The Routeburn Track THE BEST OF THE SOUTH ISLAND

Pictures taken on the Routeburn Track

The Routeburn Track traverses wild and scenic mountain country between the Hollyford and Dart Valleys at the base of New Zealand's Southern Alps. Since the 1880's the Routeburn Track has proved to be one of the most accessible and popular journeys into New Zealand's forests and mountains.

Serious Fun chooses to hike the Routeburn Track instead of the Milford Track for a number of reasons - click here to see why. For three days we will hike hut-to-hut across the Southern Alps on the Routeburn Track. We'll stay in private huts fully stocked with food, comfortable beds, flush toilets and even hot showers! During the day we'll hike with only an overnight pack containing clothes and other personal items. When you arrive at the hut in the evening, you will be greeted by one of the friendly staff with a cup of tea. A three course meal is provided, accompanied by fine New Zealand wine. A hearty breakfast is served in the morning and you are supplied with your packed lunch for that day which you must carry.

Day 1: The Divide to Lake MacKenzie
We start the day hiking through dense beech forests along a well-graded trail that winds above the tree line at Key Summit. This is the only part of the track which passes through lower altitude Silver Beech forest. The rainfall in this area averages over 5000mm a year and this supports a rich variety of mosses, ferns and lichens which carpet the forest floor and decorate the trees. The wispy Goblin Moss which hangs from the trees gives the forest an eerie look. Leave your pack at the turnoff before climbing up to Key Summit for the spectacular view of three valleys from which water flows to three different coasts - the Greenstone to the East, the Eglington to the South and the Hollyford to the West. After descending Key Summit, collect your pack for the brief descent to Lake Howden for lunch. Then we will climb steadily upwards through Silver Beech forest to the magnificent Earland Falls before descending to our hut at Lake MacKenzie.
13km / 7.8miles - 4-6 hours walking (not including Key Summit option)

Day 2: Lake MacKenzie to Routeburn Falls Lodge
We leave the emerald waters of Lake MacKenzie, traverse the zig-zags above the bushline (3,200 ft) and cross the dramatic alpine terrain of the Hollyford Face. This area is alive with native flowers, purple stalked daisies in November, to the Gentians in late February. Rounding Ocean Peak Corner, the Darran Mountains, Hollyford Valley and Tasman Sea come into view. From the Harris Saddle shelter there is an optional climb up Conical Hill - the views are well worth it! Then we descend from the Harris Saddle past Lake Harris and into an immense alpine basin that is often carpeted by wildflowers. We hike downward alongside the final pitch of cascading waterfalls and then relax at the Routeburn Falls Lodge for the night!
15km / 9.4miles - 5-7 hours walking (not including Conical Hill option)

Day 3: Routeburn Falls Lodge to Routeburn Roadend
This morning we descend from the tiered cascades of Routeburn Falls to the alpine meadows of Routeburn Flat through a rich mixed beech forest. After morning tea at the Flats hut, we will cross the grassy river flats. Then we wind alongside the deep green pools of the Routeburn River and through hearty beech forest to our waiting vehicle.
16km / 10miles - 5-7 hours walking

Level of Fitness Required
The Routeburn track is not easy or difficult. In order to walk the Routeburn, you require a reasonable level of fitness. It is a good idea to get into a regiment of walking 6 weeks prior to departure. We do encourage everyone who walks the track to take it at their own pace, there is no need to keep up with the fastest walkers in the group. There will always be a guide at the rear of the group, so never fear, you will not be left behind. The track conditions range from wide and well groomed, to undulated and rocky. We recommend you wear a good pair of hiking boots (already worn in!) that provide firm ankle support to reduce the risk of injury.

The First Routeburn Track Walkers
The local Maori people are believed to be the first walkers of the Routeburn Track around 1500AD in search of their precious Greenstone (New Zealand Jade). The Routeburn itself did not contain large quantities of Greenstone, but was used by Maori as a passage between two if their main sources, the Dart Valley and the Arahura River on the West Coast.

In 1861 the first Europeans visited what is now the western side of the Routeburn Track in their quest to find grazing land. David McKellar and George Gunn mapped the Greenstone Valley and named Key Summit. A few years later, gold was discovered in the Wakitipu which led the government to investigate the possibility of establishing a shipping port on the West Coast and a track up the Routeburn Valley, over Harris Saddle to the Hollyford Valley thus linking Queenstown to the outside world.

The 1880's saw the first sightseers from Queenstown walk the Routeburn Track as far as Harris Saddle, taking 3 days. The NZ Government Department of Tourism was set up in the early 1900's and quickly went to work on the track but due to the outbreak of World War One, it wasn't completed until the late 1930's.

To see more pictures of the Routeburn Track, click here.