Kepler Track

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A New Zealand Great Walk. This one is very accessible. It starts and finishes across the lake from Te Anau. I think there is a lake side trail from the town. I had a single hostel room, (woohoo). The Kepler started as an easy easy walk along the lake. This is where I learned that great walk trails are maintained much differently. They are wide and smooth, and have switchbacks. After about an hour of easy walking, the trail headed uphill. It was steep, but on well maintained trail. At one point there was a big rock outcrop and stairs around it, kind of a fun thing.

After I guess and hour and half, the trail left the trees behind. It was a cloudy day, or I should say there was lots of cloud cover, but lots of cloud movement. The first hut on the Kepler trail was not too far beyond the treeline, making the first day of the Kepler track super easy, or just short, relatively speaking. I stopped at the hut, and this is the first hut I got some pics of the sleeping bunks. Although this hut was large enough for 50 or 60 people. It has running water and bathrooms. A much different experience. But one of the pics shows the double level bunk where you sleep shoulder to shoulder with your new best friends.

Outside the hut was a large wooden platform and while I was sitting outside, I learned that platform is a helicopter landing pad. A helicopter dropped off a family. Mom and dad and I think 3 kids. I think Dad was dragging the family out on a hike, but only downhill.

The views once above the treeline were fantastic, even with the cloud cover. After my lunch at the expansive Luxmore Hut, I could see a peak close to the trail that seemed like a good spot to head toward. As I was going along the trail, I was visited by a Kea, looking for food. He/She landed a couple of times and flew around a bit looking for handouts. I did not make a friend.

The views from the trail looking west rocked. I wonder how far you can see on a clear day, but I enjoyed the hell out of this trail and the little side trips. The trail was easy to see a few miles ahead as it cut across the various mountains. I think that while I could easily go from start past the Luxmore hut to the second hut in one day, I think taking the extra day and wandering around on these peaks would be a lot of fun. I think the third day is down in a valley and pretty easy.

After my wandering and going just a bit further down the trail, I finally reached time where I felt like I needed to turn around and head back. On the way back I detoured to a cave system. There are stairs going down into the cave, I reached bottom of stairs and could see nothing in front of me, except wet, slippery rock. Not being a caver, I turned back and headed back. Great day hike, and the Kepler Track is a yes.