The Routeburn Track
The Routeburn Track - New Zealand
Distance: 32 km one way
Duration: 2-4 days
The Great Walks in NZ are kept to a very high standard and are an absolute pleasure to walk on.
On all the Great Walks you get the option to stay in huts or camp theduration of your walk.
During walking season the huts have wood fires, gas stoves, flushing toilets, a comfy sleeping mat for everyone who books and a Ranger/Warden to help with any issues. They limit hikers to around 40 a day on the more popular walks which you have to pay for months in advance to stop huge amounts of people destroying the area.
Walking season is October - April but outside this time there is no fee, limit on people, gas, warden, wood or flush toilets. Just horrible track conditions with heaps of snow and the possibilities of avalanches.
The Routeburn Track has two starting and finishing points which can be walked in either direction.
The most common is the Routeburn Shelter (near Glenorchy and 68 km from Queenstown).
The other is at The Divide (on the Milford Road, 85 km from Te Anau).
Routeburn Shelter to Routeburn Flats Hut
Time: 1 hr 30 min – 2 hr 30 min
Distance: 6.5 km
Routeburn Flats Hut to Routeburn Falls Hut
Time: 1 – 1 hr 30 min
Distance: 2.3 km
Routeburn Falls Hut to Lake Mackenzie Hut
Time: 4 hr 30 min – 6 hr
Distance: 11.3 km
Mackenzie Hut to Howden Hut
Time: 3 – 4 hr
Distance: 8.6 km
Lake Howden Hut to The Divide
Time: 1 –1 hr 30 min
Distance: 3.4 km
The Routeburn was our first multi day hike we ever did. We were under prepared with fitness and gear but still enjoyed every minute of it. Even after many more beautiful walks it's still possibly the best track I've done. Looking back now it's probably one of the easiest as well and couldn't recommend it anymore to anyone!
© DANIEL SALLAI PHOTOGRAPHY