“A More Adventurous Version of the Kepler Track“
With More Lake Views, and More Challenge
Map of Route
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Hike Planner
Use the hike planner PDF below for more logistics and route information on the Serpentine High Lakes Traverse – including route notes and a GPX file.
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My Trip
17/01/2020 – 20/01/2020
Introduction
The Idea
I had wanted to do a hike in Fiordland for ages, and had a friend who was interested in joining me. I needed to chose something that was in both our interests, and I had found Green Lake as a potential destination.Â
Upon further analysis of a topo map, I discovered a route to get into the higher peaks for a vantage point to look down at some lakes in the region. The centrepiece of this was Cleughearn Peak. After a little more discovering, I found a few people had also done similar trips on this route, utilising the two existing tracks in the region to form the Cleughearn Peak Loop.
My friend (Alise) only had a 4-day window, so we needed to be as efficient as possible, including fitting in the driving time from Queenstown.
Day 1 – Monowai Campsite Carpark to Walker River
As usual, some last minute planning and a long drive led to late start. We didn’t end up starting to hike until around 3pm. We did have expectations for reaching Rodger Inlet Hut, but were aware it was likely we’d need to camp prior if it was slow-going.Â
The trailhead was a little way back up the dirt road, but soon enough, we were in the beautiful Fiordland forest. The mosses dominated the scenery and really left us in awe, and made me think about just how much I missed Fiordland.
After taking a left turn onto the Rodger Inlet Track, we ran into some of the lower, wetter sections. The terrain was mostly flat, with a small hill in the middle, and one of the larger waterways, Walker River, running through the centre.Â
Nightfall was upon us, and finding a place to camp was becoming the goal. Our goal was somewhere alongside Walker River. Surely enough, after scouting a damaged trail from blow-downs and amongst the tree-fall area, we found a suitable spot. It was located right by the river, which was a much smaller flow than expected for a river.
We set up camp, and Alise decided to grow more balls than me and have a wash in the cold, shallow water.
The next task was gathering some firewood. Now, normally in New Zealand, this task can be challenging, as dry tinder is often rare. This spot was a gold mine of dry tinder, and getting a fire started took a matter of minutes only, right as the sun disappeared.
Day 2 – Walker River to Rodger Inlet Hut
The morning was a little overcast, but not too bad. After packing up camp, we crossed the river immediately. Perhaps, a little TOO early, as we needed to tackle some matagouri and other spiky plants on the opposite bank, before relocating the missing trail.
We were in a logistical conundrum of thought – trying to decide where to stay the next night. The first option was ideal, and that was to ascend up to the ridge and camp somewhere in the tops, however, leading to a long and hard day. The second option, was to hike a small day and stay at Rodger Inlet Hut.
As the day progressed, the first option was becoming unlikely. The track was slow going, even more than the previous day, getting worse as we progressed toward the hut. It was still just as beautiful though, negating the conditions.
Rodger InletÂ
The final stretch was alongside Rodger Inlet, a small section of the larger Lake Monowai. With the first view of the inlet, we could just make out Rodger Inlet Hut in the distance. There were some tricky parts here with blow-downs in the way and steep drop-offs, but it was mostly fine.Â
We reached the hut around lunchtime, and made our decision. It was decided that with the sprinkling rain, and lack of daylight hours, that we’d just stay the night at the hut. It did leave a consequence though, a very large walk-out day.
There were two huts, the smaller being more primitive, but perfectly fine to use if there was another party present. The main hut was… ok. It did have the demeanour of appearing like someone made it their home, with articles of household junk around, including chairs. Boaters could access it, and in my experience, any boat or 4WD access to a hut, made me not want to stay there.Â
We did get a visit in the dark by some boaters, matching the typical stereotype I have of them: flannelette shirts, beers in hand, and loud voices. They didn’t stay though, as it was just a guy showing his mate the place. It was just us in the end, and that was lovely!
Day 3 – Rodger Inlet Hut to Cleughearn Peak Lake
Today, was all about heading up, up, and up! We began the ascent up to the top of peak 1315m. It was beautiful the whole way, but exhausting with no water. We had taken from the hut about 3L of water each, to last us the day.
Once we broke out of the tree-line, the views were present toward Lake Monowai and the mountains behind, and it was glorious. The tussock and snowgrass was our walking medium for now, as the trail ended at the tree-line. We were on our own!
We glimpsed views of the lake near peak 1169m as we followed the ridge around to peak 1316m. Potentially, you could camp by the lake, but we needed to make more ground as we had a time constraint.
The ridge hiking along the tops was fairly straight-forward, as we were just sticking to the highest section. We caught glimpses of the far end of Lake Monowai, an area you can reach via the Green Lake Track.
It was here I noticed a strange phenomenon. There were patches of removed topsoil and grass only on one side of the pointed ridge sections. I had guessed it was due to snow erosion and a more prominent wind direction.
Once reaching peak 1282m, we decided to not follow the ridge on the original plan to summit peak 1453m, but instead, sidle around to the saddle at elevation 1324m. Sidling on tussock always sucks, but it was the easiest way. There were lots of small tarns in this section.
When arriving at the saddle, a glance to the left side gave us a spectacular view north-west. We lingered here quite long, savouring these views.
As we started to climb the final small slope of the day, we were greeted by a family of Kea (alpine parrots). They were curious about us being in their neighbourhood, but still made use of their timing picking out vegetation to eat.
Cleughearn Peak and Lake
Upon reaching the base of Cleughearn Peak, we had to make the call to forget the summit, as we were exhausted, and running out of daylight. Setting up camp at dark isn’t an issue, but it’s nice to have daylight as to select an ideal spot for a good sleep.
