The Road to the Routeburn
- Natty Knees
- May 4
- 6 min read
Updated: May 27
It's been a long road to the Routeburn Track. With Covid and floods delaying our attempts, the crew finally get to tackle the second most popular Great Walk in NZ. For some of us, it is rated as their most favourite Great Walk with spectacular alpine views, majestic lakes, and plunging waterfalls. Read on to find out why if you could only hike one Great Walk, this could be a great choice. But watch out for those wasps...
Track: Routeburn Track
Time of Year: March 2022
Day 0 - Fly into Queenstown
We all fly into Queenstown throughout the day and are staying at Mi-pad which is really central and close to the supermarket for last minute supplies. The DOC office is also around the corner, so we all stop by to get our hut passes and a weather update. We can expect rain tomorrow, but the weather should improve to fine and sunny days for the rest of the hike. The Routeburn is not a loop track, and we have opted to start in Te Anau (The Divide) and walk to Glenorchy (Routeburn Shelter). Reviews online reckon this direction gives you better views. The bus to Te Anau will also take 4 hours and we are not keen for a 4-hour bus ride after the hike, preferring to finish closer to Queenstown, a cold beer, and a shower.
Day 1 - The Divide to Lake MacKenzie
It’s an early morning wake up as we need time to stop in at Ferg Bakery to smash some pies and pick up a freshly made sandwich for today’s lunch. The Ferg is known for its burgers, but the pies are outrageously good too. We are on the bus just before 7am and arrive at The Divide bang on 11am. It has already started lightly raining, so we don rain gear and pull on the pack covers. Today we are hiking 12km to Lake Mackenzie Hut which should take about 4 hours. We head off and follow an easy well-maintained track through forest. It’s undulating but not difficult and within the hour we arrive at Lake Howden and stop for a snack. The hut was destroyed here in the floods of 2020. We had originally booked to complete the Routeburn Track in 2020 but couldn’t because of damage to the track and landslips.
We cross a bridge and continue on a gentle incline predominantly under forest cover. Fiordland gets up to 200 days of rain every year and the rain is getting significantly heavier which no doubt contributes to how lush and green the trail is. Eventually, we emerge from the bush and look up to see Earland Falls and water cascading down a 174m rock wall.
If you get too close you will definitely get wet, but we are already soaked from the heavens, so it doesn’t matter. We continue climbing along the track and stumble upon an open grassy clearing called The Orchard, which used to be an old farm although because of it's remote and harsh environment the farming wasn't the best. The rain is starting to ease a little and we stop for something to eat and a cheeky wee whiskey to warm us up.
After lunch we hike for another 2 hours along quite a rocky path, passing slips, and then start the descent down to Lake Mackenzie Hut. The fire is cranking inside the main room and there is little space left for us to hang out our wet gear under the veranda. I always carry a few clothes pegs which have come in handy on the Great Walks to help hang your gear. There are no bunks left in the main hut which has the fire unfortunately, but we manage to find beds in another dark hut around the corner. The toilet block is between the two main huts and even has flushing toilets. Winning.
Once our wet gear is hung up, we take the path down to Lake Mackenzie for a swim. The water is desperately cold, so it’s a speedy dunking and then back to change into warm clothes. The temperature is dropping quickly and the nights often can get pretty chilly on the alpine Great Walks. We rug up, throw a beanie on and grab some pre-dinner drinks and head back to the lake to relax on the rocks until the light fades.
Day 2 - Lake Mackenzie to Routeburn Falls Hut
The night was cold, but we have woken up to what is going to be a brilliant day on the trail. Today we are hiking 11.3km to Routeburn Falls Hut, which should take us about 5 hours. It’s the first Great Walk for The Irish and he has had a terrible sleepless night due to some thunderous snoring in the bunk rooms. He plans to preemptively avoid any further insomnia by ensuring no whiskey is left untouched tonight. Whilst a cunning plan, this may or may not actually help. Many of us rarely sleep well in the huts and camping becomes more and more attractive the more DOC huts you stay in.
We start the climb up the ridge, traversing the side of Lake Mackenzie and get some amazing views of the basin and hut below.
The ranger mentioned that due to predators the native bird population is noticeably absent in the area, and sadly we don’t hear a lot of bird song as we climb. The hike up to the ridge is steady with a few switchbacks, and by the time we reach the top are breathing heavily and have taken off any extra layers.
As we summit the last of the hill, the view of the alpine landscape is spectacular below.
Many people say the Routeburn is the most beautiful of the Great Walks and it's right now we all totally agree. We are grateful for a such a clear day for this part of the hike and to get expansive views ahead of the Hollyford Valley. From here we will hike along a flat, narrow, single trail that hugs the side of the mountain (Hollyford Face). There are waterfalls everywhere that you can collect pristine alpine water which tastes divine, so it's possible to carry less water today and fill up as you go.
After a couple of hours, we find some large rocks as makeshift seats and hunker down for some lunch. Dr J is sporting a big beard so it took us a while before we realize that he's started speaking with a lisp. His mouth and lips have ballooned considerably and at some point during lunch he has been kissed by a wasp. Julz our crew nurse immediately prescribes some antihistamines to help reduce Dr J's natural lip filler gone wrong.
After lunch the track eventually starts to incline taking, us past pretty alpine tarns and up to Harris Saddle, where we stop for a break at the shelter.
If you have time, there is a side trip up to Conical Summit which is a steep ascent and will take around 2hrs return. The scenery is next level here and the views of Lake Harris are amazing as we carry on to Routeburn Falls Hut.
We start to head around the shores of Lake Harris and then begin a long easy descent down to the hut. We make quick work of the downhill section and before we know it are stepping carefully down long flat rocks into the hut.
The 48-bunk hut is massive with awesome views from the deck, and as per usual, we are the last to arrive. Evidently you are supposed to write your name on your chosen bunk on a room map, so other hikers can tell which bunks are free. But any free bunks look taken with gear all over the beds and most of the crew are having difficulty trying to find a bed for the night. Eventually some very apologetic hikers return to the bunk rooms and remove all their gear from the spare beds, so we can finally unpack.
We change into our swim gear and head down to the waterfall. It's pretty amazing to be able to swim underneath waterfalls and we find a rock pool and chill out for a bit. The water is icy but therapeutically refreshing and this is definitely an epic spot for a hut.
Day 3 - Routeburn Falls Hut to Routeburn Shelter
We wake up to a beautiful day and let most of the hikers depart the hut while we enjoy a relaxing breakfast on the deck. We are in no rush as the 9.8km walk out to Routeburn Shelter is expected to be cruisy. It's all downhill from here via rocky path under beech forest. We are offered spectacular views of the valley when trees thin out, and the sun starts to heat up the day.
We are making quick work of the track and decide to stop at Forge Flats for lunch. It's our last chance for a swim and it's gorgeous here. The rest of the trail takes us through the Routeburn Gorge and over swing bridges following beautiful azure waters.
As the track levels out to flat ground, we see the turn off to Routeburn Flats Hut and know we are close to the end of track. From here it's another 6km on flat terrain to Routeburn Shelter. We hang out in the sun, take our boots off, and enjoy the last rays as we wait for the bus back to Queenstown.
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