Wednesday 2nd March: Brilliant sunshine, sunny cold and 5°C to 15°C
Te Anau tLake Mackenzie Hut: Bus Dep Te Anau 9.45am, arr The Divide at 11am. Hike 15k: 6hrs
Accommodation: Lake Mackenzie Hut
Off on the Route Burn track
Blue Skies and mountains
I live hiking
Blue skies and snow on mountains
Is Key Summit that way?
Up at Key Summit
The best day we've had in NZ
The Summiters, some of us were hutters
Donna's at the top
Donna insists on taking a photo
Today was the start of the Routeburn. Highlight was reaching The Summit on a brilliant sunshiny day - blue skies, no clouds, spectacular scenery - the best we've had so far in New Zealand.
We're all up around 7am (well some of us are) and its still dark. We have a leisurely breakfast. Ian and I have muesli, Jenny and Graham have porridge followed by mushrooms, Donna and Milton have muesli and yoghurt followed by bacon, mushrooms and tomato. There's plenty of time to pack, repack, unpack and re-organise before we leave the motel. Our bags are overflowing with food and wine again.
At 9.15am. We walk 5minutes to the DOC where our shuttle is waiting then leave at 9.45am. Some hikers are dropped at Te Anau Downs to do the Milford track, the rest stay to do either the Routeburn or a day walk to The Summit. It's 11am when we arrive at the Divide Shelter, the start the Routeburn Track.
It's an magnificent day and 15°C. After an hour, we reach the turn off to The Summit. Last year when Ian and I walked the Routeburn in reverse, we missed the Summit as it was cold and misty. Today is spectacular so we have a pow-wow at the sign. It's 1hr return to the Summit and Donna, Ian and I decide to do it. Or 15 mins to Howden Hut where Graham, Jenny and Milton decide to have a leisurely lunch.
The Summit walk is spectacular. It's not really an hour return, just 15 mins with an extra 5 mins to the lookout to see the snow patched Humbolt and Aisla Mountains and Lake Marina in the hanging valley. It's 1pm when we get back to Howden Hut where the others have already had lunch. It's busy. Howden Hut is the crossroads of the Routeburn and the Greenstone Caples Track and there's lots of day trekkers passing through at lunch time. We a have cup of tea on the gas rings inside before we leave at 2.45pm.
The afternoon is glorious and sunny. The uphill track is stony and slow going. In one and a half hours we reach the 124 metre high Earland Falls where the troops have waited for Donna and I. Another hour and we reach The Orchard - an open patch of tussock grass with apple trees - not sure what they are or how they got there. The views across the valley are stunning with a clear view of mountains and snow.
Donna and I linger at the rear chatting. It seems a long way down with slippery rocks and stepping stones heading down. The trees become Hobbit like with moss and lichens hanging off the almost dead trees. It's 5pm when we pass the private Lake Mackenzie Hut - clearly not ours with lounge chairs in a large sunny room. Another 1 minute and we're at Lake Mackenzie Hut. We thought it would be full but it's not. We're in a bunk house at the back. Ian and I have a quick cup of tea, then boil another pot to put in our pooch pouch for a wash. It's not appropriate in the toilets and there's no wash room, so we take our clothes and pouch pouch of warm water to the wood heap and have an almost real shower using a cup.
Back to the kitchen with time to blog. I've carried my computer this trip instead of leaving it behind like the Kepler Track at Te Anau. It's relaxing with cheese and a wine from our coke bottle. Ian cuts up dinner - carrots, onion, capsicum and tomato with Back Country mince. Yum. Donna and Milton have Alfredo pasta and Graham and Jenny have a Back Country Mince concoction.
Clive, our Hut Ranger appears. We're all asked to go outside. He's so quiet we think it will be only a 5 minute talk. WRONG! He has the driest sense of New Zealand humour and has us all in fits. It was interesting to know that Sir Edmund Hilary had practised on the Darren mountains which we can see as a backdrop behind Clive. He rattles on about all sorts of interesting stuff about the glacier and issuing fishing licences for the lake – when he knows there’s no fish, and he told the tale of how to pick up a bread roll if you've dropped it in economy class - not sure what it had to do with Lake Mackenzie hut but it was very funny. After a glass of Grahams firewater and a chocolate, we're off to bed
At Lake Mackenzie
The Hutters
