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Descent down from Harris Saddle to Hollyford Face...windy!!! |
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It was dark and cold along the Hollyford Face |
Be aware that this is the most exposed section of the Routeburn Track as it receives all the fury of the elements especially when a southerly wind is blowing. Be prepared with warm clothing, decent wet weather gear and plenty of sustaining food. You will find calm pockets tucked out of the wind so try to stop there if you need a break.
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Darran Range loom out of clouds...Routeburn Track |
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Cloud covers Harris Saddle and Conical Hill |
I have seen this particular section of the Routeburn Track in many photos...it looks otherworldly with the big stepping stones and weird Alpine plants. Craig Potton has an excellent photo of this area in his book about the Great Walks.
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Stepping stones along the Hollyford Face |
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View towards head of Hollyford Valley |
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Mt Gifford (2149) from the Hollyford Face |
About 30 minutes along the Hollyford Face you pass the turn off to the Deadmans Track...this goes down to the bottom of the Hollyford Valley. It is a heinously steep and quite dangerous side track so is best left for emergencies and those with good outdoor skills...it is not an easy escape from the Routeburn.
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Turn off to Deadmans Track, Hollyford Face |
Just past Deadmans Track is a foot bridge over a permanent stream and this is the first place to get water since the Routeburn side of the Harris Saddle. I stopped for a 15 minute break and filled my water bottles with icy cold fresh water.
By Gawd was it good!!!!
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Ocean Peak and Pt. 1544 on the Hollyford Face |
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Ocean Peak (1848) just above the Hollyford Face |
Just past the stream I moved out into the sun shine as the sun came over the surrounding mountains and onto the Hollyford Face. It was much nicer conditions to be walking in and I was able to dispense with my woolly hat and jacket for the rest of the trip to the lake.
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Cloud starts to clear off Harris Saddle |
It is really amazing how much happier you feel with the sun warming your back as you walk...it certainly put an extra spring in my step.
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Happy to be back in the sun on the Hollyford Face |
By this time the cloud had retreated and the sky had turn to a lovely blue sky day. I had some awesome views over the Hollyford Valley and at certain points you could even see all the way out to Martins Bay at the western end of the Hollyford Valley.
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Mt Sabre to Mt Gifford on the Darran Range |
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Mountains between Mt Sabre and Mt Gunn, Darran Range |
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Sidling along the Hollyford Face on the Routeburn Track |
I started to encounter people heading the opposite direction along the track including a large guided group with over 25 people in it. They universally talked to me about the nasty track from Lake MacKenzie to the top of the hill near Pt. 1310.
They were not wrong....be we will get to that soon.
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View down the Hollyford Valley from the Routeburn Track |
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Upper basin of the Hollyford Valley..Gunns Camp below |
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The ridge off Pt. 1449 in middle distance....Routeburn Track |
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You descend down to Lake MacKenzie past this ridge |
I spiked myself in the knee with a Spaniard when I stepped off the track for a break...stupid Jon wasn't looking where he was going. It was nice siting there in the sun and out of wind and enjoying the beautiful views...
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Beautifully sunny conditions on the Routeburn Track |
The last section of the Hollyford Face is the walk around the ridge coming down off Pt. 1449...it juts out into the Hollyford Valley and you walk the contours around its edge. Just past here was the start of the descent down to Lake MacKenzie my final goal for the day.
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Martins Bay just visible at end of Hollyford Valley |
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Heading for Pt.1310 and descent to Lake Mackenzie |
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Tarns on the ridge above Lake MacKenzie |
The ridge juts out far enough into the valley below that you can see Lake McKerrow at the mouth of the Hollyford Valley. You could clearly see waves breaking on the shore even though it is over 40 kilometers distant....
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You can see the West Coast from the Routeburn Track |
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A distant Lake McKerrow about 40 kilometers away.... |
I stopped for another break at the top of the switchbacks leading down to Lake MacKenzie...you could see up the Hollyford to where SH94 was running through to Milford Sound. You could also see across to Key Summit and I noted a number of glints on the top from people visiting the area. The rest of the track was visible sidling the distant hills...my pathway for the next day.
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View to Key Summit from near Pt.1310, Routeburn Track |
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Pt.1821 on the Ailsa Range above Lake MacKenzie |
From the ridge I climbed the last small slope and then had views down to the Lake MacKenzie area for the first time. The huts looked tiny on the valley bottom about two kilometers away and 300 meters below me...
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Alpine Dracophyllum plants above Lake MacKenzie |
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First view of the Lake MacKenzie Huts |
From the ridge line you drop very steeply down the track along a series of sharp switchbacks. The top section was rough and included several places where I had to clamber down small rock faces. I took few photos as it was a committing piece of track...you had to constantly watch your feet because a fall along here would mean certain serious injury.
Lots of ankle breakers and bluffs to plunge over...
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Lake MacKenzie, Fiordland NP |
After the first difficult section off the ridge top the track levels out into far more forgiving switchbacks.
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On the path down to Lake MacKenzie |
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Lake MacKenzie Hut is at the eastern end of the lake |
About halfway to the hut you pass a large boulder with memorial plaques on it for trampers who didn't make it off this track. There were two for some teenagers who died on a school trip back in the 1960's and one for that Czech guy who fell off the track in 2016.
Tragic in both cases as they were so close to the hut...less than a kilometer as the crow flies. Sometimes these mountains can be mild, beautiful and awe inspiring and sometimes a real monster.
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Memorial plaques for trampers lost on the Routeburn Track |
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The track to Lake MacKenzie is slow going... |
The last kilometer of the track to the lake is below the bush line...the first bush since early the previous day. It didn't speed up my pace though as the track from here to the flats near the hut is some of the gnarliest I have ever walked on a Great Walk. You are walking over old boulder fields so it is steep, rocky, slippery from moss and chaotic.
