28-31 March 2022
Leader: Glenda Robb
In retrospect it seems a minor miracle that all 12 of us on the Kepler trip avoided catching Covid, dodged bedbugs in the Kepler huts and found functioning transport options to get us all to Te Anau in the afternoon of 27 March ready to start our trip the next day.
We had overnight accommodation at Te Anau Top 10 and there was time to explore a fairly sleepy township (badly hit by Covid lockdowns affecting shops, accommodation and tourism), and buy last minute supplies before most adjourned to the local pub for drinks and dinner.
Next morning we found transport from Te Anau to the start of the track at the Kepler Track car park (about 5 k) and from there walked around the lake shore on an easy 1.5 hr section of wide, smooth Great Walk standard track through beautiful beech/kamahi/rimu forest to Brod Bay. A couple of hours steady climb followed, before reaching some mighty limestone bluffs with steps and stairs taking us up the steeper slopes for another hour or so before emerging above the bushline for panoramic views of Lake Te Anau and surrounding mountains.
From there it was about 45 minutes to the 54-bunk Luxmore Hut at 1085 m, which fortunately was not full of either trampers or bedbugs. (There was however a dead one - a bedbug, not a tramper - in a plastic bag so we could see what they looked like!)
From Luxmore Hut there is a 20 minute side trip up to Luxmore Cave. We wandered up with our torches to view the cave and its impressive limestone formations and take in more views of mountains and lakes under blue skies.
Sunrise next morning had everyone lining up their cameras
Day 2 started with a kea show-off performance at the back of Luxmore Hut followed by a climb up toward Mt Luxmore where a short detour led to the summit, then on down and sidling for several hours following the ridgeline to the Hanging Valley shelter. The high, open ridgeline continued with the 12 of us strung along a piece of ridge for a panoramic lunch stop on the tops.
The weather was fantastic!
From there it was a zigzag downhill, eventually into the forest and down to Iris Burn Hut at 497 m. A side trip took us to the Iris Burn Waterfall.
It was a frosty morning to start day 3 but we soon warmed up tramping through forest, gorge and river flats before emerging at Lake Manapouri for a walk around the lake shore to Moturau Hut.
The last day took us through beech forest and wetland for a two hour stroll to Rainbow Reach.
Nisa found many and varied fungi to photograph.
Chris and Paul raced ahead to catch the 10 am shuttle bus from here as one of Chris’s boots was falling apart, and no amount of strapping or insulation tape was doing much to hold it together.
The rest of us explored Rainbow Reach before continuing on to complete the trip back to the Kepler carpark.
From here some got transport and some walked around the lake back to Te Anau to complete a great trip with four days lovely fine weather.
Transport: Most of us flew to Queenstown and were driven by chartered shuttle bus from the airport to Te Anau with Fiordland Walks (
Those on the trip were:
Chris Keating, Glenda Robb, John Sturgess, Matt Freeland, Nisa Promchot, Paul Michl, Rob Dey, Robyn Wilson, Sue Pate, Sue Sparkes, Yingjun Shelton, Esther Dong
Currently there is no photo album for this trip.