When planning a trip to New Zealand, you quickly realize that no time is ever enough to see and do everything New Zealand has to offer. With two weeks and one additional day for a New Year's holiday, we narrowed down the things we must and had to do and packed in as much as our time and energy would allow. The Routeburn Track was on top of that list.
The Routeburn Track is a 32 km (20 mile) hike along the Southern Alps of New Zealand. The first day of the hike took us on an 8 mile scenic hike from a beech forest to Lake McKenzie. You immediately understand why Peter Jackson chose to film Lord of the Rings in New Zealand. Every turn felt like a fairy tale.
The crux of the first day's hike is the Key Summit, where you can (on a clear day) watch water flow towards three different coasts.
Before heading towards our first night lodging (we stayed in eco-friendly lodges along the trail), we stopped for a photo op at Earland Falls.
Although the hike was fairly easy, we tried to savor every moment and every angle of every view. And where else is the water so fresh you can fill up your water bottle from the stream?
Our second day on the hike brought the best weather day. We woke up to the most majestic sunrise over Lake Mackenzie.
Lake McKenzie was beautiful in all different angles.
We could not get over the constant views of the all the lush greenery; the daisies and buttercups were in bloom and the snow still capped the mountains. My favorite were the edelweiss flowers (below right), mostly because it reminds me of the Sound of Music song "Edelweiss."
Lake Harris was another beautiful alpine lake. Its dark blue waters contrasted the snow capped mountains.
We then followed Lake Harris' tributaries down the Routeburn Valley.
I think the best part of this hike was really feeling removed from it all and experiencing something that can only be appreciated on foot.
The following day brought heavy rains. We learned the importance of waterproof boots and gaiters. We also learned waterproof pants are useless if you don't have waterproof everything else. We saw our guides wade through almost waist deep water and come out dry! Us, on the other hand, hiked the entire day like wet dogs.
Rain clouds over the Humboldt mountains. How many waterfalls can you see?
New Zealand's beauty at its best. Take us back to the Routeburn Track!