Back in Glenorchy, I decided that I would do the Routeburn before heading to Auckland. I hitched to Te Anau, spent a night there and then hitched to the trailhead at the Divide in the morning. My lift to the Divide was a guy who’d spent the summer in Antarctica working for the the Kiwi research station. I got to flip through his photos as he told me about it. Although the landscapes were amazing, my favorites were of the penguins flopping around, so cute. I started off up the track shortly before 9. It had been raining in Te Anau in the morning and there was some rain forecast, but it seemed to be clearing up and I was glad that I might actually get some views. The first part takes you up to lake Howden with some peekaboo views of the Darran mountains and a few waterfalls.

Then it was on to lake Mackenzie, passing numerous waterfalls along the way. The most impressive was Earland falls that misted me as I went by.

Shortly after the view opened up to more views of the Darrans the other side of the Hollyford valley before going down to Lake Mackenzie, where there’s a hut and a campsite on the lake.

I only stopped to used the toilet (flushing) and kept going. From there the track climbed up above the lake on some switchbacks and then returned to the Hollyford valley and the Darrans.

I could even see the coast at the end of the valley. I stopped for some lunch to admire the view before continuing on.

The trail staid relatively flat and open with the same views until Harris saddle, where it turned away from the Hollyford valley. The views were still stunning though with Lake Harris coming into view surrounded by peaks.

It did look decidedly more overcast and a light rain started not too long after passing by the lake. The Route burn pours out of Lake Harris and the trail follows it’s namesake to the Routeburn falls.

As I approached the falls, I could see a cloud filling the valley and soon enough my big views were gone.

I could still see the falls quite well, which are just above another hut.

The hut looked massive and was busy. I kept going after a very short break and enjoyed a lull in the rain as I walked down the mountainside to the Routeburn flats hut and campsite. I’m tenting tonight since there were no hit spaces available, but that’s probably a good thing given the hut is packed. The campsite faces the flats with views to the Humboldt mountains, including a peak in the foreground that’s the iconic image associated with the Routeburn.

Shortly after arriving it started to rain again and didn’t let up all evening. Thankfully the campsite has shelters so there was somewhere dry to hang out apart from the tent. I still got into bed just after 7 though since it got dark and I didn’t feel like walking back to the hut in the wet for the 7pm talk given by the ranger. Thankfully it’s a bit warmer tonight than the last times I camped so I can read without my hands going numb.

It rained a bit on and off all night, nothing too bad though. It was still spitting once in a while in the morning as I packed up and got ready to leave. I had a shuttle to catch so didn’t dally. The track was very gentle and followed the Route burn.

I definitely saw a couple of rifleman on the trail, but they’re so small and flit away so quickly that I didn’t get to photograph them. It was only just over 1.5 hours to the trailhead.

My shuttle arrived a few minutes after I did to drop off some eager hikers. I was the only one getting picked up so I had a private bus ride back to Queenstown. I got there in plenty of time to find some tip protectors for my trekking poles and to repack my bag for the plane. I also tried the famous Ferburger,.which was very good but perhaps not worth the half hour wait…Then it was off to the airport for my flight up to Auckland.