Kepler Track

In 2012, we spent three months exploring New Zealand, where trails are tracks and hiking is tramping. We did seven Great Walks. Sometimes we camped in our tent, and sometimes we stayed in huts provided by the Department of Conservation (DOC).

In March, we spent four days and three nights on the Kepler Track in Fiordland National Park. John was 59 and I was 57. We decided to stay in the DOC huts for this trip. That was due to the location of the camping areas and a deteriorating weather forecast.

We started by hiking through woods …

… by a lovely stream, …

… and by Lake Manapouri.

We spent the first night in the Moturau Hut. The next morning, we continued the track toward the Iris Burn Hut, our destination for the day.

It was still sunny when we arrived at the Iris Burn Hut, but the weather forecast predicted low clouds and strong winds, with gusts up to 55 mph, beginning the following morning. John suggested that we drop off most of our gear and hike up to the ridge that afternoon while the weather was still good.

It took a while as the trail is steep with many switchbacks and quite a few steep stairs, …

… but it was well worth the effort. We had great views of the Murchison Mountains and Lake Te Anau in the golden light. We were the only ones who hiked to the ridge that afternoon. We thoroughly enjoyed the solitude on this high point of such a popular track.

Sometime after we completed our New Zealand adventures and posted John’s photos on Flickr, the DOC reached out to us. They asked for permission to use some of John’s photos in their brochures and on their website. We were honored and happily consented.

This photo that John took of me on the ridge above the Iris Burn Hut …

… appears on the cover of the Kepler Track Guide and on the home page of the DOC Great Walks website.

We hiked back to the Iris Burn Hut, happy we had gone to the extra effort. The next morning, we packed up all our gear and did the climb back up to the ridge but in very different conditions. We experienced strong, cold winds while we hiked quickly across the ridge.

It was like being in a completely different place.

As we descended the other side of the ridge, we appreciated getting some protection from the wind.

Finally, the Luxmore Hut, our destination for the day, came into view.

We were so grateful to finally reach this luxurious hut. It had been a brutal day, and we were happy to be out of the wind and rain.

Due to hut availability, we did the Kepler Track in a clockwise direction. However, it is customary to do it in a counterclockwise direction. Therefore, everyone spending that night in the hut would cross the high ridge the next day on their way to Iris Burn Hut. Unfortunately, the weather forecast predicted more rain and even stronger gusts of wind. When some of them asked about our experience crossing the ridge, we tried not to sound too discouraging, but we knew they would have an adventure to talk about when they got back home.

While most trampers get going early in the morning, we were not surprised when most of the individuals in this hut were slow to start. The weather was abysmal, and we could well understand their apprehension at the prospect of crossing the exposed ridge under those circumstances.

However, apparently, conditions such as these are not uncommon. A few days later, we talked to a couple who did cross the ridge that day. They told us that when they described their experience to Robbie, a DOC Hut Warden, he responded, “Did you have to crawl on your hands and knees across the ridge? Did you have to go down the stairs on your backside? Then you had an easy day.”

As we prepared to leave the Luxmore Hut, we noticed that Fay, the DOC Hut Warden, had updated the weather forecast to an optimistic “breezy.” We were perplexed as this did not match the rain and strong wind we observed outside, but she reassured us that this was “not bad.” I hope that one day I can be more like a Kiwi and believe that such weather is “not bad.”

Once we finally got started and lost enough elevation to reenter the forest, we were relieved to be protected from the wind and rain. We encountered trampers on their first day doing the Kepler Track and heading up to Luxmore Hut. They were soaked and looked miserable. Several asked us how long it would be before they would finally get out of the woods and reach the hut. We tried not to be discouraging. We hoped that none of them had to crawl across the ridge.

All photos from this trip are on Flickr.