The Routeburn  Track
by Pamela Blalock
with (most) photos by John Bayley
 The
Routeburn Track is one of New Zealand's Great Walks. The term, Great
Walk, is actually a Department of Conservation (DOC) designation for
several of the more popular walks. These Great Walks tend to have nicer
huts and a correspondingly higher hut fee, and often require reservations
well in advance. I was able to reserve spots on the Routeburn with just
a few weeks notice. But this was near the end of summer. It definitely
requires more advance notice for January. We had thought of doing it
last year after the Kepler, but waited too late to book. Instead we
did two tracks that are close, the Caples and Greenstone. Many people
combine one or the other of these walks with the Routeburn to make an
almost loop. Since we'd already done these, and wanted to get to Te
Anau, we chose the one way option, planning to catch a bus at the end
to Te Anau. After that we'd have a rest day and then do the Milford
Track.
But I'm getting way ahead of myself. First, we had to
get a bus to the start of the Routeburn, and then start walking. It
was a bit chilly when we started, but we quickly warmed up walking with
heavy packs. The skies were clear at first as well, but it had clouded
over by the time we reached the Routeburn Falls hut. The early views
from the valley were great. We walked up by the waterfalls beyond the
hut, but the clouds had come in, so we didn't bother going any higher
in search of views that day.
The temperature dropped as we gained in elevation, and
it was rather chilly on the second day. We started the second day in
drizzle. It cleared a bit, before proper rain started in the afternoon.
We got in early enough to only get rained on for an hour. We missed
the great views from the top, and someday may do this walk again to
try and get them. The sun popped in and out on the last day. We got
some lovely views from the hut, and then some nice rainbows. We also
experienced frozen white stuff falling from the sky. Near the end, we
hung out at the Howden hut, about an hour from the road, for a couple
of hours. Our bus would not arrive until 3:45 and it made more sense
to wait in a heated hut, than to arrive several hours early to a wide
open (unheated) shelter.
If you've read about our other tramps, you will be happy
to hear that my knees coped quite well on this trip. The winning formula
seems to be 2400 mg of Ibuprofen a day, walking sticks, and the knee
support for hills. I also used my hiking sneakers rather than my boots
which I am now convinced are a 1/2 size too small. I enjoyed this track
enough to toy with the idea of ordering some custom boots for doing
more walking in the future.
Enough of this walking stuff. Jump straight to the
South Island Bike Tour
Milford
Track
Doubtful Sound
Franz Josef Glacier
|
Bike Touring
