Kepler Track - Fiordland [GW 08]

Second side quest I decided to tackle was another Great Walk called Kepler Track just outside Te Anau where I have stayed during Te Araroa hike. It was possible to see Kea's, the only alpine parrots in the world here. I had a chance to see them before in Arthur's Pass Village but I decided to skip this resupply point and carry on.

I took a ferry from Stuart Island and a series of hitchhikes from Bluff in the morning and reached Te Anau at 6pm. Day was slow going, at few points I had to wait for two hours before someone decided to pick me up and usually it was only short ride till the next town. I can't complain though as eventually I reached my destination. I decided to stay at Rosie's Backpacker Homestay (last time it was Te Anau Central Backpackers) and it was a good decision. I arrived just in time for supper, hikers cooked lasagna, pizza and pasta and everyone shared the food. It was Rosie's home, she turned a couple of spare rooms into the bedrooms for backpackers, we could use her shower, toilet and kitchen. Rosie and her husband were retired DOC workers so she had great knowledge about local hikes and activities. I ate, took a shower and jumped into a warm, soft, comfortable bed with fresh linen. It was a hiker haven.

Day 1

In the morning I walked out of Rosie's home after the breakfast (Stags Chilli and a baguette) towards the Kepler Track. Path started outside Te Anau, it took me two hours to reach the trail head with a brief stop for a coffee and a visit to a bird sanctuary along the way which had kaka's, blue ducks and takahe birds.

Kepler Track was a circular walk and I decided to do it clockwise, the first section towards Motuaru Hut was flat, running along a beautiful forest. The track was immaculate, probably best hiking trail I walked in New Zealand so far. Mushrooms were growing all along the trail and the photoshoot was inevitable.

I reached Motuaru Hut at 1pm, surprise awaited me here. A family of Kea's was goofing around the campsite, they were very loud and playful. The gang was fun to watch and didn't mind me taking pictures from close distance. I had a lunch by the lake soon after and carried on.

Trail started to climb slightly from here on, there was some mud, tree hopping and small stream crossings but none of it was particularly difficult. Weather after light rain in the morning got better and the sun started to show it's face. People going the other way told me that they could hear kiwi calls at night which gave me an idea of doing a night hike to see them again. I really enjoyed encountering those elusive, shy birds at the Stuart Island and getting a chance to do it again was very tempting.

I reached the campsite at 6pm, had noodles with chicken and peas for dinner and set up the alarm for 1:30 in the morning.

Day 2

White noise of the Iris Burn river made me miss the alarm and I woke up at 3am, still not a bad time to start the kiwi hunt. Tent was full of sandflies, once I got out they started to swarm everything, it made me pack up and start walking at a super fast pace.

I've reached the Iris Burn Hut three hours later, it was still dark. Sadly I didn't have luck seeing or even hearing kiwi calls this time around. Three hours on the trail at night in an area where they live and absolutely no result. Still it was worth to give it a try, it made me realize just how lucky I've been on the Stuart Island.

From Iris Burn Hut trail was going up quite steeply and after two hours a beautiful ridge opened up before me. There was also more Kea's at the first emergency shelter and later on at Luxmore Hut, I took few decent pictures of their cheeky antics, they were such a joy to watch and interact with.

Trail was going along a stunning 360 view ridge a cherry on top was climbing the top of Mount Luxmore which was only 10 minutes up from the trail. Path was very busy, I must have seen over a hundred people throughout the day, Luxmore Hut had a 60 person capacity which made it possibly the biggest hut in New Zealand! From Mount Luxmore it was a gentle descent along the lake and back into Te Anau. I got to the trailhead at 4pm and made my way to town only to find out that all the backpackers accomodation was fully booked and it might had something to do with Chinese New Year.

After a short deliberation and a beer at The Moose Tavern I decided to backtrack a bit and spend a night in the pine forest along the lake just outside the town. It was peaceful, well protected from the elements and most importantly free. When I set the tent up over twenty sandflies I've packed in the morning we're still buzzing around inside the tent, I spend good five minutes trying to get rid of them. The bastards were immortal.