Thursday 3rd March: Cloudy with some patches of sunshine, 7°C to 10°C to 15°C
Lake Mackenzie Hut to Routeburn Falls Hut: 9.00am to 2.30pm: 5hrs 30mins
It's too early to smile
Breakfast Mess
Some of us are ready
Miltons not into photo shoots
Past the tree line
New Zealand Eidelweiss? - sounds good anyway
Lake Mackenzie Hut beats the Private lodge for position
Morning tea in the mist
It's up the track we go
Jenny striding out
Good one Jenny
Donna's first to Harris Saddle
Lunch on a ledge - Graham hasn't had a wash
Lake Harris
Lake Harris again
Pack up all my cares and woe, here I go swinging low bye bye
Almost Europe
In my element
Graham - thorn between 2 roses
Start of Route Burn
Highlights were many on this beautiful but cold day. The walk up through Fairy Glen through moss and lichen covered old trees was eerily fantastic; the climb up to Harris saddle at 1255m with views down to the Hollyford Valley below was almost as good as Europe: and the descent to the Routeburn Waterfall Hut to watch a helicopter trying to land was a fitting end to the day.
At 7am it's pitch black and no movement in the bunkhouse, although we agreed we'd get up then to start the day by 8.30am to avoid the heavy rain due later. It's another 30 minutes before we stir and get down to breakfast of hot tea and porridge with brown sugar - courtesy of Donna's left overs from her stewed plums in Te Anau 2 days ago.
At 9am we're off up the track. It's a cold 7°C but after an hours walk up through the eery Ferny Glen with huge boulders perched precariously on the side of the hill, forced there by a glacier thousands of years ago, it's warm enough to strip off to a light shirt. By 10.30am we reach the tree line and find a sunny spot out of the wind for morning coffee.
For the next 2hrs, we follow the contour high above the Hollyford Valley with views across to the snow capped mountains. But it's windy and so the clothes we stripped off earlier need to go back on - and then some more! The track goes down a bit then up and at 12.15pm, we reach the Harris Saddle Shelter. One peak inside and the smell of fish from someones lunch forces us outside quickly. But there's a ledge at the side of the shelter where we can perch out of the wind in the sun for a relaxed lunch.
By 1pm, we're off up a slight ascent, with Lake Harris way below and mountain peaks in the distance. It's an easy uphill for 30 minutes before turning down into the Route Burn Valley. The track is quite stony but dry and soon we pass the Ranger from the Hut (same one as last year) on his way up to do track work. The rangers in New Zealand are multi tasked to clean huts and repair tracks. The roar of the Route Burn Falls greets us as we walk past the Lodge (the private hut for guided walkers). There's a helicopter hovering above with a large pallet of stuff (probably for the private lodge) swinging from a guy-rope and it takes about 6 circuits for the pilot to wait for a suitable wind gust to land on the helipad.
Further on, we reach the Routeburn Falls hut. It isn't full yet but most of the lower bunks have already been taken and we can't find 6 bunks together in the same room, so tonight we're a bit spread out. It's cold and dark in the hut so a hot cup of tea before we do anything else is welcome. So is a quick splash from the hot water in the pooch pouch down in the toilets - no washroom tonight. It's still early and I blog whilst the others muddle around chatting.
At 5pm it's wine o'clock. It's cold and we're waiting for someone to start the fire. Ranger John appears with a bucket of coal and soon we're cutting up veggies for our Back Country Mince with our red wine. Donna is doing her usual chef’s meal with an assortment of spices. Ranger John gives us the usual hut safety talk sprinkled with a wry sense of New Zealand humour and then starts a competition to see who can find the most languages in the Xmas messages written on a calico wall sheet hanging on the wall. Clearly not an Australian's expertise and the prize of course goes to the Germans.
Chatting after dinner with a piece of chocolate and cup of firewater is a nice way to end the night before going to bed. It's cold and dark in the bunk room but we're in bed by 9.30pm ready for our last day on the track tomorrow
Where's a good place to land
Try again
Ians Favourite shoes
Provate Lodge out of bounds for us
Lodge is out of bounds for us
Lodge is out of bounds for us