The Kepler Track New Zealand-60km-6months pregnant and feeling great!

 I along with 3 girlfriends decided to embark on a girls hike holiday and I just so happened to be 6 months pregnant! (with number 2). It was such an incredible experience and very tough at times, obviously not having the same oxygen capacity, fatigue, modified centre of gravity and looser structures made for carrying an extra 15kg pack challenging! 

 We arrived in QT and checked into our 5 star accommodation for the night where we d also be returning for very well deserved night at the end! 

THE KEPLER TRACK

Day 1: 12km

We departed from QT early morning after a night of packing and organising all of our food and wine! We are definitely not the roughing type we carried wine and a camping espresso machine haha

We drove to the start of the track and left our car at the Lake Te Anu carpark and off we went!

We really felt our senses awaken in the native beech forest and enjoyed the incredible views looking up the lake as you walk through the open grassland.  Encounter first-hand the ancient beech trees towering above you and vibrant ferns clustered below its very impressive! Suddenly the path starts to wind round and round zig zagging up and up going from 200m to 1000m! We were puffed and a little deflated after 4 plus hours of climbing, stopping for snacks and drinks regularly! Around the next corner suddenly popped out massive limestone boulders and it seemed we may have finally made it to the top! Once you pop up the top the cold wind smacks your face and the views are absolutely incredible!!! And just like that your on top of the world!

Luxmore Hut

The view from the hut is spectacular! We are pretty hungry and keen to try our special freeze dried delcious meal Spag Bol with matching NZ pinot noir! definitely not roughing it! The huts are filled with a large room of mixed bunk beds with mattresses and toilets only, no showers. Gas cook stoves with gorgeous views across the lake and a cosy communal area, with cosy tables and park benches, a table with games. An early night after a weather report from our ranger that there was to be gail force winds and snow! excellent a real experience!

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                     Day 2: Iris Burn Hut 23km

We had a later start around 9am to wait for the wind and torrential rain to stop and as we left the Luxmore summit the wind really began to get up and snow was falling heavily and made the conditions quite cold. It was at this point all four of us freezing that two guys in shorts and singlets ran past us! Yes Ran! haha.

A short while later we saw Forest Burn Shelter and were relieved to duck inside for a few minutes to escape the strong winds and cook a warm lunch!

From Forest Burn Shelter we wound our way back up and the path took us along a series of broad ridges. The views just got better and better as everywhere we looked there were snow capped mountains, long ridges and hidden tarns. Paradise.

From here it was a steep zigzag descent through the bush. It was approximately 1 hr 30mins from the bushline to Iris Burn Hut and most of it was quite steeply down hill. It was a very pleasant walk, the colours of the trees, the mosses, ferns and bird songs were great. There were also sections of the path where there had been ‘tree avalanches’. After a lot of rainfall a tree can slip down the steep mountain side. Because the soil is very thin most of the trees stay up by intertwining their roots with each other so if one tree goes it can drag hundreds of others down the mountain side, causing carnage below and leaving large sections of bare rock in its wake.

The next part is just descending through moss covered trees in a magical fairy land! just breathtaking ! I have never experienced surroundings so crisp and untouched, with dew drops shining and moss and weird plants growing everywhere! 

 Day 3

Iris Burn Hut was smaller and more basic than any of the other huts we had stayed in but it was pleasant enough. The hut is nestled in a grassy clearing, yet, at only 500m above sea level, you could still feel the gusts of wind pounding the hut. 

Along the flat the forest was possibly even better as the trees had grown larger. Many of the trees here were apparently between 500 and 800 years old. There were also a couple of interesting places where there had been collosal landslips turning the forest into wasteland (eventually the forest will reclaim the boulders and piles of rubble).

The valley from Iris Burn Hut to Motaurau Hut our last stop, the valley was expansive with cascading waterfalls down both sides. Mostly flat and really warm in the sun a nice change from the snow storm we experienced the day before!

We walked all the way to Lake Manapouri where we all jumped in for a swim! FREEZING water 10c but so refreshing after 3 days of no showers and so pristine!

From Moturau Hut it was a quick march back to the car park, passed some great lookout points, some typical New Zealand swing bridges (NZ loves their swing bridges) and through marsh land, apparently we were near where the ‘Dead Marshes’ scenes were filmed in Lord of the Rings. 

We made it! Kepler Track done! now for some 5 star luxury back in Queenstown!