The Routeburn Track

Camping at Routeburn Flats

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http://www.doc.govt.nz /Explore/002~Tracks-and -Walks/Great-Walks /Routeburn-Track/index .asp

      Thursday evening we left our duffle bag of travel clothing with the people at the Magic Bus office (it can't happen again, can it?), slept the night at Southern Laughter and met the Info & Track bus at 7:50 Friday morning for the transport to the beginning of the track, the Routeburn Shelter.   It was a beautiful trip in:  highway to gravel road to dirt road.  We shared it with an adventuresome couple from Fairbanks.  The track starts out spectacularly with a swingbridge across a raging stream, then climbs steadily for two hours.  It is temperate rainforest, I believe, with large fern areas -- so very green.  Friday was a "fairly fine" day (partly sunny in our weather terms, I think).   Great walking weather -- we enjoyed the first hour or so but the packs began to get heavy as the "steady climb" became tiring over roots and rocks etc.  We were delighted to arrive at the open grass flats in front of the Routeburn Flats Hut.  We were camping, though so we set our tent up just above the Route Burn River.  I do not believe that I have ever had a more ideal camping evening.  The amenities with picnic tables, toilets and a sheltered cooking area including a sink with running water are so convenient.  The water was cool and fresh.  Our MSR tent goes up with our hiking poles.  It has a full net inside and a large rain fly that covers both the tent and space at each end for our packs, boots, etc.  It zips out at both ends and the entire one side.  Plus the rain fly lifts up on that side to make an awning.   We dined with a young couple from France and then sat talking with another honeymooning couple from Germany.  We watched a beautiful sunset and slept well. 

Tramping the track

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     Good thing!  Day 2 is an 8 hour tramp!  The first hour and a half was more of the same "steady climb" (aka killer roots and boulders) up out of the beech forest to the Route Burn Falls (stunning, as usual).  Here there is a modern beautiful hut plus a luxury lodge for the "guided" trampers.  We were beginning to see why huts might be better, even with the perfect camp the night before (better spaced, dry, immediate bed, etc.).  We'll see next week as we booked huts for the Kepler Track.  We lunched there and then set off across the Harris Saddle toward Lake Mackenzie.  It began to drizzle which actually felt good as it is hot tramping with a heavy pack!  This is a sub-alpine piece of track, very exposed with drop dead gorgeous views of mountains, lakes, streams, and waterfalls.  The view out across the Hollyford Valley to the Tasman Sea was alternately blocked for us as by the time that we got to the summit above Lake Mackenzie, it was beginning to rain.  Still stunning though!  Great mists!  Crossing the summit, I slipped and then tripped over my pole and fell catching myself with my right hand.  OUCH!  I lay there like a turtle on its back, unable to turn back over with the big pack and damaged right hand!  No, Denny did NOT get a picture!  What a tease though!  We could see the hut but it took three hours to descend to it and the campsites.  The going down was even worse for me with my short legs!  Plus I had either a stress fracture or a badly strained wrist and had to change to using only one pole.  We made it though!  Another lady we passed from Texas said she'd broken down crying twice!  She too found the going down part the most difficult, especially when slippery!  The rainforest was mossy and green and wet, wet, wet.  I thought it would never end, though it was, on another plane, oh so beautiful!   For the rest of that evening and all through the night it rained and rained and rained (thus, the "rainforest").  The campsite provided spaces with indoor-outdoor carpet and the same great cooking shelters where we huddled with neat people from Portland, the UK and Germany for both dinner and breakfast.  My hand, wrist and forearm were quite swollen by then and Denny had to do everything for me (and us).  What a guy!  :)  Luckily the tent could be both put up and taken down from underneath the rain fly!  We are going to advertise for MSR!  What great tents!!!!! 

So many beautiful waterfalls

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     Next morning, still raining.   It seemed as we were the only dry campers though.  Denny packed everything up, we had our hot "porridge"  and set off.  I think I can honestly say that these last two nights were perhaps the BEST (Routeburn Flats) and WORST (Lake MacKenzie )  camping nights of my life!  Funny to have them back to back!  Luckily Denny had wrapped my wrist and I had pain pills so all was well for continued tramping!  Of course we had to climb up to get over the next ridge (Yea!  I prefer up to down!)  and then descended to the Howden Hut where we went in for lunch and a real toilet stop.  People we had met from Fairbanks and Portland were there again -- always a social group.  There was also a family from SLC!  We ate and started out again as we had only an hour and a half left until we would be out and picked up by the Magic Bus at the Divide.  It was another half hour climb that warmed us back up and then an easy stroll back down to the highway.  We must have crossed at least 20 magnificent waterfalls -- going right through the base of one with the spray soaking us (except we were protected in our rain gear)!  It was SO NEAT, a treasured memory!  Most of the waterfalls have wooden bridges over the part falling on down below the trampers and right in front of beautiful views of the falls overhead and next to the track.  These tracks are so well maintained!  It would be very difficult if trampers had to scramble across the streams and the gullies, but wherever it would be really tough there is a wooden path, steps, or a swing bridge.  If I didn't appreciate them so much, I'd call it cheating!  Anyway, DONE!  The Magic Bus arrived (YES! WITH our duffle bag!).  We survived and LOVED our Routeburn tramp!