pack is such a great way to keep up your water intake - you can drink without even having to stop while you're walking. I used this Camelbak bladder - it was really easy to turn the valve on/off with one hand too.
- a silk sleeping bag liner - this is versatile, tiny and weighs nothing and is useful whether it's hot or cold. It was pretty warm the nights we were on the track and we found we only needed to drape our sleeping bags over us and just sleep inside the liner. In colder conditions, having a liner inside your sleeping bag provides a huge amount of extra warmth.
- Merino, merino, merino - it doesn't matter whether it's hot or cold merino clothing is so versatile. I walked in a merino sports bra, merino racerback tank top and had 2-3 long sleeve merino layers to add if I got cold (which usually only happened at the end of the day when I stopped and cooled down). Merino socks are also great to hike in too - comfortable and won't make your feet overheat like cotton socks would.
- earplugs - when you're sleeping with up to 30 people in a bunk-room you can guarantee there's going to be at least one snorer. We used these little foam ear plugs and they were amazing - pretty much blocked out any outside noise and made for a good night's sleep
- insect repellant - unless you're walking in very cold conditions, you'll probably be plagued by NZ's notorious sandflies on parts of the track. My best advice is to invest in Bushman Repellant insect repellant. It has a higher DEET content than most and I came away from the hike without a single bite!
Five more tips to enjoy hiking the Routeburn Track
Tip 6 - take the additional side trips to Key Summit & Conical Hill
There are two well-known side routes on the Routeburn Track. Key Summit is about an hour into the hike from The Divide and makes a good day walk in its own right from The Divide carpark. It's worth the extra slog up the hill if you can guarantee the view - we got lucky the day we walked as the clouds broke enough to see the amazing mountains reflected in the tarn at the top and 360 degree views of the whole area. At an hour return it was worth the extra effort!
View from Key Summit towards the Darran Mountains
On the second day when you reach Harris Saddle (no matter which direction you walk), there's a side trip up to Conical Hill which will take you another 250 metres higher than Harris Saddle up to 1515m. We saw a few people heading up here but the day we walked there wasn't great visibility when we reached the saddle plus my knees were already pretty shot and I couldn't imagine getting back down again without a good deal of extra pain!
Walkers at Harris Saddle looking up the Conical Hill track
Tip 7 - enjoy the amazing variety of scenery
The Routeburn Track traverses two national parks, Fiordland and Mount Aspiring. Fiordland is by far the wettest place in New Zealand, so you'd be doing well to walk all 3 days without seeing rain of some description. During the 3 days on the hike we encountered fog and mist, bright sunshine, hazy clouds, drizzle, torrential rain, low visibility and bright sunshine again.
The most impressive waterfall of all is Earland Falls at 174 metres tall. You'll walk directly past it on the track and get a nice soaking for your efforts - which was rather nice when you're feeling hot and sweaty!
Tip 8: keep an eye out for NZ's native birds
There has been a big effort by DOC along with public donations in recent years to bring back birdlife on the track as it had diminished significantly due to pests like stoats. There's a pest trap about every 100 metres along the track marked by markers in the trees and it has made a huge difference to the levels of birdlife along the track. We saw lots of cute riflemen, a few robins but the highlight was seeing two kea (NZ's native alpine parrot) up close as we walked up to the Saddle.
Tip 9: get up early and watch the sunrise
If you're anything like me, you'll be pretty tired from up to 6 hours of walking each day and the thought of staying in bed for an extra hour will be pretty appealing. However, it's worth taking a peek out the window just as the sky begins to lighten to see if it's worth finding a spot to watch the sunrise. The sunrise we experienced at Routeburn Falls Hut on our 3rd morning was nothing short of miraculous and I couldn't believe most of my fellow hikers were missing out on such a glorious sight.
Tip 10: Pinch yourself!
When it's all over, you'll be wishing you could turn around and walk it all over again (sore knees aside!). I loved every minute of the hike, including listening to the ranger talks in the hut each evening, meeting other hikers and hearing their stories, being out of cellphone coverage for three whole days, and just generally falling in love with NZ's scenery all over again. The excruciating knee pain I experienced for all of Day 2 and 3 has not put me off AT ALL, it just makes me more determined to get myself better prepared physically so I'll be more than ready to tackle the next Great Walk we're planning to do - we haven't decided which one or exactly when it will be but I do know that we want to head back into NZ's wilderness again sometime soon!
A summary of each day to give you a taste of what to expect:
Day 1 - The Divide - Key Summit - Lake Howden - Earland Falls - Lake Mackenzie
The walk starts at The Divide carpark about 15 minutes before the Homer Tunnel on the road to Milford Sound. We walked through the foggy forest for a good half an hour gaining altitude steadily. When we reached the turnoff for Key Summit, we decided it would be worth the effort and it was!
The sun trying to break through the mist
Climbing through the fog and beech forest
Smiles for a side trip that was very worthwhile at Key Summit
From Key Summit, the track descends quickly towards Lake Howden - this descent was where my knee troubles began! After a quick stop at Lake Howden for scroggin and the toilet, we headed off up the next ridge towards Earland Falls.
Short pitstop and admiring the views at Lake Howden
It was really warm here and it was a relief to head back into the cool of the bush for a while.
Enjoying the cool of the bush after Lake Howden
We climbed steadily again for a good hour or so before coming upon the mighty Earland Falls. They're quite hard to capture as they are SO tall and the spray is pretty crazy. You can see them from a long way off when you're walking from the other direction.
Spectacular spray and view to Earland Falls
From there the weather started to close in, and it was a gradual descent through some fairly rocky uneven ground (again the knees were hurting!) and by the time we made it to Lake Mackenzie at around 4pm we were MORE than ready to see the hut!
