The Routeburn Track is 32 kilometers long and stretches from the Routeburn Shelter on the Glenorchy side of the Southern Alps to the Divide Shelter on the Te Anau-Milford Highway. One of the 11 Great Walks it boasts some fantastic huts in some idyllic locations.
Lets take a look at the huts and shelters you will visit if walking the Routeburn Track.
The Routeburn Track can be walked from either direction...Divide to Routeburn Shelter or Routeburn Shelter to the Divide. This time around I was walking from the Routeburn Shelter end...this meant the Shelter was the first shelter/hut I visited on the track.
The Routeburn Shelter is a three sided structure with a wide opening to the front facing down to the Routeburn River. It is only intended as a shelter for people waiting for public transport to get to Glenorchy and Queenstown and all points east. It has a number of covered and uncovered seats, toilets, water tank and information panels about the track.
You are not meant to camp at the Routeburn Shelter or use it for overnight accommodation although I am sure many do. Instead there is the nearby Sylvan Campsite which is along a side track on the Glenorchy-Routeburn Shelter access road.
The Shelter was moderately busy on the day I arrived as the Ultimate Hike walkers were just starting to arrive at the track end. I had a look around and used the toilet facilities before setting off along the track to my first nights accommodation at Routeburn Flats Hut.
Routeburn Flats Hut is the first proper DOC hut on the track and lies about 4 hours along the track from Routeburn Shelter. It is sited at the edge of a large grassy clearing and has a 20 bunk hut as well as a very nice campsite with about 10 tent sites. There are spectacular views from here of the surrounding mountains and it would be a really idyllic spot over the summer months for an relatively easy overnighter.
I stayed for one night at Routeburn Flats Hut and surprisingly I had the whole hut to myself...the only other person at the Flats was the DOC hut warden. The hut would be very busy without Covid as it is a popular overnight walk for tourists and holiday makers visiting the Southern Lakes.
The hut was built back in the early 1990's and it is a real beauty with plenty of cooking-living space and two separate bunkrooms with bunk style spaces. It has been well looked after and was a comfortable, warm and quiet place to stay for a night.
There is a very funky camp shelter built onto the side of the hut which provides a massive increase in the amount of living space available. It has sinks, water taps, seating and benches and if the weather is nice it would be a great spot to hang out in. There is a separate small camp kitchen shelter down by the campsite...
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| The outside covered space at Routeburn Flats Hut |
This is a very nice hut and a great introduction to the Routeburn Track...I would be tempted to come and stay here as an overnight destination from the Glenorchy road end.
Specifications:
Great Walk Hut: 20 bunks, 10 campsites, water from tanks, wood burner, flush toilets, picnic tables, outdoor living space, nearby river with swimming holes
Routeburn Falls Hut:
Most trampers and guided walkers forgo visiting Routeburn Flats Hut and just walk right through to Routeburn Falls Hut. The Routeburn Falls Hut sits on a bluff overlooking Routeburn Flats and it is usually the first or last hut people walking the track will stay at.
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| Entrance to Routeburn Falls Hut...quirky design features!!! |
The design of the hut is a bit quirky with the living space over two levels, naval dormitory style bunkrooms and a big wide veranda running right around the hut. The shape of the hut is dictated by the lack of space on the site and an attempt to position it in the most picturesque location as befits the stunning site.
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| Routeburn Falls Hut: the cooking space with eating benches |
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| Routeburn Falls Hut: the living space...lower level |
The hut was only 2/3 full on the night I stayed and I was pleased to see a family I walked the Paparoa Track with in 2020 staying in the hut with me. We caught up on what we had been doing and it was nice to see they were still working their way through the Great Walks.
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| Routeburn Falls Hut: the unusual dormitory style bunk room... |
What an awesome hut...certainly one of the nicest I have stayed at in the last couple of years. Beautiful views from all around the hut and I quite like the quirky features of the hut dictated by the steep site it occupies.
BTW...there is a beautifully sunny spot on the Falls side of the hut in the late afternoon...I sat there for about two hours.
