So here we are - pictures from our walk along the
Kepler track:
(Once again, click on any picture for a higher resolution image)
Day 1: Te Anau to Luxmore Hut (15.8 km). Limestone bluffs on the way up from Brod Bay to Luxmore hut
Tussocklands above the tree line on the way to Luxmore hut
Similarly to Milford, we decided to leave our packs at the hut and continue to the peak, given that the weather forecast for the next day was not great. This is the view of the Murchison Mountains from the top of Mt Luxmore
Looking to the Kepler Mountains in the distance from the top of Mt Luxmore
Day 2: Luxmore hut to Iris Burn hut (14.6 km). After heavy rain, gale force winds and thunderstorms in the morning, the sun came out... for a little while.
The second day of the Kepler track crosses the tops
At times the visibility was like this...
... then just minutes later, like this.
The final push along the arête above Iris Burn was pretty tough going...
... before dropping down into the bush again to Iris Burn hut.
Day 3: Iris Burn hut to Moturau hut (16.2 km). I’m not sure if we were smiling about the weather, or the view
We saw numerous birds – riflemen, robins, fantails, tomtits being the most common ones to come near us. This robin took a liking to my boots.
The track down the valley from Iris Burn was full of moss, ferns, and switchbacks...
... before ending up at the hut, by a beach on the shore of Lake Manapouri.
Day 4: Moturau hut to Te Anau (17.5 km). This part of the track passes through wetlands...
... and along the banks of the Waiau River at Rainbow Reach.
We enjoyed the walking better than we did the Milford track – the track itself was mostly dirt and leaf litter rather than rock. It was a bit of a shame that our day across the tops was cloudy and wet, but the clouds parted every now and then to reveal views of the surrounding mountains. Although rain was forecast on day 4, we didn’t see any. So to have only 1 day of rain out of 8 days of hiking in Fiordland… you can’t really ask for much better than that!
