I’m Zac – a 31 year old from Newcastle, NSW. Welcome to my Routeburn Track hiking guide! I started traveling after I finished my electrical apprenticeship. I went on a six month trip to South America with six of my school mates, based around the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. It was a wild trip, I caught the travel bug, and my sense of adventure had been well and truly sparked. I’ve pretty much been traveling on and off ever since.
It was on my trip to Europe that my love for hiking and photography was born. I lived in a camper van for six months, so the trip was more about national parks and hiking than cities or culture. I bought a pro DSLR before the trip and landscape photography quickly became a passion.
When I returned, I knew I wanted to make a career change but wasn’t sure how to do it. Landscape photography seemed like a difficult field to make money in, so I began doing family shoots which evolved into weddings. I’m now a full time wedding photographer and run my own business. I still love landscape and travel photography, and it’s still a favorite hobby of mine!
Our Long-Term Adventure in New Zealand
Coming from Australia, New Zealand is right on our doorstep, but it was somewhere my partner Jess and I had never been. This seems crazy as it’s a hiker’s/photographer’s dream! We decided we were going and made a bit of a mini move there – living and traveling for nine months. We arrived in June 2023 and we lived in Wanaka for the first five months, which is the best spot in New Zealand in my opinion! It’s an adventurer’s paradise!
I’m a snowboarder and Jess was learning, so we spent most of our time at Treble Cone and Cardrona ski fields. Since November, we’ve been living in our van and have traveled all over NZ. The trip has been centered around hiking, and ticking off as many Great Walks and backcountry huts as our legs can handle! We spent two and a half months in the South Island, and are currently rounding up our trip with six weeks in the North Island.
Routeburn Track: Our Favorite New Zealand Hike
Jess is a great travel researcher, so we knew about the Routeburn Track and the other Great Walks before we left for New Zealand. The Great Walks are so popular that you often have to book them far in advance. So we had the Milford, Kepler and Routeburn tracks all booked since April of last year – and hiked them back to back from late November to early December.
You can get last minute bookings though or if you plan to freedom camp, you technically don’t have to book but you do have to camp 500 meters off track. We thought the Routeburn Track would be our least favorite of the three aforementioned tracks but it turned out to be our most favorite one!
Completing the Entire 32 km Track + Side Trips
We completed the whole Routeburn Track – starting from the Divide on the Fiordland side and hiking to the Routeburn Shelter in Glenorchy. The entire track is 32 kilometers, but we also took side trips to Conical Hill and Lake Wilson which adds another 13 kilometers on to the adventure.
The scenery throughout the Routeburn Track is incredible! It helps that we got perfect weather which can be a rarity in Fiordland. The lakes are stunning, ideal for swimming after a long day’s hiking. And the view down through the Hollyford Valley towards Milford Sound is out of this world!
Is the Routeburn Track Suitable for Beginners?
The Routeburn Track is suitable for beginner hikers, as long as you have a decent level of fitness. The great thing about New Zealand is that the hut system and Great Walk huts are well equipped. This means you don’t have to carry as much gear and you have a safe, sheltered spot to sleep.
Most people do the Routeburn Track in three days, with an average of 11 kilometers of walking per day. But we did come across people who were doing it in two or even one day! The trail is undulating but there aren’t too many super steep sections, and the trail is well marked and maintained.
Why Camping on the Routeburn Track is Great
We did the track in over three days and camped instead of staying in the huts. The biggest reason for this is that we wanted to spend our second night off the main track and away from the main campsites at Lake Wilson. We had heard how amazing it was in the Valley of the Trolls/Lake Wilson and this was the reason why Routeburn ended up being our favorite hike.
The views were next level! And there were some beautiful swimming holes as well. This isn’t the best idea for beginner trampers though – as there’s nothing out there in the way of toilets, shelter, water tanks, etc. It’s proper backcountry camping! The campground on night one was beautiful too, located on the shores of Lake Mackenzie close to the hut. If you have the right gear and are a confident hiker, I recommend camping at Lake Wilson.
Tips & Tricks for Hiking the Routeburn Track
One thing that is tricky about Routeburn is that it’s a one way hike, and it’s a four hour drive between the start and finish spots. However, there are lots of bus transfer services which frequent the route, and even car transfer companies who will drive your car from one end to the other! This is what we did, so our car was waiting for us at the end. We used Trackhopper who were great! Mike and Kiyomi were lovely and the service was seamless.
I think hiking the Routeburn Track from the Divide to Glenorchy is the best way to go. You will be walking facing the mountains on the Hollyford Valley side. And definitely do the side trips to Conical Hill and Lake Wilson! These are the best views on the hike. You could drop your pack at Harris Shelter, if you don’t plan to camp out there, and pick it up on the way back through.
We hiked the track in early December, a great time because it wasn’t too hot or busy yet, and most of the snow had melted – making hiking safer and easier. The snow was still on the surrounding mountains, making the scene super dramatic! If you’re tenting, the main things you will need are:
- Weatherproof gear and clothing. It rains a lot in Fiordland, and it can get wet and cold very quickly!
- Hiking pack
- Tent
- Sleeping mat
- Sleeping bag
- Inflatable pillow
- Camping stove and gas (jet boil or similar)
- Bowls/spoons/cups
- Three or four days of food (dehydrated meals are best to save weight)
- CamelBak for water (you can fill up at the huts)
- Toiletries and sunscreen
- Camera
- Something fun to do like cards or crossword puzzles
If you’re staying in the huts, you will need all of that minus the tent, sleeping mat and stove. The huts on the Routeburn Track have mattresses, gas stoves (just bring a pot and some utensils) and even flushing toilets!
Final Thoughts on this Classic Kiwi Walk
All in all, hiking the Routeburn Track was an extraordinary experience and something I will cherish forever. I will never forget watching the sunrise from Lake Wilson, hiking further up to a nearby peak to see the Hollyford Valley filled with low clouds and seeing the mountains across the valley lit up in the morning sun. It was only us up there and it was stunning!