We diagonally descended below peak 1490m, and made our way down a raised area on the far side of the lake. I was hoping to be able to camp upon it, but it wasn’t as flat as near the water.
By around 8pm, we arrived to the lake. That was almost 11 hours of hiking! I chose a spot to camp at the outlet of the lake where it turned into a stream. Water access was good, and it was flatter than most surrounding areas. The tent went up, and immediately, dinner became the next priority. We were so hungry after the huge day – there were no leftovers to be seen!
Day 4 – Cleughearn Lake to Monowai Campsite Carpark
Today was the BIG day, if yesterday wasn’t big enough as it is. We needed to cover a lot of distance. We needed to traverse around the tops of Devils Punchbowl Lake, over Mt Cuthbert, and bush-bash through the forest onto the Green Lake Track.
The morning had some nice views over the cloud-filled valley, and the weather was amazing. We had our fill of breakfast, packed up, and set off.
Rocky Top
Rocky Top was the first destination of the day. It was a prime spot, due to its vantage point in between the lakes. Getting up to it was straightforward, over gentle tussock slopes.
From the top, there are great views to Green Lake, Lake Monowai, and Devils Punchbowl Lake. It was pretty breathtaking!
The section around peak 1382m was where the terrain became more edgy and sharp. It wasn’t technical at all, but a fall could be costly! The cliffs were very prominent and dropped rapidly to the forest, hundreds of metres below.
The Tricky ‘Rock Bridge’
All was fairly straight-forward until this section of the Cleughearn Peak Loop. Between peak 1382m and peak 1439m, there was a nasty notch in the ridge, with a split ‘rock bridge’ connecting the two sides. Before this bridge, was a nasty rock protrusion, that blocked the access. You either had to go over it, or around the sides, with each side completely dropping off.
This is the part where Alise started to get anxiety over it, and we almost had to turn back and go the other way around Devils Punchbowl Lake, which was a massive detour. The only other option was to traverse the southern side under it, but it was very unstable terrain, and I preferred the bridge option personally.Â
Using my height, i did a long reaching sidle around the rock on the southern side, and managed to get around it. Definitely not an option for shorter people, who need to go over the top. Once around, i tested the bridge alone. I was confident Alise would get across ok.Â
She worked up the courage to slide on her butt over the rock (with me ready to grab her), and we both crossed one by one, thankfully, with no event.
Heading up to peak 1430m was fairly easy, with only one section requiring some careful movements moving past a rock on the edge. When I asked if Alise was ok doing that part, she replied “If I can do that [the rock bridge], I can do anything“. I couldn’t resist laughing, even though I shouldn’t have.Â
We had a long steep slope to descend, to get onto the ridge that takes us to Mt Cuthbert, the final climb of the day. The slope was fairly slow-going, as the tussock was slippery. However, with some strategic ass-sliding, i made my way down faster. I did need to wait for Alise, who was not sold on my ass-sliding idea.
Mt Cuthbert
By now, our legs were growing tired, as there were a lot of up and downs. Mt Cuthbert was that last climb for the trip, before we descended to the Green Lake Trail.
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The ‘Thick Vegetation‘ Section
Just when you think you’re on top of things, I suddenly needed to navigate a route through thick vegetation blindly. There was no obvious contour, nor exposed route to pick out. All I knew, was that I needed to aim for the small exposed hill below. It was largely guesswork picking a way down.
After a while, and plenty of swear words said, we were through! We did have a good laugh about it after. Looking back at the terrain, I don’t think it mattered which way you came down. Except there was an old slip that wouldn’t have been ideal to walk into slightly left heading down.
There was still the last route-finding challenge left – the forest. However, this was much shorter and upon finding some deer trails, it was actually fairly easy to get through. It did slightly thicken toward the bottom, but nothing challenging.
Green Lake Track
We now found ourselves in a clearing, right next to the Green Lake Track. High fives were made, and we had a quick break and a refill of water. The biggest pressure on us, was time. We had taken far longer than anticipated on the previous section and needed to still drive back to Queenstown today (for Alise to get to work tomorrow), and it was late afternoon!
As we descended the track, we bumped into hiker, after hiker, all heading to Green Lake Hut. ‘Glad we didn’t stay there tonight!’ I said to Alise. All were quite tired, as it was a fairly long hike, and mostly heading uphill.
The lower reaches of the Green Lake Track didn’t help for time. I had thought this was a fairly well-trodden established trail, after seeing the first section before the Rodger Inlet Track turn off. However, it was pretty rough as far as trails go. Lots of treefalls and mud to slow you down. The worst sections were the lower areas nearby to the creeks. It took a lot longer than anticipated.
The forest was again, spectacular! Dense moss and beech forest endlessly shaping the landscape. It would have been nice to put up our tent somewhere off to the side of the trail and spend a night in the forest.
It was growing dark, and we had to accelerate our speed. Eventually, we reached the car by around 9pm, just before dusk set in! That had been a solid 12-13 hour day of hiking and we were now exhausted! I now had the long drive home to complete…
Trip Review
Did the trip go to plan?
Not really time-wise. The tracks on the Cleughearn Peak Loop were slower-going than anticipated, and generally, our timing on the first two days made for an ultra-long fourth day.
What would I change?
Some better organisation on the first day would have helped, to reach Rodger Inlet on the first day.
Hiking the opposite direction would make the ‘rock bridge’ slightly less confronting, however, it still would make the vegetated section harder.
What was my favourite part of the hike?
Rocky Top to Peak 1340m – the stunning views of the lakes and the challenging aspects were amazing here.
Did I achieve any personal goals or objectives?
No. This was purely just filling my hunger to hike, in an area I’ve always wanted to go.
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