Sarah WallockWhat’s the Kepler Track?
The Kepler Track is one of New Zealand’s Great Walks. The country’s Department of Conservation (DOC) maintains 10 hiking tracks across New Zealand throughout unique and stunning landscapes. The Kepler is one of the most famous for its diverse environments from alpine mountains to beech tree forests to sandy lake shores. This summer, Nick and I miraculously secured reservations for the Luxmore and Iris Burn huts on the Kepler. We planned to hike the Kepler Track in 3 days, rather than the DOC recommended amount of 4 days.
Booking accommodation along the Great Walks is essential because the huts and campsites along the trails fill up quickly. Every winter on a specific day, the hut bookings become open for the upcoming summer season: October-April. Usually, within the first day of the bookings opening, many of the popular huts get booked for the entire season. Hiking the Kepler Track in 3 days can also be useful because you may not be able to secure all 3 huts because they are in such high demand. When I was thinking of the perfect Christmas present for Nick, tickets for the Kepler were at the front of my mind.
Essential Gear
Before setting off, we had to collect the appropriate gear. Luckily, we already had all of the clothing we needed, two lovely packs and sleeping bags, yet for food and cooking supplies we had to run to Torpedo 7. I like Torpedo 7 because it has some of the cheaper outdoor deals rather than Katmandu or Macpac, but all have a great selection. Soon I will post a detailed list of my favorite meals from our 3 days on the Kepler Track.
Transport
- Queenstown to Te Anau – personal vehicle or shuttle
- Te Anau to Trailhead (Control Gates or Rainbow Reach carpark) – personal vehicle, shuttle or walk
- End of trail to trailhead (Control Gates or Rainbow Reach carpark) – shuttle or walk
- Trailhead back to Te Anau/or the next destination – personal vehicle, shuttle or walk
At 8am, we set off from Queenstown to Te Anau to check in at the Department of Conservation Center in Fiordland. We popped into Te Anau to grab a snack from Miles Better Pies and we headed to Rainbow Reach car park. Rather than complete the entire 65km loop, our friends encouraged us to skip an uninteresting 10km section and use a shuttle service. “Ah it’s New Zealand, who needs a shuttle when you can hitchhike” we thought. Pro tip: Never try to hitchhike on Boxing Day.
Upon arriving to Rainbow Reach, there was not another human in sight. We turned straight to the beginning of the hike and left our car at the Control Gates instead. Last minute, I called and booked a shuttle from Tracknet that would deliver us from Rainbow Reach to our car at Control Gates on the final day. We decided to book the shuttle because many people had encouraged us that $15 for a shuttle ticket would be worth it, rather than 10km more of hiking after 3 long days and tackling 55km. The shuttle was totally worth it!
*Another pro tip: Fill up your water bottles! There’s no fresh water at the trailhead. We ultimately drove from Te Anau to Rainbow Reach, where we couldn’t hitch, to Control Gates, where we forgot water, back to Te Anau to fill our water bottles, and finally back to Control Gates to begin. Not our finest moment but we made it through.
*Final pro tip: Thinking of having a wild night before hiking the Kepler? Maybe think twice before you try a 3-day hiking trip hungover.
DOC’s Diagram of the Kepler
Kepler Track Brochure
Day One: Control Gates to Luxmore Hut
We set off from the Control Gates and headed towards Brod Bay. We walked through a 5.6km section of beech forest along the shore of Lake Te Anau and enjoyed the fresh air. After Christmas festivities, some needed this little wake up call more than others! Once we got to Brod Bay, we began dreaming of bringing our friends there for a wee camping trip in a few weeks time. We left the car around 12:30pm and arrived at Brod Bay at 2pm (1.5 hours).
