A Great Walk with Vast and Endless Views!

14/10/18 ~ 16/10/18

The Kepler Track in Snow

The Kepler Track is one of ten ‘Great Walks’ in New Zealand. These are hikes that are generally very popular and accessible to most categories of hiker ability. Several of these hikes are somewhat prone to snow and avalanche risk, making them more dangerous in the off-peak season (generally mid-May to mid-October).

The snow season lingered into Spring in 2018 when I did this hike, so there was still a lot of snow on the trail (a lot more than I anticipated prior to starting!). Although on the Kepler Track, you don’t climb particularly high in altitude (only 1400-1500m at the highest), it’s so far south the snow line is much lower.

Great Walks have a peak season between around 23/10 to 30/04 in the warmer seasons, with increased fees for huts. However, in the off-peak season, huts are only $15 using serviced hut tickets (available from DOC centres).

The Kepler Track is located in Southland, right on the edge of Fiordland National Park near the township of Te Anau. To access the trail – you can park at two locations on the edge of the trail itself, or opt for the more frequented and secure parking at the DOC visitor centre on the edge of town. I chose this option, but it does add 40 mins of extra walking each way. The map below shows the location of the DOC carpark at the ‘Start / End’ location.

Packing for a Great Walk

In the video below, i discuss the type of gear I’d take on a Great Walk in New Zealand in Spring.

The Hike

Day 1 – DOC Visitor Centre to Iris Burn Hut

I had slept in a nearby hostel the night before, and was up early to arrive at the DOC visitor centre where I would sort out my gear and leave my car. I decided on this great walk I’d stay in huts and aim for three days in total. The first day would be extremely long, but the following days would be a little easier distance wise.

The walk to the trail isn’t too bad. If you stick to the lake edge, there’s a gravel trail which takes you all the way to the Kepler trailhead. I actually didn’t realise this at first, and on the way there I walked on the road briefly before finding the Wildlife Refuge trail.

The main trailhead begins by crossing a water control gate, where the lake drains into the river. It is after this crossing that you can then decide to do the trail clockwise, or anti-clockwise. I had already chosen to go clockwise, as it allowed me to do the long first day and knock over the main forest hiking part first.

The Start of The Kepler Track

Typical of the early sections of any great walk, the trail is very much a well maintained pathway. It was pleasant and beautiful, and there’s no shortage of Fiordland forest beauty here. At points along the trail, you can view the super fast flowing Waiau River. This river feeds Lake Manapouri via Lake Te Anau.

At the southernmost section of the trail near Shallow Bay is a wetland area you can detour off for a quick view. There were no shortage of ducks making use of the lake here and looking ridiculously comfortable sitting on the mossy edge.

Typical of Fiordland beech forests, are the copious amounts of moss! When you think of the rainfall in this region, you realise why moss loves growing here so much.

Moturau Hut

It was around lunchtime that i arrived at Moturau Hut – perhaps just over the halfway point of the day for me (18km from the DOC visitor centre). I decided to have lunch here as it was quite beautiful and had picnic tables outside looking on to the lakefront. If it were but 10 degC warmer in the air, a swim might have been on the cards! Alas, it wasn’t overly hot.

It was here i met Helena, a girl from the Czech Republic who was also hiking the same direction as me. She was a little concerned of being warned of the avalanche risk previously. I said i’d go over the mountains with her the next day.

I still had another 16km to go before reaching Iris Burn Hut, my destination for the night. The track was still flat and easy for the first section.

I bumped into some hikers from the opposite direction and chatted. They had been turned back by rangers due to ‘dangerous avalanche conditions’ and didn’t seem too impressed. I was getting a little skeptical of this as I couldn’t see how on Earth the conditions could be so dangerous many days after the last snowfall and with a relatively thin layer of snow. I needed to see for myself.

There’s a large open section caused by a large slip (landslide) in the mid-80’s. As you near the end of the Iris Burn valley. It was nice to see some mountains and be briefly out of the forest!

