New Zealand 2011 trip, Day 32, Feb 3rd: Routeburn Track, Day 3 - Mackenzie Lake Hut to Divide

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11:48pm, Barnyard Backpackers, Te Anau

Up late packing for our next hike already, the same day as completing the Routeburn track….

Up with the 6am alarm. Some people were already up and about, though most were still trying to sleep. We made our way downstairs to the kitchen and cooked up cereal for breakfast. Just a light serving for me today, still full from last night. The skies were mostly clear, and a couple snow capped peaks turned pink out the window while we ate breakfast.


Sunrise photos at 6:45am, Feb 3rd...

The forecast called for rain developing today (heavy rain by evening), so we were anxious to hike the final "4hrs" of the route out to the divide. It was a chilly out. 38 degrees on the thermometer outside the hut (it was 70 degrees after dinner last night). We packed our gear and were ascending the trail away from the lake through beech forest just before 8am.


A look across Lake Mackenzie before we head south through beautiful beech forest...


The beech forest was beautiful as usual. Several cascading falls flowed under foot-bridges along the way. The trees were old growth, with long mossy "hair". We think we saw a few ents along the way. Scenic views popped up, looking back up the valley. Another reason to hike this in the opposite direction we did.


Eventually we found some openings in the forest, and saw sunlight land on a snowy peak...



Similar to yesterday, the best views were at our backs during the hike. Definitely consider hiking this from the Divide to Glenorchy...


We saw a huge waterfall in the distance, and ended up crossing directly in front of it. It was so tall we could barely see the whole thing, even looking straight up.


Wendy requested "milky" pics at the numorous cascading streams along the way...



The waterfall ahead peaked our interest...


Impressive falls! The trail crossed right in front!


More mossy forest past the waterfall...


After 2.5hrs, with a short period of light rain, we reached Howden Hut, point of the crossover to the Greenstone or Cables track. But we continued on to the Divide, another "1hr" away. Several day hikers approached from the other way as we neared the road. We skipped the side trip to Key Summit, since it was cloudy and rainy, and ended up at the divide car park at 11:35am. Our car was waiting for us (the shuttle worked!), though I noticed a half dollar sized crack in the windshield from a rock. Wonder how the rental car issuance will play out with that…


A look at Lake Howden...


Notice the circular crack in the windshield? Fortunately it wasn't too distracting while driving...

Given our proximity to Milford Sound (28km), we planned to make a visit, but since the weather was cloudy and rainy, we decided to return tomorrow, when the forecast was predicted to be "fine". That meant heading 85km to Te Anau, to pick up our gear from the locker storage (that the car shuttle people arranged). After grabbing our gear, we stopped across the street at the DOC, and inquired about the Milford track, our next hike in 2 days. Unfortunately, the weather looks very rainy. At least the waterfalls will be gushing.

We drove into town and visited the supermarket, loading up on supplies for dinner, and the next trek. Wendy bought a pack of 30 eggs (cheap for $4.50)! Yikes! Hard to pass up that deal, when 12 eggs are $3. No way Wendy's gonna eat all the cereal we brought now... They sell eggs in bulk here everywhere, and eggs are never refrigerated in stores either. Then we ate some great fish and chips from a cheap takeaway (which we plan to revisit often), and found some free wi-fi at the local library (a good way to avoid the rain).

Since we'd be staying at the same hostel 2 days in a row, we wanted to buy some ice cream, and returned to the supermarket to buy "boysenberry ripple". Then it was back to the DOC to research the Kepler and Hump Ridge tracks. After consideration, we plan to try the Hump Ridge during our final days in NZ.

Finally it was time to check out our hostel, 9km south of Te Anua, on a scenic farm. We have a huge cabin with full bathroom. The kitchen doesn't have a freezer, but the receptionist said they would store it for us, and we could access it from 8am-8pm. Turns out the receptionist is from upstate NY, and went to Cornell ('04). Small world.


The take-away on the edge of town (Te Anau) had excellent and super cheap fish and chips! A look at our cabin for the night, south of Te Anau...

We unloaded the entire car into our room. Showered (very weak shower), did laundry, and cooked dinner: Steaks, salad, onion-fig chutney, zucchini. Busy kitchen. Cool lounge with omni-directional fireplace.


Dinner preparation, and the meal...


Ice cream for dessert! And we didn't have to worry about finishing it, since there was a freezer here, and we'd be staying a 2nd night here...

Wendy cooked up some food for tomorrow, while I hung up wet laundry in the room (made a clothesline). Then it was time to plan food for the next track. We have SO much food left that we brought. Always takes a long time planning menus…


The mountains in the distance are part of the Kepler Track...


A look at our room before, and after it was turned into a drying rack. We were creative with our makeshift clothesline...


A look down the row of cabins...

We want to take the 11am cruise up Milford Sound tomorrow, so need to be up early. 6:50am alarm. Yikes, better get some sleep.

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