Brod Bay campsite
Next, we began our ascent into the forest and up the mountains. This was one of the hardest sections of the tramp. We knew this day would be draining and energy intensive. There was a sign that said: 4.5 hours to Luxmore Hut but fit and experienced trampers in good weather can reduce times by half. Assuming we were not billy goats, we allotted the entire 4.5 hours. We somewhat intensively chugged up the mountain. There were sweeping views of Te Anau and epic Limestone walls.
Before we knew it, we made it to the bushline in 1.5 hours from Brod Bay and then we arrived at Luxmore Hut in a further 20 minutes. Surprisingly, we crushed the first day.
Hanging out at Luxmore Hut was lovely. I would definitely go back as a day trip and I would recommend staying here. It got a bit chilly at night, but otherwise everything was smooth sailing.
Luxmore Hut
Day Two: Luxmore Hut to Iris Burn Hut
In the morning, we were greeted by a few mischievous kea. Everyone woke up early and seemed to rush out the door. We took our time to leave the hut and enjoyed the peace and quiet before the epic ascent. We left Luxmore Hut at around 9:30am and arrived at Iris Burn Hut at around 3pm from a 14.6km journey.
This is the day to be prepared and energized for. Walking from Luxmore Summit to Iris Burn Hut was one of the best hikes I have ever done. There were sweeping views of farmlands, the Southern Fiord, yellow and red mountains, and beech forests. In every direction there were new exciting viewpoints as we walked through the clouds. We lucked out majorly with the weather as well. From every corner the panoramic views became even more spectacular.
One of the many tarns near Luxmore Hut 
A little below the base of Luxmore Summit 
Near the base of Luxmore Summit 
The walk on the second day didn’t feel tiring. It actually felt quite comfortable on the ridge line. But by the end of the day, we were knackered. As we began the descent into the beech forest, the hut warden’s quote kept playing back in my head like a broken record: “If you start to feel like you aren’t headed anywhere in the forest, here’s a tip: you’ll start at the predator trap number 4 and end at number 24.” I knew this meant it would be a long descent.
She also mentioned that the predator traps are every 200m. We could calculate our distances based on how far we’d gone and how much farther we were going based on the traps. This proved to be a really helpful activity for our next day totaling 24km, mostly in beech forest.
At Iris Burn Hut, we chilled out, took a side trip to the Iris Burn Waterfall, and rested up for our final day.
Day Three: Iris Burn Hut to Rainbow Reach
We woke up bright eyed and bushy-tailed ready for our final day, and even more ready to eat the rest of our food! Nick and I headed out towards Moturau Hut at 8am. DOC claimed this section would be a 6-hour journey. We walked through a leafy forest and over a few bridges alongside the Iris Burn River. At times I felt like I was in Jurassic Park or the Land Before Time. I didn’t know this while hiking, but funnily enough, Jurassic Park was filmed in this location… in Fiordland National Park.
We arrived at Moturau Hut a little before noon. Rather than the DOC suggested 6-hour tramp, we completed this relatively flat 16.2km section from Iris Burn Hut to Moturau Hut in 4 hours. One of the most exciting bits of the walk was when I saw glimpses of Lake Manapouri after 3.5 hours of beech tree forest views. I love the forest, but I’m always happiest at the lake. We set down our packs at Moturau Hut and immediately, I ran into Lake Manapouri. What a stunning area. After napping until 1:30pm and preparing for our final 6km, we powered on.
We danced through the final section of beech trees and stopped off at an interesting wetland. Then the trail ventured along Waiau River Terrace and finally back to Rainbow Reach carpark.
55km later: sore feet, messy hair and completely chilled out. What a journey it was. I highly recommend completing the Kepler Track. It is truly one of the most incredible experiences I’ve ever had. Hiking the Kepler Track in 3 days like we did, or the suggested 4 days would both be pleasurable. If you want a more relaxed hike, try for 4 days. But if you like a bit of extra activity, try for 3 days. It’s doable to see some of the more stunning views in a day hike, but I would save that for the ultra-ambitious lot. DOC are spot-on to have selected the Kepler as a Great Walk.
