For the second part of our Easter break, we planned on walking the Kepler Track, just outside the town of Te Anau. The Kepler Track is one of New Zealand’s ‘Great Walks’, these are considered to be premier multi-day hikes that showcase the spectacular scenery and diversity of New Zealand. Having never done one of these walks before, we didn’t know what to expect, although from the complicated booking process and lack of availability, we knew that it was probably going to be busy. Nevertheless, we were keen to discover what the Great Walks were about.
After having enjoyed a good night’s sleep after completing the Hollyford Track, we got an early start and made our way to the Control Gates on Lake Te Anau ready to start our hike. Unlike many of the other hikes in New Zealand, the Kelper is a loop hike, which made the logistics of this part of the trip a lot easier.
Immediately after leaving the Control Gates, we found ourselves in dense forest. Even after having spent almost a week hiking through similar conditions on the Hollyford Track, it was still fascinating to see the lush forest and diversity of plants and so many shades of green. Occasionally we would get a glimpse through the forest out towards Lake Te Anau. Early morning cloud still hung over the lake, but the forecast was good and we hoped that the cloud would either burn off, or we would find ourselves above the low cloud layer.
After a while, the trail turned sharply, leaving the lake shore starting to make a steep ascent. Climbing through the dense forest meant that we weren’t able to gauge our progress, and continued plodding slowly up the steep grade. After the Demon Trail, we started to appreciate the why the Great Walks are so popular, even although the track was steep, the smooth, wide trail made for quite easy progress. We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived at bush line right around lunchtime.
We stopped for lunch among the tussock grasses enjoying the view over Lake Te Anau before continuing our walk to the hut. The well-formed track followed the ridgeline allowing us to make quick progress whilst enjoying the views all around us.
We came around a bend in the track to see the hut tucked into the hillside just a short distance away. This hut was a lot larger than the little twelve-person huts we had been staying at previously, and even included a large deck.
With all of the early morning mist now gone, we were able to enjoy the views from the hut out towards Lake Te Anau and the Darran Mountains in the distance. After finding a bed for the night and getting settled, we made our way back out to explore the nearby Luxmore Caves.
The entrance to the cave was quite well hidden in the tussock grass, but we were able to make our way down the steep steps into the narrow cave.
The water underfoot made the ground quite slippery, but we were able to carefully shuffle our way along to get further into the cave. Despite being narrow, the ceiling of the cave continued up as a narrow crack in the rock for some distance. As we shone our headlamps around the narrow cave, we could see that the walls and ceiling of the cave were covered in different deposits.
After exploring the cave, we made our way back to the hut in time to hear the talk by the resident ranger. We spent a great hour walking around the hut and learning about the plants that grow in this harsh alpine environment. After making another of our dehydrated meals for dinner, we decided to get an early night so that we could be up early the next day to enjoy our hike along the ridge.