Routeburn Track

New Zealand has a system of national tracks (aka trails) with huts along them for backpackers to use instead of tents. The huts have bathrooms, kitchen facilties, and a bunkroom. You have to reserve your spot months in advance, so we have been hiking only small parts of these tracks.

The Routeburn Track is 32 km in total. We hiked only to the first hut, but the scenery was stunning. From the parking lot you could see a double waterfall cascading from the mountain above, not a bad way to start. We crossed the swinging bridge and the track hugged the crystal blue river. Miraculously a couple of hours into the hike a port-a-potty appeared. It had an amazing view and Natalie, of course, needed to use it. We stopped for lunch by the water where we had 3 waterfalls to view from the bank.

After the hike we got in the car and headed back to Glenorchy. On the way Jeff saw a lone female hitch hiker, so he, of course, felt compelled to pull over. Julie was from France and had lived in New Zealand for a year. We asked if she had been on the track today. "Yes, I actually hiked all 32 km of the Routeburn Track today. I started at 7 AM." Here we were so proud of our half day excursion when Julie had done 32 km in 8 hours and was walking back to town! Well, it was still breath-takingly beautiful for a 6 or 32 km hike.

Bathroom Break