The rain really set in overnight and everyone was early to bed after the ranger talk finished as dark set in quickly - no chance of sunset for me.
We set off around 8.30am in drizzle and low visibility and steadily climbed up above the lake getting the occasional glimpse through the passing cloud of the mountains and lake down below.
After some steep switchbacks we then headed up into some very thick cloud and rounded the corner to more level ground as we headed along the side of the hill for a good hour or two towards the saddle. The clouds broke occasionally to reveal a wee snippet of the valley below but we never got a fully clear view across the Hollyford Valley - kinda frustrating!
We made good time to the Harris Saddle reaching it after about 3 hours 30 minutes and spent about half an hour enjoying a sit down and a toilet stop.
After setting off you reach Lake Harris just around the corner with plenty more opportunities for stunning photos - this area of the walk reminded me so much of the terrain I'd expect in Iceland.
The last section of the day is a steep descent through the valley towards the Routeburn Falls Hut - I found this REALLY hard going on my knees - it took us almost as long to do the short descent as it had taken us to do all the uphill.
It was quite a relief to finally see the hut appear over the hill with the falls - though the last fifteen minutes were a VERY STEEP descent which took me way longer than it should have.
The setting of the Routeburn Falls Hut is incredible - with the falls flowing down right past it. Even though I could barely walk, I still managed to drag myself up to the lookout to enjoy a lovely pastel sunset that evening.
The last day dawned with an incredible sunrise - I snuck out of the bunkroom quietly at 5.45am when I saw the colour developing in the sky - it turned into an absolute beauty.
This was a very welcome sight!
It was a damp end to Day 1 - glad to be warm and dry at the hut!
Claiming a spot in the bunkroom and doing some running repairs on the blister protection!
Bunk room at the Lake Mackenzie Hut
What a setting for the Lake Mackenzie Hut!
The rain really set in overnight and everyone was early to bed after the ranger talk finished as dark set in quickly - no chance of sunset for me.
Day 2: Lake Mackenzie - Harris Saddle - Routeburn Falls Hut
The forecast was a bit wrong as the rain was meant to clear by 6am - but it was almost heavier then than it had been overnight which put paid to any chance of sunrise down at the lake - I was a bit disappointed!! It's still a stunning spot though even in the rain.
I'll just have to come back for my magical sunset / sunrise one day!
Even in the mist Lake Mackenzie is stunning - AND COLD! Tried an ice bath the previous afternoon and could only last a minute up to my knees!
We set off around 8.30am in drizzle and low visibility and steadily climbed up above the lake getting the occasional glimpse through the passing cloud of the mountains and lake down below.
The odd break in the cloud allowed us views back down to Lake Mackenzie
Climbing steadily away from Lake Mackenzie
After some steep switchbacks we then headed up into some very thick cloud and rounded the corner to more level ground as we headed along the side of the hill for a good hour or two towards the saddle. The clouds broke occasionally to reveal a wee snippet of the valley below but we never got a fully clear view across the Hollyford Valley - kinda frustrating!
The track hugs these hillsides for a good two hours towards the Harris Saddle
About the best opportunity to look down into the Hollyford Valley
The scenery on Day 2 was so different - all alpine views above the tree line
Pausing for a camera break
Tantalising when the cloud broke to show glimpses of the valley below
Emergency shelters at Harris Saddle - one for the independent walkers and one for the guided tours.
This view across Lake Harris to the waterfall was one of my favourites of the whole trip!
This photo shows just how uneven some of the the ground was even on the flat sections of the track
After setting off you reach Lake Harris just around the corner with plenty more opportunities for stunning photos - this area of the walk reminded me so much of the terrain I'd expect in Iceland.
At the highest point of the walk - 1300 metres overlooking Lake Harris
Amazing views - but at this point I was wondering how on earth I'd get down this next section!
The last section of the day is a steep descent through the valley towards the Routeburn Falls Hut - I found this REALLY hard going on my knees - it took us almost as long to do the short descent as it had taken us to do all the uphill.
A steady descent through alpine meadows from Lake Harris
The waterfalls follow you all the way down this valley
It was quite a relief to finally see the hut appear over the hill with the falls - though the last fifteen minutes were a VERY STEEP descent which took me way longer than it should have.
Relief to see the hut appear at last!
The setting of the Routeburn Falls Hut is incredible - with the falls flowing down right past it. Even though I could barely walk, I still managed to drag myself up to the lookout to enjoy a lovely pastel sunset that evening.
The view down the Routeburn valley at dusk
The Routeburn Falls lit up by the pastel sky overhead
Day 3: Routeburn Falls Hut - Routeburn Flats - Routeburn Shelter
The Routeburn Falls hut positive glows under the light of the incredible sunriseOn one hand I was sad realising that this was the last morning to enjoy this amazing experience but my knees were more than ready to stop walking and we had a big descent of 500 metres ahead of us.
The first hour or so was a bit of a killer in terms of our downwards elevation but luckily there were some lovely views to make up for it.
The incredible Routeburn valley spread out before us
Before long we reached the flats (yay!) and the ground evened out for a while which was a relief. From here we followed the river through some beautiful beech forest for a couple of hours.
Five minutes with my feet up - bliss!
The colour of the water was pretty incredible here - that beautiful pure quality that New Zealand is so well known for.
I could have stayed here all day taking photos of this view!
River crossing - that water colour is incredible
Enjoying the beautiful beech forest not far from the end of the hike
At about 12pm, we reached the end of the track - it looks a bit like the sign is the only thing holding me up at this point which wasn't far from the truth!
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