Specifications:
Great Walk Hut: 48 bunks, water from tanks, wood burner, flush toilets, nearby river with swimming holes (but ohhh so cold)
Harris Saddle Shelter:
Day two (or three in my case) is the longest of the tramp with the long climb up to Harris Saddle and the extended period above the tree line as you make your way along the Hollyford Face heading for Lake MacKenzie. Harris Saddle Shelter is positioned two hours into this 5-6 hour day at the most exposed location along this section of the track.
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| Harris Saddle Shelter looms out of the cloud... |
There are actually two shelters located here...the basic DOC structure and the much nicer Ultimate Hikes shelter next door. Both are built to the same Fiordland NP design used on the Milford, Kepler and Routeburn Tracks with a squat triangular shape to resist the wind and massive snow falls you get up here.
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| Harris Saddle Shelter, Fiordland NP |
The interior of the hut is not that salubrious...it smells bad, its dark and cramped but it does the job and while I didn't linger I can see how it would be useful. There are seats inside and a flush toilet but no water source...you have to get water from a sidestream either 30 minutes before or after the shelter so make sure you bring enough for the day.
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| Dark interior of Harris Saddle Shelter |
BTW: If you were going as a guided walker you get coffee/tea, biscuits and fruit juice when you stop at their fancy day shelters. Their shelter is a little larger but also lighter inside and doesn't stink like old hobo piss....
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| One of the highest DOC shelters in New Zealand... |
In a storm Harris Saddle Shelter would be a god send and potentially life saving as the saddle bears the full brunt of any weather in the region. It could really do with a rainwater tank to be a more useful structure....
Specifications:
Great Walk Shelter: not for overnight stay, no nearby water supplies, flush toilets
Lake MacKenzie Hut:
Lake MacKenzie Hut is your first or last nights accommodation on the track and sits in a lovely location right next to the lake of the same name. The lake is located in a huge hanging valley off the main Hollyford Valley and is surrounded by several high mountain ranges.
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| Looking down on Lake MacKenzie and the hut from the track... |
You can see the hut taunting you as you descend down the track from the Hollyford Face. The DOC hut and Ultimate Hikes Lodge are clearly visible far below. It literally takes about 1.5-2 hours to get down to the flat ground around the huts less that 2 kilometers away. This is easily the roughest section of the whole Routeburn Track!!!
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| Lake MacKenzie is about 60 meters away from the hut |
Lake MacKenzie Hut is built to the same design as Moturau, Iris Burn and the old Mintaro Hut....there are many other examples down here in Fiordland as it seemed to be a popular design. They have a cooking/living area downstairs and a bunkroom above with cramped space inside for around 50 people.
They are cramped because they were originally made for 30 people and extra bunks have been jammed into all available space over the years...
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| Lake MacKenzie Hut, Fiordland NP |
Lake MacKenzie Hut is actually two buildings...part one is the main hut with 30 bunks in a large upstairs bunkroom. These are a combination of individual bunks and a long sleeping bench which holds about 12 people. There is also a second bunkhouse with space for about 20 people attached to the side of the main hut.
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| Lake MacKenzie Hut: upstairs bunkroom |
I slept in the upstairs bunkroom and as I was the second person to arrive that day I got a nice plum position on a bottom bunk. Always go for the bottom bunk if you can...they are easier to get in and out of and you can store stuff under the bunk if needed.
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| The bunkroom annex at Lake MacKenzie Hut |
The living space in Lake MacKenzie Hut has been maximized by moving 20 of the bunks to a separate building. Previously there would have been a couple of smaller bunkroom's where the kitchen space now stands. This means there is more space in the cooking area and more space in the living area of the hut
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| Lake MacKenzie Hut: cooking area...spacious!!! |
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| Lake MacKenzie Hut: living space... |
I love this style of hut but Lake MacKenzie must be in line for an upgrade...it is the oldest hut on the track (...built in 1984...that's like nearly forty years ago...) and its location and design is not optimized for the large crowds of people who visit.
Specifications:
Great Walk Hut: 48 bunks, 10 campsites, water from tanks, wood burner, flush toilets, picnic tables, outdoor living space, nearby river with swimming holes
The Divide Shelter:
The Divide Shelter is located at the carpark at the end of the Routeburn Track and is basically an open sided shelter from the elements for the many people waiting for public transport. Shuttle's and buses go to Milford Sound, Te Anau and Queenstown from here and it was full of people on the day I visited.
