New Zealand - Te Anau & The Kepler Track

As well as doing South Island TA NOBO (northbound) I wanted to do some of New Zealand's "Great Walks" The first one I did was the Kepler - this fitted in well with a resupply in Te Anau. I was lucky enough to stay with a friend of mine called Des. He is the host with the most - a Maori who over the last few years has re-embraced his heritage and culture and loves to share that with travelers from all over the world.

He kindly took me down to Milford Sound on an absolutely spectacular spring day

The Kepler is a nice track and very straightforward for TA trampers.

 I did it anti-clockwise in 3 days -  treating myself by staying at Luxmore and Iris Burn Huts - that meant I could leave my tent, stove etc in Te Anau and tramp with a light pack.

                                 First day on the way up to Luxmore Hut

Luxmore Hut - and the ever present kea!

However Kepler could definitely be done in 2 days by skipping Luxmore and going straight to Iris Burn (9 hours) You can camp at Iris Burn but there are lots of sandflies.

                  Views on the 2nd day heading to Iris Burn

Bear in mind that it is permissible to freedom camp on the Great Walks as long as you are 500m from the track - very easy on the Kepler and Routeburn but less easy on the Heaphy or Abel Tasman (see my other posts)
Hitching  from Te Anau to the control gates when going in is easy - coming out you could hitch from Rainbow Reach car park  - no need for track transport there are plenty of people around to grab a lift with.

Last day on the Kepler - back down to lake level

So as you can see a spectacular tramp and well worth making the effort to do it as you are likely to be in Te Anau if you are a TA tramper

Me and Des - I even learned to do some traditional flax weaving - I carried the flax flower head with me on TA - it brought me the best of luck - thanks Des!

I stayed one more night with Des and then it was a quick trip along the highway to get back onto the TA !