Milford and Routeburn tracks in january
Hello, and sorry for my english !
I plan to do the Milford Track and Routeburn Track in January, but without booking (no more places, so I will do camping within the distance of 500 m from the track).
Here is my trip (I will come from Queenstown)
1) Day 1 :
- 9.45am Bus to Te Anau Downs and 10.30am Boat to Glade Wharf
- Glade Wharf to Kakapo Point and camping at the beginning of the north branch of the Clinton valley
2) Day 2 (hard day !)
- Kakapo Point to Sutherland falls and camping near Staircase Reach
3) Day 3 :
- Sutherland falls – Sandfly point
- Boat Sandfly Point to Milford Sound and Bus from Milford Sound to Divide.
- Divide to Lake Howden, and camping at Greenstone Saddle.
4) Day 4 :
Lake Howden to Lake Harris, and camping at Lake Harris
5) Day 5
Lake Harris to Routeburn Shelter, back to Queenstown.
So, I have some questions :
- According to you, is my project too ambitious ? I'm a good walker, and I've made some trips like that.
- Are my campsites OK to you ? Have you some ideas for other campsites ?
- Is it possible to sleep or to bivouac without a tent along the tracks ? I know to camp is forbidden, but this solution ?
- What are the possibilities of transport between Routeburn Shelter and Queenstown ?
- Same question between Milford Sound and Divide if I miss the bus ?
- And if I miss the boat between Sandfly point and Milford Sound, what are the solutions ?
- Is it possible to fish ?
- I know that weather conditions could be hard, bu if there is heavy rain, where can I find refuge on the tracks ?
But I don' want to be in difficult, so if the weather is very bad, I'll choose an alternative. Is the Kepler Track a good choise ? Someone told me : "There are many beautiful, equally scenic tracks". Which one could you recommend me ?
- Do you have suggestions, or advices to my trip ?
Thank you for your answer !
Philippe
Hi Philippe,
Your English is very good :-)
I have not tramped the Milford so cannot comment on that. Your plan for the Routeburn sounds good. Between Lake Howden and Lake McKellar are plenty of camp spots although the Northern end of Lake McKellar is quite swampy. You probably will not need to climb up to the Greenstone Saddle in order to camp. From memory their is a DoC campsite somewhere South of Lake Howden, you could try asking the DoC ranger at Howden Hut on the day you get there if there are any last minute cancelations at either Howden hut or the campsite.
Most of the Routeburn is along the side of a hill, when heading towards the Queenstown end you will have ground sloping upwards on your right hand side and sloping downwards on your left hand side. This will make it tricky to find a tenting/bivoac site along the way. At Lake Harris you should be OK as there is a large flat grassy area there. From memory, the hillside on the Te Anau side of Harris Saddle also has some flat spots although they may not be over 500 metres from the track.
Tracknet (www.tracknet.co.nz) operate serveral buses along the Milford road, and between Routeburn Shelter and Queenstown. If you are not allready booked I highly reccomend them.
There are a couple of emergency shelters on both the Routeburn and the Milford incase of bad weather. If the weather is truely awful I am sure the DoC rangers wont mind you sheltering at the huts. I have heared of DoC using helecopters to fly all trampers out of the Milford due to flooding.
The Kepler track is a good alternative, although I rate the Routeburn prettier then the Kepler. The Dusky track is also very pretty though if you are having bad weather on the Milford/Routeburn then you don't want to be trying the Dusky!
Phillipe:
I am a bit concerned about your plans. Camping 500m away from the track can be quite difficult on both those tracks as it is wild country. You certainly will not be popular trying to walk the Milford in that style and I suspect they will not allow you on the boat if you do not have accomidation booked. The idea of the booking systems on these tracks is to avoid over crowding, which was a major problem before they were implimented, it has made the experience much more pleasant for those who do it so I suggest you play the game.
If you want to do tracks unbooked and camp I suggest you avoid the Great Walk Tracks and do some of the others. For example the Rees-Dart, Hollyford, Caples Greenstone, Cascade Saddle, Wilkin-Young etc etc. There are well equiped huts and good tracks on all those. The huts are on a first in first served basis and you are free to camp anywhere.
You speak about weather. The rainfall in that area is very high and when it rains it is heavy. If you are going to camp you need good equipment that will keep you dry as you may not be able to move because of flooded side streams.
Good luck and have a good time. You will meet other people doing the same as you but not on the Milford and Routeburn, leave those for those who have booked the huts
Hi Guys
When i did the Milford 4 years ago im fairly sure you are not allowed to camp on the Milford as the huts are 5 star compaired to some.
The campsite at Howden hut looks good big open area and about 30 min walk South form the hut,theGreenstone/Caples has heaps of camping sites as long as you are 50m from the track and no camping on McKeller Saddle
Info and Track Bus will pick you up at the Routeburn Shelter and take you to Queenstown and you can pickup Tracknet there to Teanau
Lindsay
Hello, and thanx for your answers !
I like freedom, wild nature, and going where I want, when I want. And booking is not compatible with that. But I respect the rules, and nature, first.
You know, tramping in New Zealand is for me a dream, and there is so much to do...
But Milford and Routeburn tracks are well known, so I'd like (and I have the right) to do them. The DOC gave me informations about tramping in this places without booking.
About my potential unpopularity, i don't care, because I think people can understand my point of view. But I don't want to be more french than I'm...;-) !
If you think it's a very very bad idea, or too dangerous, no problem. But could you give me some alternatives. Too much to do...and I can't choose ! Help me !
I precise : I'm alone, good walker (I climb too...), difficulties doesn't frighten me (and I like that !), but I have no suicidal tendencies ;-).
Thank you for your answers
Philippe
Hi, I live in Te Anau , i have done a few of the tracks down here, There is no camping on the milford track,you would not get on the boat for a start with out a booking. The routeburn is a easy 2 day walk, there are campsites near to most of the huts.A Bit of advice dont under estimate fiordland,you can have 4 seasons in one day,( twice)
Phillipe,
I just came off the Milford (19-22 Dec) and it's well worth doing. I seriously don't think you are allowed on the track unless you have a booking though. Having said that, there were 1-2 vacancies when I did it and it might be worth checking since there's only one of you. Also, while the Milford is a very civilised track, suitable for anyone, the surrounding countryside and weather is not civilised at all. Camping 500 mtrs off track could be very dangerous and not sure if thats practical.
If you are basing yourself out of Te Anau there is the Routeburn, Kepler (Great Walks that need booking but you might get in), then also the Hollyford, Rees-Dart etc.
I presume you'll be flying in to Auckland and then busing down or flying to Queenstown? If you can, consider the Tongariro Northern Circuit (3-4 days). It's a very unique, out of this world hike and doesn't need to be booked. You can buy tickets beforehand for $25 a night or pay at the hut for $30 a night (DOC Wardens stay at each hut). For the Tongariro Circuit you bus to Whakapapa village and do a complete circuit back to where you started from.
Also, if you are hiking solo and going into wild areas, please consider hiring a Personal Locator Beacon. The NZ weather (even in summer) should never be underestimated. In TE Anau you can hire them from Garages for about $35 / week.
Cheers, and welcome to New Zealand. I hike solo a lot here and love meeting people like you from overseas!!
Rick.
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| Forum | Tracks, routes, and huts |
|---|---|
| Started by | larphi |
| On | 17 December 2009 |
| Replies | 6 |
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