The Routeburn Track

Before I begin detailing my experiences on the Routeburn Track I wanted to compare it to the Milford Track a bit.  I'm having a really hard time finding good maps (elevation or not) of these tracks, so forget that.

The Milford Track mainly takes you through a valley, aside from the one alpine crossing, which takes you to 1069m.  The Routeburn Track on the other hand involves a lot of going up and down - and a large portion of it is a hike above the tree/bushline.  That's one thing I really liked about the Routeburn Track - On the second day you are hiking out in the open, on the side of a mountain, with spectacular sights of the Hollyford Valley (I think that's what it's called) just to the left.  There are also no sandflies!..  or at least not nearly as many as on the Milford Track.

Another obvious difference is that the Milford Track is 53km and takes 4 days (although day 1 is very short), while the Routeburn is 32km and takes 3 days.  Which is more challenging?  better?  more spectacular?  I am not prepared to answer these questions..  yet!

Below is a not to scale elevation map that attempts to compare both tracks..  It does a decent job of that..  but isn't entirely accurate (The Milford Track should be lifted a *bit* higher, I think.  The Routeburn Track does take you through alpine and sub-alpine areas, but the Harris Saddle is "only" 250m or so higher than the MacKinnon Pass)

Day 1

On Thursday, December 2nd I woke up at 7am, re-packed my backpack, and had breakfast at the Milford Sound Lodge (where I was staying) - a giant B.A.S.E. (bacon and scrambled eggs) bagel..  and it was huge.  Seriously!  I could barely finish it.  My bus picked me up at 9:40am and took me to the Divide, through the Homer tunnel.  It was a VERY spectacular ride, passing by some incredibly amazing scenery.

From the Divide the track forces you to start climbing right away.  I did not enjoy this one bit!  An hour into the hike you end up Near Lake Howden (20 mins away?), with an optional side-trip that takes about an hour - to the top of Key Summit.  I left my backpack at the forks and hiked up to the summit - which was well worth it!  It didn't really take long to get up there, and there was a half an hour 'loop' you could take, which had plaques here and there describing this and that..  which I didn't really pay attention to much, due to the amazing sights.  Up top I ran into an Australian couple I met at the Milford Sound Lodge and the three German girls who were staying with me in my dorm room!  On the way down though, my left knee started hurting..  I brushed it off and hoped the pain would go away.

I took another break at Lake Howden, which is basically a meeting point of 3 different tracks...  so you have a lot of hikers passing through there, from various directions.  I should note that the Routeburn Track is not nearly as tightly controlled as the Milford - which results in a different experience..  You'll have people walking both ways, day hikers, and in the case of Lake Howden hut, hikers coming from different tracks, and in different directions.

The hike to Lake MacKenzie Hut was VERY nice, but a bit tiring.  My left knee continued to give me some trouble, so I took some aspirin..  which didn't really do much.  The hike takes you higher and higher, with a bit of a descent near the end, towards the lake and the hut..  Most of the ascent is exciting - you see more and more of the mountains around you, and take more and more breaks to take pictures ;)  By the time I reached the hut it was 6pm - and I was fairly tired..  and my left knee HURT.  There weren't many people at the hut at all - a BIG contrast to my experiences on the Milford Track (where every bunk bed was taken).  There must have been 8-10 people there total, out of 50 that the hut could accomodate.   I didn't mind..  There were less people to talk to, less noise, I was tired, and so I went to bed early.

Day 2

On day one the weather was beautiful..  The sky was almost entirely blue and the sun was out in force.  The same was true on day 2 (Friday).  As such, I took my time getting ready and only left the hut at 10:30am.  I decided to take my time getting to Routeburn Falls Hut (It's not marked on the elevation map above, but it is sort of in between the Saddle and the Routeburn Flats (bit closer to the flats))  As I was getting my gear ready for the long hike ahead, a girl walked past me, and we started talking..  Her name was Mari - from Estonia, and she was going for a swim in Lake MacKenzie..  which seemed crazy to me!  The water must have been cooooold.  Sure enough, she jumped in there..  and I took off, towards the saddle.

