Kepler Track

We have often looked up at Mt Luxmore - we have a view again from from the bedroom window now that some of the trees have been trimmed back,  and thought we do that part of the Kepler Track some time.  Stephen has done it before but not myself.  It is quite a walk as it rises very quickly from 200m to about 1000m above sea level. There is a hut below the summit and although some people choose to do a day walk I thought that with all that effort it would be nice to stay the night and return the next day.

So we watched for a good weather window and thought that last Sunday would be a good choice. 

Loaded up with a pack each and enough food, sleeping bags and clothes for one night we headed off. We of course walked from our wee rental in Eglinton Place so we had another 5km to go before even getting to the track.  First stop was the DOC office to buy our hut ticket. Normally it is $54 per person but luck was on our side and 'locals' qualify for a 25% discount in April. 

The walking is relatively easy until you get to Brod Bay. We stopped here for a cuppa and a snack before we started the section called the "Grunt".  (There are a group of 'nutters' who actually run it there and back as a race in early December.)  Those who plan to just do a day walk often get dropped off by water taxi and in hindsight we can see the advantage in that, especially as Stephen has suddenly realised he isn't 20 anymore!!                                       

We didn't stay here long as the sandflies weren't being very kind so off we went, full of enthusiasm.   It is indeed a 'grunt',  taking us three hours of steady uphill walking. We stopped at one point to have some lunch and another time to chat to a young British couple who were scampering up and back as a day trip.  

We were very pleased to reach the bush line and see the sign that said 45minutes to the hut. Unfortunately the weather gods weren't with us, and although it was fine in TeAnau and heavy cloud cover was well down and the spectacular views we were hoping to see as we walked along the edge of the bush line were almost non existent. It was just as we were approaching the hut that a small window of viewing opened up for us allowing us to look down into the south fiord and across to the the Murchison Mountains.

Hut almost visible in the cloud. 

What you can see on a clear day!!

Once in the hut we chose our bunks and signed in before making a very much needed cuppa.  After a rest we joined the hut warden, Pat, for an informative talk about the pest trapping programme and  a tour of the surrounding environs so he could explain the local alpine vegetation. 

After our evening meal, we weren't long out of bed. Sleeping in a communal bunk room is certainly an interesting experience. The hut holds 55 people and we were in the larger of the two bunk rooms. Mostly we slept all night though one tramper needed a lesson on communal sleeping etiquette. Twice during the night someone rummaged in a very noisy plastic bag and we certainly weren't the only ones disturbed by such behaviour,  listening to the comments during breakfast.

Contemplating trek to the summit!

Unfortunately the cloud was still low on the mountain tops and after initially thinking we would climb to the summit (another hour + walk) we abandoned the idea. It was cold and there was going to be no rewards for our efforts and it was still going to be a 19km hike to get home.  

A view of TeAnau through a gap
in the forest.

We managed to walk down to Brod Bay much quicker that the walk up but walking down such a steep slope is much harder on the legs and hips than going up.  Of course we still had another 2 hours to get back home and my goodness it nearly finished me off.  My hips and shins were very sore for a couple of days but we would have to say we were very pleased that we had made the effort - views or no views. We are now planning how we will do it the next time. Probably a water taxi to Brod Bay and maybe complete the whole track with a pick up from Rainbow Reach.

The Kepler Track belongs to one of our 'Great Walks" and is aptly named. For anyone with a reasonable degree of fitness it is definitely worth it though it isn't cheap. We met several people who were either doing one night like us, and others that were pushing themselves hard to do it in two nights to save the cost of a three night trek.  Costs for DOC of course are fairly high with all waste, gas and supplies helicoptered in, and then of course there is a warden in each hut. 

Check out the link for further details. Kepler Track