Day 13 - te anau to greenstone hut

Total km: 268km


My my what a magnificent walk today.


It started with Martin and Amina from the UK (my homestay neighbours in Te Anau) giving me a lift to The Divide. Thank you to you both for your warm company and car.

By 7:50am I was back on the final leg of the Routeburn Track, this time going in the opposite direction from The Divide up to Howden Hut, then veering south to join the Greenstone Track.

By 8:45am I hit Howden hut and looked onto this beautiful lake, cloud clearing to blue sky.

As you walk along the lake through birch trees you get this kind of view until you then open up to a valley.

By nearly 11:00 I hit McKellar Hut, a new hut in a dramatic location.

Greenstone Track is a sensational walk and underrated. I think it was even better than Kepler and Routeburn because you get great views for a relatively easy tramp.


The huts are also excellent quality.

Today the forecast was mainly fine with isolated showers, but tomorrow the forecast is southerlies, rain and snow to 500m. Because of this I wanted to take advantage of a full good day and I switched the TA leg of Mavora Lakes to doing Greenstone from The Divide (a much easier hitchike from Te Anau than Mavora Lakes anyway). This was the advice from the great DOC office in Te Anau and it paid off.


The weather was at its best today it could have been and showed off the views in walking the valley along Greenstone Track.



Before I hit my destination of Greenstone Hut at 4:50pm you cross over a small wire footbridge, and then an hour later cross a gorge with bejeweled colours.

Once I got to the Hut I met Kaden from Christchurch, another NOBO TA hiker! Yay! I haven’t seen another TA hiker for about five days now and Kaden in NOBO too. Tomorrow we both plan to exit at Greenstone Carpark, hit Queenstown and fergburger! It was so good to talk to Kaden and Polly the hut ranger about TA, gear, food and other contentious tramping issues.


What will the weather tomorrow bring?