Mt Alfred & Kepler Track with Pete and Forbes 2016

The time had come for another tramp (locals word for hiking) in New Zealand. As always the amazement of the Southern Alps is something super impressive from above on the flight in.

Flying in on VA116 from BNE-ZQN

Mt Alfred

We decided on an “easy” day hike out near Glenorchy up Mt Alfred. 4 hours round trip time including 30 mins at the top. We were on good pace. Little did we know we would pay for the workout the next few days.

Enroute from Queenstown to Glenorchy and some nice pre climb photos to get the vibe up.

Some quality lush rainforest. Once we cleared the treeline of the mountain and steep ascent to the mountain presented itself.

The ascent got steep and we took a few moments to get our breath and soak in the views.

James and Pete on the ascent.

What came next was something I truly wasn’t ready for.

The views from Mt Alfred are perfect.

On top of Mt Alfred looking down Lake Wakatipu

Awesome to be on top of the world!

On top of Mt Alfred

Quick snack and Pete peacing out on top of the summit.

This is seriously steep. Steady as she goes coming down.

Mt Alfred was intense. The descent was long, steep and gruelling. In the forest it felt like the gradient never eased up. It was relentless. It’s a serious one day hike that will leave you knackered.

Kepler Track

One of New Zealand’s Great Walks — the Kepler Track would take us 4 days and cover 60 kilometres.

Day 1 — Kepler Track Car Park to Luxmore Hut.

Day 2 — Luxmore Hut to Iris Burn Hut.

Day 3 — Iris Burn Hut to Motorau Hut.

Day 4 — Motorau Hut to Kepler Track Car Park

Let the tramping begin!

Final adjustments to the backpacks and at the start of the Kepler track.

Scenic toliet on the left. Lake Te Anau in the middle. James and Pete tramping along.

Gorgeous shores of Lake Te Anau on the left and James chowing down a pie for lunch.

Coming out of the forests and onto the open mountain side with stunning views.

Stunning landscape of New Zealand.

A pleasant sight coming around the corner seeing Luxmore Hut.

Afternoon snacks on the deck with stunning view to boot. Doesn’t get much better than this folks.

Other trampers soaking up the view from Luxmore Hut in the afternoon.

What a great way to spend the afternoon — wine (yes, wine — we took up a 2 x 2L casks of goon), cheese and crackers on the deck with the best view in the world in clear conditions. Doesn’t get much better than this. Day 1 complete.

Day 2

I always make an effort to get up just before dawn in case there is some magical moment just before sunrise. I couldn’t believe our luck, we were above the clouds!

Sunrise at Luxmore Hut above the clouds

Stunning colours at sunrise from Luxmore Hut.

Breakfast had a stunning view.

Luxmore Hut on the left looking down towards Lake Te Anau in the morning.

Leaving Luxmore Hut we headed over the crossing of Luxmore Hut. Views on top of the mountain left us literally pinching ourselves about just how lucky we are to be able to visit New Zealand.

Making our way across the top of Luxmore Summit.

Epic viewpoints enroute between Luxmore Hut and Iris Burn hut.

Walking on top of the ridgeline of this mountain was breathtaking

Panorama to detail the perspective of the surroundings.

Couldn’t wipe the grin off our faces.

Mountain peaks surround you.

Nearly touching the clouds. Thankfully the rain held out.

Beginning the descent down to Iris Burn and into the forest.

Magical moss covers trees and creeks free flow.

Crystal clear water is an abundance in the Fiordland National Park.

View from the front of Iris Burn hut and the magical creek nearby. Beware of the sandflies.

Inside Iris Burn hut and Iris Burn at an elevation of 500m.

Day 3

An easy tramp with a very gradual down gradient to Motorau Hut. Plenty of time to soak up the beautiful rain forest and river.

A great spot on the right to stop for lunch and enjoy the river.

Canada and New Zealand are so similar. Pure beauty.

Picture perfect mushrooms line the forest floor.

Lake Manapouri and Motorau Hut.

Lake Manapouri

Day 4

An easy 1.5 hr tramp out from the hut to one of the car parks. Pete and I decide to do the whole Kepler track and had to walk back to the main car park to get the car. 9.5km in 1hr and 45 mins. Some how Forbes magically made it to the car before us and with all our bags. Well done Journeyman!

Done and dusted after 4 epic days.

Thanks to Pete and Forbes for the epic experience of Mt Alfred and Kepler Track. Thanks to Deme for letting me use his camera which made this blog post possible.