The Routeburn Track

Day 1

I spent the night before doing the Routeburn stressing about the fact I'd forgotten to pick up my hut tickets from the Doc office in Queenstown and hoping the bus driver would be happy to stop at the Doc office in Te Anau so I could get them there. As it happened I shouldn't have stressed, because the bus stops at Doc in Te Anau anyway! So that was all all right.

Instead, the weather was the thing to worry about. A short way out of Queenstown it started to rain and didn't stop until Te Anau, when things looked a bit brighter for a little while. But once we got on the Milford Road it really looked bleak. At the Divide, where the track begins, it was still raining and there was a bedraggled Belgian girl there who said she'd decided to turn around from Lake Mackenzie Hut and not go over the top of the saddle. That concerned me and the German girl who were there, but we shrugged our shoulders, donned waterproofs and set out.

In actual fact it didn't matter about the rain too much that first day, because the track is mostly through bush and is relatively sheltered. The sun even came out for a bit just below Key Summit and there were mountains through the mist. All very atmospheric, though the clouds rolled in again by the time I'd climbed the detour to Key Summit and that was mainly a trip to see alpine plants.

Had lunch at Lake Howden Hut, which was packed with walkers on the guided tour. I'm afraid I can't see the point of doing the guided walk unless you actually can't carry a full pack (they provide food and accommodation, which reduces the stuff you have to carry quite considerably). The Routeburn is not a track you could easily get lost on.

After lunch the track continued on upwards through lots of lovely bush and past the truly majestic Earland Falls. The falls were, as expected after all the rain, in absolute torrents and walking past them was like walking through an extremely cold shower! Pretty amazing though especially for a waterfall fan like me. I managed to get some shots from a distance when I'd walked a little further.

As I got closer to the hut the rain got harder and it was a relief to see the smoke rising from the stove and the thought of warmth and dryness awaiting. Earlier arrivals had already got the fire going and there were a lot of wet clothes and boots drying by the stoveside. The atmosphere was very convivial and it was nice warming up and chatting to the other trampers. There was a wide range of nationalities and ages and most people were very friendly.

Later on the hut warden, Clive – I think he was probably British by birth, as he didn't have much of a Kiwi accent – gave his famous introductory talk. My companions on the non-kayak trip had already done the track and told me that the Mackenzie hut warden did this talk. He was brilliant, full of mad stories about the track and people he claimed to have seen on it; drily and effortlessly funny. I don't believe his tale about worms that bore holes in the rocks on the track (the holes, seen the next day, are way too large and regular to have been formed by anything except mechanical means) but the stories about the woman walking the track in a bikini and jandals could be true, as could the one about the Japanese guy who wanted to cycle the track and ended up carrying his bike all the way from Lake Howden. Anyway Clive's talk sent us all off to bed in a cheerful mood.

Day 2

When I got up on day 2 it was cloudy, but the cloud quickly began to dissipate to reveal snowy mountains surrounding the hut. Utterly stunning, and it got better as the day continued. I set out all wrapped up though because it was chilly and showers were still forecast; the layers came off gradually as I climbed up towards the Harris Saddle. The path went through a bit of bush and then came out, with views down to Lake Mackenzie and the hut below. It zigzagged upwards before turning a corner, with new views into the next valley and across to the next mountain range. Absolutely stunning. By now I was also at the snow line from the previous night's fall, which meant prettiness right by the track too.

The track basically kept on upwards to the Harris Saddle, where there's a day shelter (and a slightly fancier one for the guided walkers!) It was still clear, and only just past noon, so I dumped my pack and armed with a camera went on up to Conical Hill, a viewpoint above the saddle. Quite a lot above actually – Harris Saddle is at 1255m and Conical Hill over 1500m, and the track is steep and rocky. I puffed and panted my way up there and on the way back passed a lot of other people puffing and panting. But it was worth it, with 360º views around and the mountains all dusted with snow. We were so lucky with the mostly clear skies.

After the saddle the track skirts Lake Harris (I rather liked the name!) before beginning its descent. I don't like downhill very much and not after a morning of uphill, so made somewhat heavy weather of the last 90 minutes to Routeburn Falls Hut. The falls themselves were beautiful and also running full thanks to the rain the previous day.

Routeburn Falls Hut is pretty flashy, with single bunks – none of the traditional Doc long mattresses – and a large kitchen/common room. It was also cold! The stove wouldn't light properly and after a while shivering in the main room I retreated to my sleeping bag to warm up, and then added extra layers to stay warm over dinner.

Spent the evening chatting to some of the other trampers going in my direction – the German girl, Stephanie, who'd been on my bus to the Divide, a French guy who'd also done the Caples Track before the Routeburn, and an Israeli couple. It was good fun, though the Falls hut warden was nowhere near as eloquent as Mackenzie's Clive. I think she may have been new, she seemed rather nervous about the whole talking in public thing. We also spent some time trying to identify the languages on a big sheet on the wall welcoming people to the hut and wishing them happy Christmas, which was diverting.

Day 3

The glorious weather of the previous day had vanished in gales and rain by the time I got up. Everyone going in the opposite direction was looking decidedly miserable at the prospect of crossing the saddle in the gales. We were glad we were going down through bush.

Had an unhurried start because the bus wasn't until 2pm, though I left as much time as the sign said it would take because of the whole going downhill slowly thing I have going. Actually the track wasn't too steep and it was fairly easy walking the whole way to the Routeburn Shelter, through more bush and across a number of somewhat swingy swingbridges. I dawdled a lot but still made it down an hour quicker than the official sign suggested. We were all glad to see the bus when it arrived.

Just outside the car park we came upon the larger bus carrying the guided walkers, which had managed to go off the road and land itself half in a ditch in an effort to stay out of the way of our track transport bus when it was coming the other way. The guided walkers were shivering in the rain while everyone offered opinions as to the best way to get it out of the ditch – eventually messages were put through to the local farm to call for a tractor. We continued on to Glenorchy, where I got off the bus and checked in at the hotel to my splash-out double room to myself, had a hot shower and did very little for the rest of the day!