An hour and a bit into my hike I was high above Lake MacKenzie Hut with some very scenic views of the surrounding area.  I put down my pack and had a break and a snack..  and wanted to give my left knee a bit of a break, since it was bugging me again.  And there again came Mari.  We started talking again, and next thing I know we are hiking buddies..  at least for that day.  It was actually pretty nice to have someone to walk with..  I *did* enjoy the solitary hike, but..  this was nice too.  Very nice actually!  We walked up to the saddle and ended up at the Harris Saddle Shelter..  and..  my knee just gave out.  I took off my backpack and could only limp and hop around..  It was even hard to get up the stairs.  All this in the middle of the track - at the highest point too...

Fortunately Mari had some Australian wonder drugs for me (she's on an extended vacation in Australia - the trip to New Zealand was her vacation away from her 'vacation')..  so I popped 2 of her magical pills, and we took a long break.  We met a cool German couple who had walked all the way to the saddle from the other end, and was walking back at some point in the near future.  We played a strange Kiwi game..  I want to call it a board game, but there was no board..  called Tantrix - you put down pieces and try to form lines and loops..  I'm not really doing a good job describing it, but it doesn't really matter.

An hour later the four of us were walking towards Routeburn Falls Hut, and..  my knee still hurt, especially when we got to parts where there was a bit of a descent..  It didn't even matter that it wasn't too steep - there was pain anyway..  So I had to change the way I walk..  Apparently I use my left leg a lot when I climb up or down.  I had no idea!  Who pays attention to the way they walk?  I tried to put as little pressure on that leg as possible, and let my right let/knee do most of the work..  which only slowed me down.  The German couple had to power ahead to get back to the car park (At Routeburn shelter) before it got dark, so again it was just me and Mari walking.

Eventually we made it to the Falls, and you have no idea how happy I was..  Man..  That was such a relief!  As soon as we got there, the Australian couple (who was already there) (I wish I could remember their names) told us of a great "swimming hole" right beside the falls..  So we changed into our respective swimming gear (me - skimpy bikini, Mari - swimtrunks) and..  well..  we found the directions somewhat confusing.  You turn where after the helipad?  We eventually made it down a steep descent towards the water and started looking for the hole..  but..  where was it?  Eventually we found the deepest acceptable spot (up to the waist) and jumped in..  Our 'swim' didn't last long..  it was basically a case of dip, stay under the water for a bit, and get out..  but it felt good!  There are no showers in the huts, so it was an amazing feeling to be able to dip in ice cold water like that.  My knee felt better too.  After that we had dinner, experienced some Jewish ceremony or something (Chanukah?  I really have no idea), checked out the stars (once they came out), and went to bed.

Day 3

On day 3 I woke up early to give myself time to make the hike to the Routeburn Shelter.  I woke up a couple times throughout the night with sharp pains in my left knee, so..  I figured I should leave early to make sure I could make it down in time.  My bus (and Mari's) was due to pick us up at 2pm..  and her plan was to start the hike at 10am..  I didn't think I could make that, with the state my knee was..  So I left at 9.

The hike down was PAINFUL..  I took aspirin but it didn't help at all..  I powered on though, and after an hour found myself by Routeburn Flats Hut..  Not bad!  I took a break, kept going, and..  after an uneventful hike ended up at the Routeburn Shelter, with 45 minutes to spare.  In hindsight I could have probably left a lot later, but..  I really didn't trust my knee to behave.  Day 3 hurt a lot and I really didn't know how many breaks I was going to have to take..  or if I was going to make it at all.

The bus took us to Glenorchy, a cool little town with stunning views of the surrounding mountains..  in a bit of a tradition, I bought an orange fanta and a white chocolate ice cream bar..  Apparently I must have mentioned this to some of the other people who were there at some point in the hike, cause the fanta in my hand was well received by all..  (but it was mine..  alll mine)  A half an hour break in Glenorchy, and we were back on the road.  I think we arrived in Queenstown at 4pm or so?

I already had a hostel booked, so I checked in..  There are 6 beds, 3 of them taken..  I haven't met any of my bunkmates yet..  Hope they're cool!  We'll see soon, I'm about to head back there after I publish this.  Oh yeah!  I also booked several 'extreme' activities for tomorrow..  but I'm not going to tell you what they are, until my next entry..  cause I gotta run!

All in all though the Routeburn Track was an amazing experience - I probably enjoyed it more than the Milford Track!..  and that's keeping in mind all the knee troubles.  (By the way, my knee is feeling okay now, and is very thankful that there isn't a 17kg bag on my back and we're not hiking through mountains)

Alright, I'm off..  more updates soon