Iris Burn Hut

I arrived at the hut at around 5pm. There was about 8 or so other hikers there, all who were heading back out the way we came from. Most had come over the snowy mountain section, and said they didn’t have too much problem (with no special gear). Granted, I’ve seen tourists do stupid things before, but after looking at my topo map and from what I had seen from afar, I didn’t think it was going to be an issue.

There was a German couple who I talked to for a long time that night. They were very interested in my stories on the Pacific Crest Trail and they were avid hikers themselves who had their own stories.

Day 2 – Iris Burn Hut to Luxmore Hut

The second morning I left the hut at around 8:15am and began the final forest climb up to the mountains.

The trail was getting more snow cover and was very icy at points. I used my microspikes for this section, as the wooden bridges were slippery and my tread was wearing thin. They were most certainly not required however.

Eventually, the forest line ended and it was mountain time! There were some clouds, but only in the valleys and they were breaking up as it warmed up.

The Ridgeline

At the top of the first peak and ridge, there is a view down towards the Iris Burn valley where you can see Iris Burn Hut and also the waterfall. Helena caught up to me here and we continued the rest of the way to Luxmore Hut together. I lent her a trekking pole for some balance in the snow.

The views were stunning. The snow-capped mountains were visible in all directions, and I greatly enjoyed a hike that stuck to the centre ridgeline to see over both sides. The snow was soft and easy to step in without sliding or feeling unstable.

Hanging Shelter

The first stop was an emergency shelter at 1356m elevation. I made a coffee here and had an early lunch before continuing on. When we looked over the other side of the ridge, we expected to see the side ‘arm’ of Lake Te Anau, but it was shrouded in clouds as it was still early.

The ridge walk in this section was amazing! Stunning views everywhere! We ended up meeting an Israeli couple and they offered to make coffee with biscuits, to which… I have to accept 😛 Even if it was number three coffee and it wasn’t even past midday. They were heading the opposite direction, but we had a good chat and continued on our way.

This was the part I was most concerned about avalanche-wise. As you can see in the next photo, there’s next to no danger above us. The ridge was defined enough to avoid potential lower slab movements (if any – as it’s quite thin).

It was around this point we noticed just how much the snow was melting. The melt was pouring off the mountains and you could tell it was only going to last a few more days.

There was a small side-trip to climb Mt Luxmore, but we ended up continuing on as the views weren’t going to be that much better.

Luxmore Hut

We eventually arrived at Luxmore Hut and had a break. There was a Kiwi-German guy who had come the same way earlier (but stayed in Hanging Shelter overnight), and we talked awhile about our different conditions. He had firmer snow in the morning obviously, but we both had found it easy.

Helena ended up moving on to Brod Bay campsite as she had a tighter schedule. I stayed in Luxmore Hut for the night. There was a massive group coming up from the valley below and I was glad to not be stuck with them tomorrow!

I spoke to many of them and reassured them of the conditions (many getting the dangerous conditions message like those people I met on the first day).

Luxmore Caves

Before the day was out, I decided to tackle Luxmore Caves – a short 10 minute walk from the hut. I took my headlamp and a rain jacket and headed out.

Along the way thorough, you are following a small stream that heads deep into the passages below – it was inevitable to get your feet wet. There were often tight squeezes or climbs over formations to proceed down some sections.

I think I had entered most chambers by the time I had finished, with some being too tight a squeeze to progress any further. It was amazing overall, and my favourite section was towards the bottom and up the right side passage.

Day 3 – Luxmore Hut to DOC Visitor Centre

Setting off at 8am, I had the easy part of the trail left. There was a small tussock section before heading down into the forest again to descend to the lake.

The walk down was quite pretty, with nice forest and cliff faces. Perhaps even more scenic that the first way of the hike.

Brod Bay Campsite

Brod bay campsite on Lake Te Anau was amazing. I almost wish I had aimed to camp here like Helena did, but i didn’t bring my camping gear. There was plenty of space to camp and a sheltered kitchen area, with a beautiful ‘beach’ front.

Overall, the Kepler Track in snow exceeded my expectations. The snow made it far more epic and memorable and Luxmore caves was a huge surprise. It might just be my favourite Great Walk in New Zealand!

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