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| The Divide Shelter, SH 94 Te Anau to Milford Highway |
The shelter is basic with a number of seating benches, changing rooms, a water tap and nearby toilets...it is a perfectly adequate place to wait for a shuttle and that is about it.
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| Spartan facilities at the Divide Shelter |
If you will be spending any amount of time here grease yourself to a high sheen with a top notch bug spray or the sandflies are going to eat you alive. There is no place to hide from them here so it is almost better to wait at a convenient spot along the track and only come down here 20 minutes before the shuttle arrives.
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| Divide Shelter: information panels inside... |
I was lucky on this trip...it had not really rained for nearly three weeks so it was hot and dry around the shelter which are conditions not favored by your typical Sandfly...
Specifications:
Great Walk Shelter: covered seating, flush toilet, water tap, changing rooms, nearby toilets
The Ultimate Hikes Lodges:
There is another option for walking the Routeburn Track (plus the Milford and Greenstone Tracks...) and that is the guided option. Ultimate Hikes have the concession for guided hiking in Fiordland and they are the only company that is officially allowed to bring guided groups onto these three tracks. They have two Lodges on the Routeburn at Routeburn Falls and Lake MacKenzie.
Routeburn Falls Lodge ...
Ultimate Hikes go from the Divide sSelter to the Routeburn Shelter so they are heading against the flow along the track. Their trip is three days and two nights with a night spent at both of the lodges. Routeburn Falls Lodge is actually the second and last on their itinerary.
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| Routeburn Falls Lodge, Routeburn Track |
Both the lodge and DOC hut are co-located at Routeburn Falls on the only piece of land suitable for a building. You can see into the Lodge from the main track and down from the rocks around the Falls themselves. They are very swanky digs....more or less like a high end motel or quality eco-lodge.
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| One of the high end rooms at Routeburn Falls Lodge |
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| Lounge space in Routeburn Falls Lodge |
Accommodation at these lodges ranges from bunks in dormitories to self contained suites. They have large and spacious communal areas, dining facilities, laundry, bar and small stores. There will be permanent staff at each of the Lodges with cooks, cleaners and housekeeping all present.
Each guided group would typically have 3-4 guides with them on the track and they are in constant radio contact with their Lodges and Te Anau/Queenstown bases.
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| Shared bunk style accommodation at Routeburn Falls Lodge |
If you go guided everything is included: food, drinks, accommodation, transport, gear hire, etc. You get three meals a day with cooked breakfast and dinner...packed lunches (you get to make your own with supplied items), hot and cold beverages during the day. You sleep in a bed and showers are available at all of their lodges.
Lake MacKenzie Lodge...
The other lodge operated by Ultimate Hikes is at Lake MacKenzie and is the first days accommodation for guided walkers. It is located about 2 minutes walk from the DOC hut and looks out over a flat area of alpine scrub with magnificent views of the surrounding mountains.
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| Lake MacKenzie Lodge, Routeburn Track |
Lake MacKenzie Lodge is just as plush as Routeburn Falls Lodge and has the same range of accommodation styles from shared bunkroom style right up to fully self contained. All guests have access to showers, full dining facilities, beverage service and multiple living areas to rest in after your daily toils.
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| Shower facilities at Lake MacKenzie Lodge...nice! |
I set out for for the Divide on the last day of my trip just as the guided walkers were having breakfast and the rich savoury smells of cooking bacon and hash-browns were wafting across the clearing in front of the Lodge.
Jon had no bacon and Jon likes him some bacon...Jon was sad as he had no bacon!!!
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| Communal space at Lake MacKenzie Lodge |
There is a down side to all this plush living...it will cost you a small fortune to stay here for the two nights of your walk. Prices start at $1600 to $2400 depending on accommodation but if you like company, if you are not so confident in the backcountry and don't mind paying the price then I say go for it.
You get some bacon every morning!!!
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| View down the Hollyford Valley to Lake McKerrow |
I might do the guided option if Karen wanted to walk the Routeburn as it would be nice to have a cold drink, warm shower and cooked meal at the end of the day. I'm actually happy to just stay in the DOC huts. I think Lorde put it very well "...that kind of Luxe just ain't for us..." or me in this case.
