Day one - the Divide to Lake Mackenzie

Garmin Connect link

Last time I did the Routeburn, we started from Glenorchy and made our way to Te Anau. I had noticed the guided walkers did it in reverse, and that generally the gradient seemed to be slower the other way (with a few notable exceptions), so looking to change it up and hoping for a better experience for Josh I booked it this way. As we were camping, this also meant a very short last day heading out from Flats to the shelter.

Day one started strong, and by strong, I mean uphill. While the gradient wasn't too steep, it felt unending, and we quickly sucked through all the water we had. Refilling at Lake Howden in a deeper section, we meandered our way to the campground to set up.

The campground at Mackenzie is a bit beyond the hut, which is nice given the SI Great Walks are fanatic about separating campers and hut-dwellers. The shelter is well established and the camp sites are nicely separated meaning you feel like you have your own space. It generally did pretty well at giving you some privacy and while it was undoubtedly well managed to reduce the impact on the environment (camping on astroturf makes it hard to escape realising that!) it did have the vibes I was going for, with a small amount of solitude.

I'd packed a 1/8" 'thinlight' style mat from Orangebrown to supplement my sit mat and it came in handy, making a great way to lie down and relax. Josh took advantage of it, whittling away, while I pottered around. It was a lovely evening after a relaxed unharried day.

Day 2 - Lake Mackenzie to Routeburn Flats

For some reason my watch never saved this. Weird.

The middle day of Routeburn is generally the longest but most scenic day, which was exacerbated by the fact we were tenting and therefore staying at Flats, not Falls hut (another ~1 hour).

The day was hot and the track is exposed. Josh is a PhD candidate spending most of the day hiding inside a lab, and is an Englishman to boot, so part of the day was spent slathering him with sunscreen and me forcing water down his throat! We made our way slowly up the steep switchbacks from Mackenzie to the Harris shelter, forgoing Conical Peak with the sun beating down on us at midday. I refilled our water bottles from the streams just before the Harris Shelter (when approaching from Mackenzie).

However, the views always came through. There's a reason Routeburn is the first of the lot that I'm repeating, and that's because the views:effort ratio is insane. I'll always recommend Routeburn for someone who's interested in getting into overnighters, despite the admin that is organising the track end.

Day 3 - short and sweet from Flats to Routeburn Shelter

Garmin Connect link

The day heading to/from Routeburn Shelter by Glenorchy is always short, but having stayed at Falls the night before it was even shorter and sweeter than usual.

We had enjoyed Routeburn Falls the night before, with our fellow campers apparently deciding to stay in the hut (with the removal of Howden Hut, Routeburn is constrained by Mackenzie hut - there is typically room in Falls hut on all bar the busiest nights). With the campground to ourselves, we set up by the river so it would lull us to sleep despite the obvious hazards this presented in the form of sandflies. With the inner pitched well shut, we snoozed away and I woke up to a spectacular morning with mist heading through the valley. It did completely soak our tent but with only 7.5km out - who cares?

We enjoyed the last meander out to the shelter. This part of the track is probably where Routeburn gets it's "gravel highway" reputation from the most, with wide, flat paths. Josh and I usually tramp with one headphone in listening to the same podcast, so we enjoyed meandering our way out side by side to the car (which had been relocated by Easyhikes) in time for a peaceful drive back to Dunedin.