Kepler Track

Kepler Track is a backpacking trail south of Milford Sound in fiordland.  It’s one of New Zealand’s Great Walks and very deserving of this title!  It is a 61km loop that begins just outside of Te Anau and has three huts that you can stay in. The huts are spaced out so that you hike approximately 15km each day.  The huts were a bit pricey for our liking so we decided to camp instead.  The campgrounds are not as nicely spread out – the first at 5.6K, the second at about 31K and then the third is just 20-30 minutes off the track at about 47K.

The start of the Kepler Track - here we go!

We started the walk in the late afternoon and hiked to the first campground called Brod Bay and had a nice dinner.  It was easy walking – flat terrain through a rainforest. The campground was gorgeous, situated on a lake.

The first campground!

The next day was our big day.  We had about 25km to get to the next campground and had about 1500m of elevation to ascend and 900m to descend.  Almost immediately, the climbing started and continued until we popped out above the tree-line with amazing views!  

The views!!

A good portion of the day was part of an alpine crossing above the tree-line. We had lunch on the deck of the first hut (Luxmore Hut) and did a short walk to the Luxmore Cave.  Kyle ventured into the cave and took some photos.

Lunch time

Luxmore Cave Entrance

From inside the cave

After lunch, we continued to climb and climb until we reach Mount Luxmore. We did a quick detour to the summit before continuing on.

Summit of Mount Luxmore

We went up and down across a ridge and had some seriously fantastic views of lakes and mountains all around.  When we finally reached the point where we started to descend, we were definitely ready.  We descended for a long time, back into the trees and rainforest-type woods.  Finally, we emerged at the Iris Burn Hut and campground where we put our feet up before a few minutes before setting up the tent or thinking about dinner.  We also did a bit of a sponge-bath rinse in a very chilly river just a few hundred meters away from the campground. 

Finally starting to descend

The next morning we were discussing our plan for the day. After speaking with the Camp Warden the previous evening, we knew that rain was expected the following day and that the next campground was likely going to be full with trampers and hunters.  We decided that we were just going to finish off the circuit that day.  Luckily we got a bright and early start (leaving the campground at 10:30…hahaha) and marched on.  The walking was very easy with a gentle decline or flat for most of the day.  We walked and walked and walked and walked.  And then we walked some more.  At about 22km is Rainbow Reach, an access point that we could catch a shuttle or hitchhike back to our car.  We had a rest stop there and I very seriously considered wandering across the bridge and catching a lift but in the end, we decided to finish walking to the car.  At the end of the day we had walked 32K and were ready to be done!!

Lake Manapouri for a lunch stop

We sat in the carpark and ate an entire bag of Doritos before doing much of anything.  A great reward!!

The Kepler Track was amazing – especially the second day.  Unbelievable views!! 

Overall rating: Top-notch!!!