Day 1: The Shelter to Routeburn Falls Hut

The Queenstown CBD was pretty deserted on the morning of day one. It seemed like only trampers and tradies were awake before 8am. Katri and I grabbed a quick coffee and breakfast at the Ferg Cafe, right next door to the famous Fergburger. Our shuttle meeting point was just across the road, so I had enough time to enjoy my first coffee of the day.

The drive to Glenorchy was beautiful - I felt like a wide-eyed kid in a candy store. Unfortunately, I was sitting on the wrong side of the van to take any decent shots. We had a quick toilet and coffee stop in Glenorchy before taking the gravel road to Mount Aspiring National Park, where Katri and I would start day one at The Shelter. Routeburn is the only Great Walk that crosses two national parks - Mount Aspiring and Fiordland.

“Ooooh, it’s so pretty,” kept coming out of my mouth like a broken record. Katri walked ahead of me, and now and then would turn around and ask, “What’s pretty?” eventually she realises that I’m just talking to myself. “Everything, being here. I’m just happy,” I would reply with a goofy look on my face. She gets it, she knows I’m weird like that.

We had a snack break at Forge Flat, where we were joined by a few trampers who were on the way out. Didn’t spot any Whio though. Katri found herself a rock and tucked into her apple, while I walked over to the river to dip my hands in the water. It was stunningly clear, but far too cold to tempt me to take a dip, even on a hot day.

Lunch for Katri was a lovely spread of cheese, crackers, salami and avocado. I had my leftover sandwich that went down a treat with some of Katri’s avocado. There were only four of us at Routeburn Falls Hut - the other two were the same women who offered to take our photo at The Shelter. They sat on the dry grass in the sunshine, while Katri and I preferred the shade of the outdoor benches by the hut.

From the hut, we burned off lunch by climbing up the ridge where we had an incredible view of the valley. In fact, this view followed us all the way to the Routeburn Falls Hut.

When we arrived at Routeburn Falls Hut, we found our bunks and had a quick snack. I had a siesta while Katri read her book in the sun. A couple of hours later, Katri and I walked over to the falls for a swim. By swim, I mean a quick dunk in that damn cold river in our underwear, then spend the rest of the time sitting in the sun trying to warm up again. The sun was lovely, the water, not so much. This was the closest we would get to a bath for the next three days, and it was nice to get some of the sweat off my skin.

It was weird to watch the sun set at 9.30pm, normally I would already be asleep on other hut missions. There was still so much light outside, but because the hut didn’t have many windows, it was darker inside that it was out. The symphony of snoring began not long after I closed my eyes, so I reached for the earplugs Katri gave me. I just couldn’t use them, not hearing any sound felt unnatural and disorientating. I must have fallen asleep eventually because heavy rain woke me up around 6am.

Day 2: Routeburn Falls Hut to Lake Mackenzie

The rain had stopped by the time we got out of bed, with a glorious mountain mist rising towards the hut greeting us. I was a bit slow to wake up, so it was nice to sit outside eating my muesli and sipping on a hot coffee to start the day. Most of the people in the hut were heading to Lake Mackenzie too, while a few were on their last day and on their way to The Shelter. Once we packed up our gear, Katri and I walked above Routeburn Falls to soak up the view one last time before starting our walk along the Harris Saddle.

The Harris Saddle is the most exposed section of the track, so I was glad for whatever cloud cover we got along the undulating track. The only shade we had were under the massive boulders that formed arches over the track. It was a slow, winding track towards the Harris Saddle / Tarahaka Whakatipu Shelter.

The shelter was busy - it’s the last toilet stop before Lake MacKenzie and a lovely spot for lunch. After ogling over the beautiful and cheeky Kea, we followed the others and headed up the steep track to Conical Hill. As we reached the first viewpoint, two women we’d met on the first day were already on their way down. They told me to leave my tramping pole and water bottle at the first viewpoint as it was a scramble to the top. Great advice!

The clouds began to clear as we got to the top, so we got a great view. Unfortunately, some said they had a white out and just looked out into the white abyss in the end. Walking down was surprisingly kind on my knees, even Katri mentioned that I seemed steadier on my knees. Maybe I was just hungry and couldn’t wait to have lunch back at the shelter haha.

From the shelter, we walked into the Fiordland National Park, although you won’t really notice it until you get closer to Lake MacKenzie. I didn’t realise just how much Katri loved alpine views until she told me how frustrated she was that the Darran Mountains were hidden by the clouds. I joked that I would call in a favour with Tāwhirimatea (the Māori god of weather) to clear the clouds…just for us. Wouldn’t you believe it, he humoured us and we got to enjoy the Darran Mountains after all.

My eyes grew wide as Lake Mackenzie and the hut came into view. There was a renewed spring in my step, until I realised that the track to the hut was actually a long and winding one. On the plus side, it does take you through a magical Beech forest filled with native birdsong. Katri had walked much faster than me, and I walked the last downhill section on my own, kept company by some curious Pīwakawaka / Fantails and cute little Tomtits. I found Katri sitting on a log as she waited for me to catch up, and we walked the last five minutes to the hut together.

Lake Mackenzie was much colder than the river at Routeburn Falls, but it was refreshing to wash off the day’s sweat. For someone who barely swims in New Zealand coastal waters because it’s too cold, I reckon I did good on this tramp!

That night we listened to DoC (Department of Conservation) Ranger Evan talk about the history of stoat trapping along the Routeburn Track in the Fiordland National Park. Simply, there was none, as originally DoC considered controlling the stoat population was beyond pest control. There was no birdsong in the forest as the native birds had been decimated while the stoats thrived. Stoats could be seen running around by the hut grounds. Crazy to think a Great Walk once had more stoats than native birds! That’s not the case today, thanks to Ranger Evan. You can read more about the Routeburn Project through the NZ Nature Fund website.

Day 3: Lake Mackenzie to The Divide

On walk out day, my brain is usually pre-occupied by what I would have for dinner that night. A juicy steak? Maybe some ribs? I did my best to put that aside and enjoy our last day on the track. Here’s the thing, when people tell you it’s all downhill from Lake Mackenzie…it’s not. After you leave the hut, there’s a section that feels like a stairway to heaven. I say that because the morning mist followed us, giving some of the Beech trees an ethereal glow as the sun shone through the branches.

We saw more Kea flying overhead so that was pretty cool. There was even a very hungry baby Kea hidden in the trees (we spent about 15 minutes trying to spot it) which sounded more like a cat. I’m not sure how anyone on the track could have missed it.

I took my last photo of the tramp at Earland Falls (lovely spot for a snack by the way) - it was incredible to look up at the 174m waterfall. From there, the track begins to descend quickly. Large sections of the track on the way to Lake Howden were dusty with unsteady footing, so I must have had to concentrate more than I realised. When I arrived at Lake Howden, I found Katri waiting for me with a couple of other trampers. Cheese in the sunshine was just what I needed.

There was one final beast of a hill to climb before the last stretch to The Divide. Mostly it was downhill after that, so that made the last hour go pretty quick. It was awesome to touch the sign to signal the end of our awesome three days on the Routeburn Track. Katri gave me a high five and we took a selfie to celebrate. Man, it felt so good to answer the call of the mountains again - hopefully the next one won’t be too long between drinks!

fivefootronna is Ronna Grace Funtelar - a thirtyish adventurer, graphic designer and writer. A woman with a curious mind who lives for hiking mountains, outdoor adventures and eating pizza. She has a unique brand of optimism that is a combination of her great enthusiasm for life and cups of coffee during the day.