Thank god for the trekking poles is all I can say...they are a knee saver.
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Back in the bush near Lake MacKenzie for the first time that day... |
This beast was a huge chonk of rock about three stories high and totally covered with moss and ferns...I'm glad I wasn't here when it rolled down the mountain side.
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Three story high boulder enroute to Lake MacKenzie
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Goblin forest at the mouth of Lake MacKenzie |
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Chaotic track conditions near Lake MacKenzie |
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A small cavern along the track near Lake MacKenzie |
Eventually I made it to the flats at the eastern end of Lake MacKenzie and caught the occasional view of the hut just in the distance. I could taste that waiting brew of Earl Grey....
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First close view of Lake MacKenzie Hut |
You will arrive at a junction with the side track to Lake MacKenzie Hut...turn left and walk the last 100 meters through flat bushland to the the hut.
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I finally arrive at Lake MacKenzie Hut in Fiordland NP |
I made it to the hut at around 1.30 pm so it had taken me about five and a bit hours to cover the ground between the two huts. I was the second arrival for the night so chose a lower bunk in the main bunkroom and proceeded to hoe into some lunch, soup and a big brew of tea...
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Front entrance to Lake MacKenzie Hut |
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Lake MacKenzie is 100 meters from the DOC hut |
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Looking back towards the ridge off Pt. 1449 |
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The mountains between Lake Harris and Lake MacKenzie |
Lake MacKenzie hut is the oldest on the Routeburn Track now and probably due for replacement soon. It is still serviceable but is starting to look its age. It is the same design as Iris Burn and Moturau on the Kepler Track and was built about the same time...mid to late 1980's.
When DOC was set up in 1987 they got a bucket load of cash from the government of the day to build stuff and build they did. Tracks, bridges, huts and other structures. Its a pity subsequent governments weren't so free with the cash...
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Lake MacKenzie Hut: the cooking space... |
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Lake MacKenzie Hut: the living space downstairs... |
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Lake MacKenzie Hut: entrance to the hut... |
It has 50 bunks with 30 in a room at the top of the hut and a separate bunkroom outside with another 20 beds. Moving some of the bunks to another building is a fantastic idea. It has created a lot of space in the hut in the living/cooking area that would otherwise have been taken up with bunks.
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Lake MacKenzie Hut: the upstairs bunkroom |
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Lake MacKenzie Hut: the upstairs bunkroom |
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Lake MacKenzie Hut: the 20 bunk overflow bunkroom |
Lake MacKenzie Hut was very comfortable and I enjoyed my nights stay there. I especially liked the veranda...most of us spent the afternoon sitting there in the sun and enjoying the remarkable scenery that surrounded us.
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Lake MacKenzie Hut: Information panels in the hut... |
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Closer view of the information panels, Lake MacKenzie Hut |
After spending some down time in and around the hut I decided to go for a walk down to the nearby campsite via the eastern end of the lake. The lake is only 100 meters away and the campsite is five minutes down a side track and about 200 meters away.
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Lake MacKenzie, Fiordland NP |
I stopped at the lake first and had a bit of a walk out into the water to test the temperature. Oh boy was it cold!!!! Lots of people went for a swim when they arrived but that water temperature put me right off...I washed my legs and feet but there is no way I would have plunged into that icy pool.
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The flats at this end of Lake MacKenzie...sometimes submerged!!! |
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The water was cold in Lake MacKenzie |
The campsite is a couple of hundred meters along the side of Lake MacKenzie and looked like it would be a decent spot for camping. There was an open sided cook shelter and a set of camping spots for tents. They looked weird as they are covered with artificial grass...it almost looked like a mini putt course.
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Cooking shelter at Lake MacKenzie Campsite |
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Unusual setup at the Lake MacKenzie Campsite |
There is a separate DOC workers hut at Lake MacKenzie and I especially liked the mail box stuck to the veranda rail though I doubt any mail is getting delivery to it anytime soon...
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Hut wardens quarters at Lake MacKenzie |
So that was my penultimate day on the Routeburn Track. All that remained was the section from Lake MacKenzie to the Divide Shelter and that would be the end of my 30 years walking the Great Walk Tracks.
Access: The Routeburn Track can be walked in both direction with the majority of trampers walking from East to West. From Queenstown I took the shuttle to the Routeburn Shelter stopping at Glenorchy on the way. We then followed the access road for about 30 kilometers to the carpark at Routeburn Shelter. The track starts from the bridge over the Routeburn.
Track Times: Routeburn Falls Hut to Lake MacKenzie Hut is 12 kilometers or 5 hours walking time.
Hut Details: Routeburn Falls Hut: Great Walk, 50 bunks, woodburner, water tanks, woodshed, flush toilets: Routeburn Falls Lodge: Private Lodge run by Ultimate Hikes for guided walkers: Harris Saddle Shelter: Day shelter only, toilets, bench seating inside, picnic table outside: Lake MacKenzie Hut: Great Walk, 50 bunks, woodburner, water tanks, woodshed, flush toilets: Lake MacKenzie Campsite: Great Walk, 10 sites, cooking shelter, water, compostable toilets: Lake MacKenzie Lodge: Private Lodge run by Ultimate Hikes for guided walkers
Miscellaneous: All Great Walk huts/campsites are on the DOC Hut booking system, must be booked for overnight visit. Hut Warden present over summer season. Easy track but some uphill sections especially along the Routeburn Gorge. The access road to Routeburn Shelter is gravel and can be difficult to use in winter due to deep snow.
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